Careful attention to the skin’s health and cleanliness is essential in aiding recovery, especially in children, as the skin plays a major role in shedding illness. Even a good washing can provide a patient with great relief and comfort. Though any amount of washing is better than none, washing with warm water and soap is clearly the most effective. The water’s quality is important too: The softer the water, the more relieving and effective it is and the healthier the skin can become.

Counter to popular thinking, little is worse for patients than to endure “the incurable hopes of their friends” (70). While an attempt to cheer a patient and offer something positive to look forward to may seem positive, it often ends with patients feeling demoralized because they’re not improving properly or their illness is being mocked by the flippant way they’re treated. Exaggerating the possibility of recovery and downplaying real fears doesn’t help patients.

Honest, frank discussion is best in these situations, as it puts the patient at ease. Anything more is bound to seem tinged with false hope, and it’s exhausting for the patient who’s ill and attempting to recover to listen to such hopes and to either agree with the visitor or attempt to explain the situation’s severity—neither of which helps the patient.