The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-07-27
THE ECONOMICS OF THE
PREVENTION OF BLINDNESS
(Bv JOHN E. RAY, Superintendent of the State
School for the Blind)

Efficiency" in matters of ~educauon'
proficiency" in the n
industrial world, and "prcvention' in
the sanitary and medical world. / am
to deal meagerly with this last. !
quake at the task.
You know how much more easy II
Is to prevent than to cure. After
blindness has been established the
cure. in most instances is Impossible.
Hence the seriousness Of the propo-
sition before us and the immense I'M
portance OF preventing.
And let me say that there are
cases Of blindness which should never
have occurred. and would not, II
proper preventive measures had been
employed at the right time. Ihe
most prolific causes of blindness are
heredity, atrophy, trachoma Gin some
sections of our country accident and
o~phthalmia neonatorum,-baby sore
eyes. or the last two | shall speak
more particularly.
And let me inject just here one
brief remark l have read only re-
Gently from the pen Of a very dis
tinguished specialist, n with no lit
tie relief, that it has been discovered
that the is not alone res
ponsible for this dreadful disease. On
the other hand another germany
be more-will produce the direful re-
suits. / confess to considerable relief,
but to no less apprehension. Nay
more; does not the situation all for
greater care?
There are approximately n hum
dred thousand blind persons in the
United States. or this number the
blindness of fully $3.50 is due to
ophthalmia neonatorum! How ap-
palling. In North Carolina there are
more than one thousand, six hundred
blind persons of all ages. The records
of the State School for the Blind for
the past two years brow an enrolment
OF 3SS students. Of these 81 are con-
genital, so causes unknown, 70 from
ophthalmia neonatorum and 33 from
accident. This means that more than
2O% are blind from ophthalmia
moratorium. and nearly 1870 from &C
Cident-approximately 5000 of all
from preventable uses Think OF
thirty thousand needlessly blind per.
sons in our nation, and more than four
hundred and fifty of them in our Owr
State. And when we remember tina
a little care on the part of the parent:
in keeping from their children sharI
pointed instruments n explosive:
woul have prevented most of the &C
cidents. and just a little cleanliness:
before and after the birth of the ba
bies. the administration Of a few drops
of a one per cent solution of silve,
nitrate in both eyes of the newly borI
child, requiring not more tran tel
minutes, and costing less than tel
cents, would have preserved the sigh
of practically all the others, is is no
pathetic, not to say criminal? VIII,
Is to blame?
Physicians know that the prophy
latte is to be had in we'll arrange
parcels. Theoretically sealed an
guaranteed for several months. If
Is not used within the prescribed time
it may be returned and replaced b
a fresh supply.
Would it be unreasonable TO ask tn
next General Assembly to provide a
county and city health officers an
mid-wives with the prophylactic FIRE
OF charge? And will not the mem
bers of the State Medical Society d
all in their w to require all pei
sons practising obstetrics in our t
to administer this p~rophylactic, {
something else equally effective? Sue
laws have been enacted recently
the states Of Indiana, Kansas, Ne
Hampshire, New York, Rhode Islam
South Dakota, Tennessee, Californi
Connecticut, Illinois. Kentucky, al
possibly others. In most Of the
states the birth of every child mu
be reported to the State Board
l1ealtu WItnlD tnlTty SIX hours, ana
some of them the physicians, or mi,
wives. are required to answer II
questions: /. did you administer Il
prophylactic? 2. If not, why not
n Law in New York is We
stringent, requiring all mid-wives
be licensed: and refusing to licen
any n who has not attended
maternity cases and nursed Is lyin
in patients. under the supervision
q physician" and wen then they a
allowed to be in attendance up
normal cases only, and nursing
mother and child"
The results have been most sat
factory. At the Sloan Maternity II,
pital Of New York City where pl
ventive methods are employed. e
Of 1000 births. during a period of
years. not one cas- Of nfant ophth
mis- has developed" In Michigan
cases were averted last year, and
aNrr r o.,4 o-h -.