The Topeka state journal., 1919-12-13

to appear every Saturday evening IN
The State Journal
A great many persons while familiar
with infectious and contagious as
eases. to a certain extent, are not
aware that the great danger lies IN
the complications that arise:
1t is not possible to lay down any
set rules to enable persons to diagnose
cases. Cases vary and not every case
has a. definite chain of symptoms
characteristic of the disease. The
average doctor spends -FOUR years IN
medical school before he receives MS
degree of doctor of medicine. and then
spends / to years in an internship
in a hospital. He then enters the
nra ctice of medicine but he has spent
all these preliminary years IN, 1lttlng
himself to take care of persons VINO
are sick. Therefore, when sickness
occurs the doctor should be called.
for taking care of persons VINO are
i'll. is his lifes business.
1T is the purpose of any article is
sued from the health department to
give the readers ideas on subjects tnat
are of vital interest to all persons
and in one way to enable parents TO
better protect the health of their chill
dren.
Should Know Symptoms.
There are certain signs and symp-
: toms in certain diseases that persons
should be familiar with and by recog-
nizing these, will call a doctor who
will recognize the disease and II II
is infections or contagious make an
early diagnosis, the family VIII De
placed under. quarantine and in this
way needless exposure OF other per
sons to the disease will be prevented.
AS to treatment. Sick persons can
not be successfully treated unless they
have the personal attention of the
doctor. In many cases long sickness
! may be prevented by having the doc
tor call before the person really be-
comes sick.
MANY persons feel that it is dis
grace TO have a quarantine sign tack
ed on the house showing that there is
a case of infectious or contagious DIS
ease. Every person who has sucn
disease in the home should feel that
they are public benefactorS in being
uuarantined, for it is just that much
of a help in protecting the health OF
the neighborhood in which they are
living.
There is a general feeling among
great number of people that child
should be allowed the chance of hay
ing whatever disease is epidemic for
if they are going to have 1t some
time, they might as well have 1t now
and get it over with Many persons
go thru life without having some OF
the common communicable diseases
and it is d criminal act to deliberately
expose a child to any of the diseases
common to childhood. In case there
are several children in the family
and one of them develops an in
fectious disease, every effort should
be made to keep the well children
away from the one that is sick.
Whooping Cough Prevalent.
At the present time whooping cough
IS the most prevalent disease in To-
peka. Since October / a total of SO
cases have been reported to the
health department Ten of these
cases have been reported since De-
cember /. A large number of the 63
cases We're reported by parents of the
children.
Whooping cough occurs chiefly in
children, is disease of the lining OF
the air passages and is characterized
by a violent paroxysmal cough. The
germ causing the disease has not been
as yet, definitely isolated, but because
ness and the whole course of the dis
case, it is positive proof that it is of
an infectious nature. In an epidemic
in Hamburg, investigators found a
germ closely resembling the germ of
Influenza. Whooping Cough occurs
rarely after the age of twenty and Ed
wards estimates that 66 per cent of
the cases occur in females. Occurs
most often in winter and cooler
months Is rare in warm climates. but
when present runs a mild course.
Complications Dangerous.
with complications whoo in g
E! cough ranks third in mortality of the
English vitaf statistics in children.
Hirsch states that in Prussia So, 900