Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1913-03-04

! that among children from five to ten
years of age the death rate is only
one out of every hundred, and from
ten years on up is even less than one
! per cent.
| Measles commonly occurs in epidem-
les, attacking children for the most
part, and its prevalence at one time
or another in every section of the
country, has led the public to think of
it as trivial and slight disorder,
which must occur once in life time,
and that the sooner a child has it
and gets over it, the better it is for
the child.
! But persons who take this view for
get not only the danger of death
among younger children, but the fact
that measles often leaves the patient
with some serious and permanent
troubles of the eyes, ears, heart or
kidneys.
Highly Contagious.
Measles is highly contagious dis
ease, accompanied by Inflammation of
the air passages, and a peculiar, mot
| tied. dusky-red eruption of the skin
One attack usually protects a person
against the disease for the remainder
Of life. Measles is an exceedingly old
| disease, and has been affecting man
kind for hundreds of years Careful
studies have shown that measles, like
whooping cough, is spread directly
| from case to case, and is rarely if ev
er conveyed indirectly by infected
| objects or by third person. But it
can be acquired by a very slight ex-
posture of contact with one of who al
ready has it. Practically everybody
is susceptible to it, and it spreads
rapidly wherever it appears in local
tiles containing those who have not
previously had it.
One of the things that makes meas
les most difficult to control, is the
fact that a patient with measles may
convey 1t to others very early in the
course of the disease, before the erup-
ton appears at all, and before a dag
nosis can be properly made The pa
tient is highly infectious for three or
4 days before the rash has appeared
When a child is exposed to meas
! les from ten to fourteen days elapse
! before any symptoms of the disease
appear. Usually at the end of about
ten days the patient begins to mani
| fest symptoms of illness The
| development of the disease is usually
gradual and insidious, though more
rarely it will come on suddenly with
vomiting and high fever Normally
the first symptoms are those of an
and watery, the nose runs freely, and
! there is a dry, high-pitched cough
| The throat may be sore, the tonsils
swollen; headache, fever and less of
! appetite follow. The disease is &C
companied by fever, which disappears
at certain stages and then recurs
| The eruption shows first on the lin
ing of the mouth Then comes the
eruption of the skin. beginning usual
| ly around the face and neck, composed
of small slightly elevated spots, of
dusky red color. The eruption lasts
usually four or five days and disap-
pears as the other symptoms improve.
Get Physician.
| Every case of measles should be
attended by a competent physician.
Neglect of an apparently trifiing case
may mean lifelong injury to the eyes,
| ears, heart or other organs
The contagion of measles is hard to
control but with the active co-opera-
| ton of mothers and fathers its spread
can always be checked. This cannot
| be done by any public officials or any
| health department alone If parents
will use their efforts to prevent well
children from becoming infected by
! keeping them away from children who
have recently had the measles or
who have been exposed to it, and if
parents will promptly isolate any
older children who may contract it,,
the dangers of spreading the disease
will be materially lessened.
Health authorities should notify the
public of the existence of measles in
house by placing a card over the
| door, and children from houses infect
ed with measles should be excluded
from school while there is any danger
Of their being infected
During the prevalence OF the disease
in a community. every school child
should be examined for early symp
toms. Scientists and physicians still
have a great deal to learn about
1 A..
manner of spreading but while the
measures already devised are far
from perfect they will accomplish
much. If the public authorities are
given the cooperation of the parents.