The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1871-12-15
small-PoI and It's Prevention.


To the Rditors Of the IatsIlgsaser.
i Fsv Words E,pseilLy 70 Cd PeQpk
may be Necessary, since they are apt 70
neglect vaccination, reasoning that since
they have escaped 50 long, il Is scarcely
worth while now 10 resort to any pre-
yentiye measure. This Is a sad mistake.
since smallpox is especially fatal with
the aged. Observations in the Lo13on
Smallpox Hospital for Is years show
that whereas the percentage Of deaths ~
persons between the 10 and 10 years o.
age is %, that in persons bciEGen ~ and
80 years Is Go, and in those pet"een oJ
and 60 Yeas, it is IS. LII not me aged
then, neglect this duty. n.,,
H5w I1uH JartiEatiE b Fs!1TMtd! !
This Is a question which your physician
viii determine; but one word may not be
insnnTopria,e here. Many persons object
N having more than one sore made on the
ann, and especially Is this true with fe-
males, from notions Of vanity, or from
fear Of greater local soreness being pro-
duced, but the latter need not be feared ,
since il Is very temporary and trivial, and
on females the punCtures can be easily
50 placed as 70 be readily concealed
BY the dress, even when short sleeves are
worn; while the protection has been
shown to be so much better IRON several
sores than from one, that no one is justi-
fed in refusing 70 allow his physician to
exercise his judgment. An eminent au'
thority says: "ThOse who have been
Yaccinated in four or more places with
good virus have almost invariably O slight
form Of small. box, II it should occur at all;
but those who have only one or two
marks, and these imperfect ones, will
probably have severe form Of the dis
ease" Statistics in London Hospitals ior
20 years, show that Of those dying with
small. pOx contracted after vaccination,
the death.rate Of those with one cicatrix
was n Der cent; with two, Al per cent,
with three, 9 per cent, and with four or
more only ! per cent II you would DO
well protected, then, allow your physi'
clan 70 make from 3 to separate sores.
Let none bit phyEtidHI perform he opera
tiOR Vaccination seems simple process,
but it is one Of vastimpOTtance; hence the
above advice, some Of tie reasons for
which are as follows: lst. Persons, other
than physicians, who YaccinAte them.
selves or friends, generally select their
own virus, and they arc not able TO dis
tinguish the good from the worthless or
injurious. "a. They usually make but
one sore, and this OF insufficient size ID.
They do not know when tho vaccination
takes properly. A sore arm may be pro-
duced, and yet little or no protection be
offered. And an originally incomplete
vaccination Is a great misfortune" since,
as remarked, though no protection % af'
iOrdcd, II is often difficult or impossible TO
succeed in making rc.vaCcinatiOn take.
We may remark here that all vacCinatcd
persons should return TO their physician
about the hnh or sixth day, SO that he
may determine whether or not another
operation Is necessary. Finally, do nOt al.
DB he A0re IN be bTOLGHO or disiuFbtd, rs the
protection IL thought 10 he diminished
thereby. About the sixth day, the sore
assumes somewhat disappearance (around
the slriaCe) Of q blister, and may be
easily broken from this time until the llth
or 18th day Hence, during this period
the greatest care should be exercised,
especially with children, in guarding the
arm from injury.
In conclusion, we sincerely hope the
simple warning We havo given In these
papers, may be needed, and we believe
that II they are VIC may be saved from
any widespread epidemic Of very
IOatlisOme disthse, j.