It is interesting to note that Louisa C. Lippitt’s 1919 Personal hygiene and home nursing is specifically directed in the subtitle to girls and women. In modern parlance this would be described as a ‘gendered’ assumption: why would a man not find it useful to know how to give a bedbound invalid a sponge bath? why should women be the only ones to know about tuberculosis, chicken pox, or even constipation? Lippitt herself was a nursing instructor and a “head reconstruction aide” in the Medical Department of the United States Army and she acknowledges and dedicates her book to both her parents.
Lippitt’s text is mostly generalist in tone, giving information and directions that would be useful to anyone caring for the sick or interested in the health aspects of running an up-to-date 1920s home. She starts from the basics — even including visual instructions on how to shake down a thermometer!
Flip through the pages below or follow this link to read Louisa Lippitt’s Personal hygiene and home nursing: a practical text for girls and women for home and school use.