The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1911-12-01

The Woman's Club is very glad to
present to the readers of this column
the very able paper written by DR.. E.
Van Hood, and read before the club
at a recent meeting. when the sub
ject under discussion was The Phys
ical Examination of School Children"
DIR. Hood is president of the Ocala
board OF health, and il is largely
through his efforts that the plan of
the WOman's Club in regard to the
examination of school children was
contaminated.
Madame President and Ladies of the
Woman's Club:
II is with pleasure that the Ocala
board of health again co-operates with
you in the effort to place medical ex-
animation of the public school chill
dren on a practical basis.
This movement is one of great i'm
portance.
Nearly all cities, and some towns,
OF the United States are leaving moth
ing undone towards giving school
children a chance to avoid preventa-
BILE diseases. The possible benefits to
be derived from medical examination
are many. but few thoughts on that
line may be of interest just now.
A case of diphtheria, scarlet fever
or measles develops suddenly in a
child while at school, and should the
child be seated with your boy or girl,
the latter could hardly escape infec-
ton, and it has often happened that
the school was suspended because
such disease was not recognized ear
~, and the same properly isolated
sentees, with all that that means in
the way of defective scholarship,
make a showing against the school as
an educative institution that all prin-
cipals dread.
Your boy appears listless and is at
times very irritable He seems to
lack memory. He hears we'll at times,
but at other times you are sure he is
deaf, but he denies it. 1t does not oc-
cur to you that the doctor could be Of
any service. so he is not consulted.
Such a child has been found to be suf-
fering from partial deafness in one
ear and with the normal ear towards
the teacher he hears all that is said,
but at all other times he hears so inl-
perfectly that he falls behind in mis-
work Unfortunately the child him
self is often the last one to admit the
deafness-thinking the teacher does
not speak plainly or loud enough.
Defects of vision also. when they
exist in childhood. produce no marked
symptoms on the closest examination.
If allowed to go uncared for, serious
troubles develop in after years.
Your child fails to make the grade.
He or she eats pencils. chalk, clay,
rotten wood, or other unnatural
things. and sometimes eats anything
he can get his hands on. You are
naturally puzzled. but as there is one
persistent symptom, and you are sat-
isfled that It is a very consistent
symptom. you whip him for laziness.
Now, the lazy boy is still with lis,
and should be whipped, as there is no
other treatment known that can COM
pare with IL in effectiveness, but how
serious a matter ii is to make mis-
take in dealing that way with a case
OF hOOk-worms, where the poor lit
tie fellows life is already a burden.
An ordinary examination reveals
this disease, and none yields more
promptly to medical treatment
The signs of the time indicate that
our leading thinkers are being i'm
pressed more and more with the value
Of measures that tend to prevent dis
ease. The pure food laws, the medi-
cal milk commission. the medical
marriage laws. medical examination
OF mich cows for tuberculosis, ap-
preparations made for destroying the
breeding places of mosquitoes with a
view of stamping out malaria and yell