Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-11-09
DIpHTHERIA'S DANGERS.
HOW TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF THE
DREAD DISEASE
Treatment of Patients-Some Valuable
Suggestions Which Should be
Needed.

The following circular, issued by the
State Board of Health, of kentucky, re-
garding the prevention of diphtheria, is
full of important suggestions, and COM
mends itself to the attention of people
everywhere. tits addressed to the health
officials and people of Kentucky, and says:
The unusual prevalence of diphtheria in
many sections of the State makes it i'm
portant that the attention of our health
officials and people should be called to the
best known methods for preventing the
occurrence or restricting the spread of the
disease.
Diphtheria is both contagious and in
fictitious, attacking persons of all ages, but
affecting children much more frequently
than adults. 1t may be communicated
from the sick to the well directly, or by
means OF persons, clothing, toys, pet ami
mails, or other things infected by the sick
or sick-room, and especially by cups or
other articles which pass from mouth to
mouth. In sense it is a filth disease"
sometimes seeming to originate spontan-
eousIy in the presence of bad sanitary sur
roundings, and certainly spreading more
rapidly and being most fatal in such To-
calities.
Diphtheria is a preventable disease.
Proper preventive measures are almost in
variably followed by the limitation of the
disease to the first case or cases. When it
gets away from the primary cases and
makes its escape upon the community,
somebody is to blame. The sooner We ac-
cept this as j sanitary maxim the sooner
we shall begin to do our duties as individ-
uals and as communities.
As soon as it is known that a person has
diphtheria he should Immediately be sep
arated from the rest of the family, and put
INTO a sunny, well-ventillated and plainly
furnished room, preferably on the upper
floor, and as disconnected as possible from
other rooms, especially the living and
sleeping rooms of children. No other per,
son besides the nurse and necessary attend
ants should be allowed to enter the ROOM
and they should take every precaution not
to carry the infection to others.
The health officer of the town or county
should be notified within twenty-four
hours, and he should cooperate with the
physician and family to keep the disease
from spreading. A blue flag, or a card
with diphtheria on it, in large, plain let
tiers, should be placed in a conspicuous
position on the house. No child or person
having the care of children should be per.
mitted to enter the house.
The discharges from the throat, mouth
and nose are exceedingly poisonous, and
should be received on soft cloths and in-
mediately burned or immersed in solution
of chloride of lime, six ounces to the gallon
of water. The bed and body-linen. imme.
diately upon removal, should be boiled for
half an hour, or immersed in the chloride
of lime solution for twenty-four hours. In
no case should such clothing go into the
family wash.
No person from a house where there i:
diphtheria should go into public assem-
blies, in churches, fairs or concerts, and es
pecially schools.
Persons who have had diphtheria should
not mingle with the public for some time
after the last trace of the disease has Jeff
the throat and nose, and only after al
their clothing has been thoroughly washed
or disinfected. No child from a house
where the disease has prevailed should be
permitted to enter school except upon the
certificate of physician that it is safe to
do so.
In case of death, the body should be
wrapped in a sheet saturated with the
chloride of lime solution, and put in 8
tight coffin. The funeral should be strictly
private, and in no case should children OF
those having the care of children be per
mitted to attend.
After death or complete recovery the
room should be disinfected under the ST.
pervision of the health officer or compe.
tent physician. First, mattresses, comforts
and other like things badly soiled should
be burned. Such clothing and bedding as
can be washed should be boiled or placed
in the chloride solution as above directed
To disinfect the room proceed as follows
Arrange the contents of the room so as to
expose the greatest amount of surface to
the action of the disinfectant Close the
apartment as completely as possible, STOP
ping all openings, as chimney hues, key
holes, etc, through which the gas might
escape. Thoroughly dampen the floor,
walls and furniture. For room ten feet
square tnTeS pouuus Vi sulphur, LHoisOeueu
with alcohol, in an iron pan, placed in a
tub containing few inches of water, to
avoid danger from fire. When certain the
sulphur is burning well, leave the room,
close the door and allow the room to re.
main tightly closed for ten or twelve hours.
Afterwards the room should be thoroughly
ventilated for several hours, and then the
floor and lodges over windows and doors,
and other places likely to retain dust,
should be washed with the chloric solution
and then with soap and hot water. The
house and premises generally should be
put in the cleanest and best condition pos
sible.
To be effectual the precautions here sug-
gested should be rigidly observed. 1mper-
fectisolation and distinction are worse
than useless, giving rise only to false
sense of security.
County and municipal Boards of Health
have full authority under our laws to en-
force these rules, and viii fall short Of their
duty if they fail to do so.
A SIMPLE SIGN.
It was in a grocery window