Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1891-12-31
To Prevent Diphtheria.

present aud the hope of our future, and
every parental heart if filled with anx-
iety about this time of year because Of
the prevalence Of that dread disease,
diphtheria. The following from the
Kansas State Board of Health may aid
some reader to save his child from con-
tracing the disease:
Keep away from the sources Of the
contagiOn. Do not 60 where the
disease is. if you can help it; and above
all. do not let your children 20 where
tile disease is. Permit no one tocome
to yonr home who has been where it is.
From the dwelling and its vicinity
Danish all sources of filth, whether of
the ground, of the water, or of the air.
The ground urder and around your
house. if not naturally dry. should be
thoroughly and deeply drained.
DiphtheIia does not come from far
through the air. therefore do not shut
up your house tightly. thinking thereby
to shut ont the disease. By SO doing
you shut in the poison of re-breathed
air, which surely paves the way
for the poison of diphtheria to claim
your children. Let the sunshine in by
day and the pure alr both by day and
night. When diphtheria is prevalent,
avoid all crowded gatherings; especially
keep your children from such places.
What is apparently only a common
sore throat in adults will sometimes
give rise to an outbreak of diphtheria
amung children; therefore, in all cases
of sore throat, prudence would dictate
caution i'm using dishes which the
patients have used. A kiss to a child
under these circumstances may be the
unconscious seal of the little ones
eath-warrant.
When diphtheria is rife. keep from
the children gum, jewsharps. harmon
icas and other things which 60 from
mouth to mouth.
Be sure that the drinking water and
Iuo A1lik are pure.
Children under ten years Of age
are i'm much greater danger of death
of diphtheria than are adults: but adult
persons often get and spread the disease
aud sometimes die from it. If you
visit a case. bathe yourself and change
and disinfect your clothing before you
90 where there ia a child
1t is probable that the contagion Of
diphtheria NAV retain itsvirulence for
some time. and be carried long DIS
tance in various substances and articles
i'm which It may have found Judgement.
Diphtheria contracted from germs car
ried several blocks in a sewer, may
perhaps be as fatal as when contracted
by direct exposure to one sick with it.
While it is not definitely proved that
the germs of diphtheria are propagated
in any substance outside the living
human OF animal tOdy, it is possible
that they may be found to be thus
propagated. Therefore, and because
the breathing of air laden with eman-
atiOns from decaying fruit, Vegetables.
or meat, OF from sewers, cess pools,
sinks, and other receptacles of filth, is
believed to endanger health, great care
should be taken To have the house,
premises, and everything connected
with dwellings, kept clean and dry; to
have sewer connections well trapped
and house drains constantly we'll venti-
lated; and to have all carriers of nlth
we'll disinfected. Do not permit child
to enter pIiyy. water-closet. or breathe
the air from privy, water-clOset, cess
poOl, or sewer into which discharges
from persons sick with diphtheria
have entered, nor to drink water or
milk which has been exposed to such
air.
Do not permit a child to ride in q
hack or other closed Carriage in which
has been a person sick with diphtheria
except the carriage has since been
thoroughly disinfected with fumes o:
burning sulphur.
All influences which cause sore throats
probably tend to promute the taking
and spreading of this disease. Among
the conditions external to the body
Liable to spread diphtheria. perhaps the
most common are: infected air. infected
water aid contact with infected sub
stances or persons. Because Of this,
and as a means of lessenlng the danger
of contracting other diseases, the fol-
lowing precautions should always be
taken, but mere particularly during the
prevalence of any such disease as diph-
liberia:
Avoid exposure to wind and to
breathing cold. dry air; also the use Of
strong vinegar, or any other article Of
food which tends to make the throat
raw or tender.
Because diphtheria finds the majority
of its victims among children, there is
not the attention given to precautions
against its spread as there is. for exam
pie in the case Of smallpox. And yet
there is every reason to believe that,