Middletown transcript., 1917-06-16
DISEASES In CHILDREN

| by the usual family. SO often IN later
| life are we able to trace the disastrous
results of one or more of the serious
diseases of childhood; and the most la
| mentable part, is that, very often the
condition could have been avoided by
proper care in the early illness. l shall
| endeavor in my few remarks this after
| noon to point out to you some OF the
dangers from contagious diseases in
children. which | hope may prevent
somebod US child from becoming a
chronic sufferer or from filling an un-
| timely grave. :,
To my mind, preventive medicine is the
great and glorious field of the physician
| to-day. We can accomplish, it seems to
me, a hundred times as much for the
human race in a preventive as in cura-
| tive way, and this especially applies to
the contagious diseases of children. We
are coming nearer to proper solution
| of the field of medicine all the time, and
| an apt illustration of what mean, is
| occurring here this afternoon: Using
every possible means for disseminating
reliable information, for preventive of
disease, and conserving public health.
The public at this time believe to be
in a receptive mood, willing and anxious
to obtain information leading to the bet
termenu of public health and the saving
of human lives. The State and country
to-day, believe, could DO no wiser
thing than employ sufficient number
of the most learned physicians of the
United States to conduct thorough
| campaign of education in preventive
| medicine, reaching every town and ham
let of this great country of ours. Such
a campaign would result in the preven-
ton of much illness and suffering and
the saving of thousands of lives annu-
ally.
| TO conserve public health it is highly
important that the public should aid the
physician in making early diagnosis and
| in establishing proper quarantine In con-
tagious diseases. The public should be
| made familiar with the earlier symp-
| toms of the more severe contagious
troubles, such as diptheria, scarlet fever
and measles, so they can early call aid,
establish quarantine when necessary and
prevent epidemics.
First, we will consider the milder con-
tagious diseases.
Chicken pox is a disease requiring
very little treatment and usually lasts
about three weeks. The very young
child should be kept in bed till crusts
have formed For older children, to re-
| main indoors is sufficient. Because of
| the condition of the skin, exposure at
times results in nephritis or infamma-
ton of the kidneys, which is serious
complication. Erysipelas and Furuncu-
losis frequently result from this disease
| by infection of the sores with the finger
| nails in an effort to relieve the intense
itching. The child should be considered
| in quarantine and not allowed to come
| in contact with the unprotected, until
| the skin is clear.
German measles usually requires very
| little treatment.
Two or three days in bed and a few
| more days in the house, with light diet,
| recovery being complete in about one
| week from beginning of the attack.
Mump sufferers should remain in bed
till temperature is normal, and in the
house till all swelling has disappeared.
The duration of this disease is about ten
davs, and is not of serious Importance in
children.
| Measles is disease which few of the
human race escape. 1t is almost never
|
rectly one of the most fatal contagious
diseases of childhood, because of its
strong tendency to respiratory compli-
Because of this danger, 1t should have
| is very contagious and usually occurs in
| epidemics.
Whooping- cough should receive serl-
! H. kxy, 10 hal
the cause of more deaths to-day than
any other infectious disease. 1t does
not kill directly through the means of a
specific poison, but because OF its pro-
longed course and its many complica-
tions. chief of which are broncho-pneu
monia in winter and stomach and intes-
final diseases in summer. Also failure
to feed child properly j. e. not giving
an extra meal when one is lost by vom-
iting, frequently results in death from
starvation. 1t is highly contagious,
but direct exposure seems necessary for
ingly doubtful that twhooping-cough may
be conveyed through the medium of the
clothing of second person. 1t is prac-
tcally impossible to prevent epidemics
of whooping- cough, as it is infectious
/
lasts one to two weeks, during which
time diagnosis cannot be made.
Now we come to the two most i'm
portant and most serious troubles under
consideration. In diptheria and scarlet
fever it is advisable, but often impos
sible, to remove other children from the
/ house. Isolation of those ills is an alb
solute necessity for the protection Of
others.
Diptheria has lost much of it's former
terror, since the advent of the specifi,
remedy, antitoxin, but the mortality
from it is still too high, chiefly from
two causes; first, to parents who fail tt
may arise from sore throat, and VIII
neglect to call physician early in thu
Illness; second, to physicians who d.
, not believe in diptheria anti toxin, t.
those who timidly use it in small dose
late in the disease. In acute cases, th'
waiting for report from laboratory
l before administering anti-toxin, is re
sponsible for many deaths. If there i
one thing, in addition to its great use
fulness, that we have learned as to tn
administration of anti-toxin, it is tn
necessity of giving it early in the dis
; ease and giving it in full doses. A chill
< i'll with diptheria should be looked upoI
as child poisoned, antitoxin is the an
tidote and every case must recelv
enough of the antidote to neutralize tn
poison.
Scarlet fever the most dreaded b.
those we'll informed of all the contagiou
, diseases of childhood, deserves specia
attention.
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