The Meridional. (Abbeville, La.) 1856-1906, 1886-08-28
Oiptheria.

Diptheria is a terrible disease,
and when it breaks out in q school,
or in a family where there are sever.
al children, unless the very best
precautions are obearved it is likely
to spread, for it is a disease that
may be communicated from one per.
con to another. 1t is contagious
Regarding the different measures
employed to prevent the spread of
this disease, We very greatly prefer
the fumes of burning sulphur. W.
regard sulphur as the most effective
d~isinfectant we can use for the pur.
pose Of preventing the spread Of
dipitheria in school and in families
where several children are exposed
and it has a salntary effect upon
those already suffering from the
disease. w have had the care Of
scores Of d~ipitheria patients, and
We can refer to quite { number Of
families of children where the
disease was limited to one child,
and we verify believe that the fumes
Of burning sulphur were instrumen.
tai in preventing the spread Of the
disease in these cases. In all cases
where diptheria breaks ont 10 a
school, no children should be per.
mitted to 80 to the school from
honses where the disease exists.
After school hours, in the evening
the school rooms should be thorough
" mmigated with sulphur. This
should be done daily, but the house
should be free from the sulphur
fumes during school hours, for the
coughing and sneezing that might
result from the sulphur fumes would
create great annoyance and confus.
ion. Where diptheria prevails in q
family, the patient or patients, if
there are two or three attacked at
the same time, should be isolated,
confaed to one room, and all the
children not affected shold be kept
in some remote part Of the honse, or
removed from the house entirely il
practicable. In either case, whether
any Of the children are removed
from the house or no, including the
one occupied by the patient, should
he fumigated with sulphur two or
three times daily. The most con
venient method of fumigating is to
drop a small pinch of sulphur upon
a hot stove. If there is one in the
room !; if there be no stove in the
room, a few Goals on a shovel OF
other convenient utensil may he
carried into the room and the sui
phur may be dropped on the Goals.
A little experience will soon enable
any one to determine how much
sulphur to burn in each room. Il
is not necessary to fill the room sc
full Of these sulphur fumes as tt
suffocate ns, and if whe happen to
burn a little too much sulphur il
any given case, and the fumes be
come offensive, the doors and win
dows can be opened for a few mimi
tes. Other disinfectaIts may bt
employed, but these sulphur fumes
will permeate every crevice in tn
house ; they are breathed by Us, our
clothes are saturated With them, ant
withal, We regard this as the mos
practical and effectual method o
diginfection against the spread o
diptheria that can be adopted. AM
where diptheria prevails 10 q neigh
borhood, and families fear its out
break among their children, the,
should resort to sulphur fumigatio'
daily, whether d~iptheria has appear
ed in the house or not : this ma
prevent its outbreak in families tina
might otherwise snffer from il
} At least this precaution does nc
cost much, and can do no harm
These sulphur fumes will do Us y
ipjury.-AmericaE Med. Journal.