The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-02-08
HEADING OFF BLINDNESS.
State Board Seeking to Prevent Inlec-
ton at Birth.

ton at Birth.
"A special comm ttee of the New
York association IL. tn lin viii h
vas appointed to investigate the
caCs.s O. prevent2Dle blindness and to
cooper ate with physicians il seeking
measures of prevention, has report
ed that the Site j oard Of Itedl,h
has taken sters to insIre againsc che
Wild spread cause of bl ndness through
infection at birth.
The comn.iutee has found that
bout one-halI o. all Pin n SIS is luz
to p~reventable caus s, ana that about
One-third of the cases OF blindness in
chilt rem is caused by Opthal.ni4 nco-
natorum. a preventable infectious ds-
ease occurring at birth. A drop Of
a n pr Cent solution of silver nit.ate
dropped into the eye Of a Oh Il t
birth is a sufficient preventive of this
infective. The Use of this ants pt5c
has been recommended by the Ameri-
ca Medical Assoc ton, and the COM
miitee OF the NV York Association :
the Elrd has united with e State
Comm issioner CT Health in enforcing
he general use of tbs ~precartion. The
State Commissio~ e of Heath will en-
deavor to provide this solution
thro~ gh local health officers to any
physic an I'D mi lwife Applying for 1t.
"B'~th certificates issued by the
St~te Terart ct nov hn"~ tho merry:
What preventive for orthalmia neo-
natorun dit NCu Us-?" / 4..t- 5. -Ge
the reason therefor 1t hos ben en-
acted that these notifications of birth
he returned in t~hirty-stX hours instead
f ten days, IS heretofore. 1t is be-
Ii Vel hat if a nhvsic a or mi1wife
has fail d TO use such a preventive
the remind.r on the birtN certificate
viii in most instances prove effec-
tive"
The above is q clipp ng taken from
a recent issue OF the Ne,v YORK : a.
It tolls its own story. 1t shows tia
the authorit cs of at le st one State
are alive to the appalling condition
which c%ontronts tn 90 iInonwcaItns
or is New York'the only State in which
active efforts are being put forth to
head off" one Of the most distrassin :
calam ties which Ear befall a huma's
being. And to realize that much of
this distress IAN be prevented is a loud
call to every citizen in the nation.
There are enrolled the present ses-
SIGN in the North Carolina State School
for Flind and Deaf 26S bl:nd children
(besides 100 deaf children.) At least
one-fourth of these need never have
been blind, and would not W been,
f proper preventive remedies had been
employed within tWenty-four hours
after the birth of the child. Gen lc
reader, do you realize hat there are
from SiXty-five to ninety children in
this school doomed to 2 life of dark
ness and a handicap in the race of
bread-winning all their days-some of
them to lead the lives of helpless de-
| there are st II at least rs more blind
been enrolled in our school at all. This
will make the figures more appalling
one hundred and thirty blind chill
dren in Ncrth Carolina whose sight
| might have been preserved with a lit
tie care exercised, and almost with
out expense!
Is it not h eh time that the legal
ana medical authorities of IL State
were taking steps to prevent this con-
dition of affairs? In the mean time
viii not the parents of all infants see
to il that immediately after birth the
ewes shall be thoroughly washed ana
then one drop of. the solution OF no
greater strength than n per cent OF
silver nitrate put in each eye not later
than twenty-fOur hours after blrth !:
This is q p~recaution AMI preventive
V hich, if properly applied is harmless
and may prevent your chic tro" De-
coming blind.
And let every physician and mid