Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-11-28

Means by which the Prevailing Scourge
May be Ayer.ed.
New Haven Register.

May be Ayer.ed.
New Haven Register.
At meeting Of the board Of health
last evening, Health Officer Lindsey in
accordance with the suggestions of the
board at a previous meeting, submitted
the following paper. 1t will be printed
in pamphlet form for general circula-
ton
Diphtheria is both contagious and
an infectious disease; it is, moreover,
pre-eminently one of the class Of filth
diseases-that is, it occurs most fire.
uuently and in the most malignant and
fatal form where dampness and dirt do
most prevail The means Of protection,
therefore, obviously lie in avoidance of
exposure to It's presence and in the most
scrupulous attention to cleanliness. Alb
solute isolation of the sick, the most
rigid purity of surroundings aided by
disinfection when required would prob
ably exterminate the disease. The vet
eran, sanitarian, DR.. E. M. Snow, Of
Providence, says that where there is
abundant sunlight, dryness, cleanness,
and pure air. di phtheria cannot prevail
The same conditions will protect almost
as effectually from most other danger
Gus diseases. Such being the truth,
neither individuals nor communities can
afford to ignore the fact that they are in
a great degree responsible for their own
health
When q case occurs in any family the
sick person should be placed in room
apart from the other inmates of the
house, and should be nursed as far as
possible by one person only The sick
| chamber should be we'll warmed well
aired, and exposed to sunlight: its furni-
ture should be such as can be cleansed
without injury, and all superhuous
things, as window and table drapery,
wooden carpets. and the like, should be
removed The family should not min
gle with other people Visitors should
be warned Of the presence of a conta-
gious disease, and children should not be
admitted to the house.
| All clothing removed from the patient
should be at once placed III boiling wa
ter: instead of handkerchiefs, soft pieces
of linen and cotton cloth should be used
and Immediately burned Disinfectants
should be placed in all the vessels which
receive the expectoration or other dis
charges from the patient Disinfectants
should also be freely used in the sick
room. Those which destroy bad odors
without causing others are best, such as
solutions of nitrate of lead and chloride
of zinc.
The sick person should not mingle
with others until fully recovered, andin
eases of scarlet fever until all roughness
J E No 81 tp Il
appeared, because the eXfoliated skin is
especially infectious.
| The disinfection of the sick room
! should be thorough. The walls
should be dry-rubber and the cloths
used burned without shaking, the cell
ing should be scraped and lime-washed
The floor and woodwork should be
washed with soap and water. The
clothing or bedding used by the patient
or nurse should be purified by boiling
for at least one hour, and should al
ways be cleaned by themselves, and
under no circumstances should they be
sent to laundry In case Of death the
body should be placed as early as prac-
ticable in the coffin, with disinfectants,
and the coffin tightly closed
Children certainly, and in most cases
adults, should not attend funeral from
a house in which death from diph-
iberia or scarlet fever has occurred.
But with suitable precautions it is not
necessary that the burial should be
strictly private, provided that the corpse
be not III any way exposed.
Because children are especially liable
to take and to spread these diseases, land
because schools afford free oppor-
tunity for this; every child from any
family in which case of these diseases
has occurred should be excluded from
school and be readmitted not sooner
than one month from the beginning of
the disease, except upon the certificate
Of some competent physician that it
will be safe.
All the above precautions concern the
dangers of contagio ion. But the con-
tinued prevalence Of these diseases in
any community is probable evidence
Of insanitary surroundings, and of
sources Of sickness, partially Or wholly
preyentable. The most exemplary
housewife, whose home is the very
model of neatness and order, may have
all her efforts defeated in a sanitary
sense by defective slnk-trap or a leaky
drain-pipe or an overf1owing cesspool,
or an undrained celler, Or even by a
heap of decaying garbage in her neigh
boris yard.
Therefore, look we'll to the surround
ings. Abolish filth, remove dampness
and all sources of foul air, especially
rom living and sleeping rooms. Disin-
feet thoroughly all suspected places in
yards and neglected corners.
The following disinfectant is both
very cheap and efficient.
Take Of copperas (sulphate Of iron)
| five pounds, and dissolve in three gal
| Ions of water.
The NeZ Perez War.