The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-03-16
SANITARY NOTES
TRAcHoMA.

TRAcHoMA.
There II q serious eye disease known
as trachoma- This II found very fre-
Quently In the state Of Florida as well
az other portions OF the United States
ia the world. West Florida, Escam-
- county and Pensacola are not ex-
90 lions.
Immigrants entering this country
, are excluded II they have one or more
Of certain diseases. Trachoma II one
Of this comparatively small list OF
diseases. At Ellis Island. 1T the port
Of New York during the year ending
June 30. 1903. 724.767 people from
among these 1858 cases Of trachoma
were discovered.
In the year 1916. which happenN
Ellis Island. the immigration service
This number was much reduced due
to the great war, but go cases Of
trachoma were discovered.
When we remember that the steam
ship companies make every effort to
weed them out before embariking be-
cause they are subject to money fne
as well as cost Of return II they try to
bring them In, then we can get some
idea Of how much Of the disease there
Is everywhere and how careful we
must be about It. Trachoma II men,
toned in the oldest medical books on
record written by an Egyptian 1853
years before Christ.
ease IL Chronic Inflammation Of the
81 Mt
long while. tends to get worse when
not treated, ana produces changes IN
the eyes which lead to partial or conn
plete blindness. Some people claim
that only grown people have It, but
this II q mistake. Even very young
children have It and among every
hundred school children examined in
this state from one to I'VE have posi-
tive or suspicious granular lids. This
was found to be the case In one IF
the Escambia county schools recently
not far from Pensacola.
child In the early stages may not
appear diseased ana may suffer no
discomfort. Usually within less than
a year. he complains that light hurts
his eyes; he does not like to study:
redness begins to show and there can
be seen dried secretions on the lids In
the morning. Soon there II more or
less pus in the eyes all the time. It
would have been well to have had
treatment before now. but better late
than never. because worse can yet
happen a. frequently does. Ulcers on
the eyeball, growths over the clear
cornea where light enters, insrowing
OF the lids and 1ashes, and many other
complications are some Of the conse-
quences OF neglect.
The exact cause IL not known. How
ever. II some Of the morbid material
from q trachomatous eye II trans
fered to another eye. a disease like
the one from which It came WIN de-
velop. It IL contact infection and can
not be carried through the air.
School physicians and nurses have
learned by experiences that once . case
is discovered there II apt to be others
in the same family. It does not fol-
low that the child who has bad con-
ditions at home 10 always the one
who has It. Conditions In school may
give Il to the cleanest children, II
others who study and play with them
are diseased.
When tho conditions Of living are
poor, oontagion II more likely. If pus
II present In the eyes OF the victims
their associates can be infected by
means Of common towels. careless use
Of bedding. handkerchiefs and Just
hands.
Frequent and thorough inspection IL
the only way to handle this disease.
This II one Of the many arguments
why medical inspection should be pro-
vided systematically BY the authorf-
ties. II children go to school to be
prepared for good citizens they GER
tainly should not have their physical
condition neglected
Treatment II essential once the
trouble II known. A trained ego spe-
cialist Il the only person to treat ira
choma. what he win do depends on
the stage discovered. Most parents