Milford chronicle., 1920-06-25
SPUTUNI

The greatest remaining menace to
the public health is the ancient and
evil habit of carelessly throwing
phlegm and sputum about. This hab-
it persists today with all its horrors,
spreading disease and death in its
wake. The jamming Of people together
in the street ears is almost as bad.
our military training proved that men
could be crowded in the open air as
well as in Enclosures
Where is the sound scientific ha is
for the placing Of the so-called ''tlu
/ Tan" on different communities by
health officers when the streets are
the most prolific Centers of dangers
aud the atmosphere of street cars
crowded until the passengers canIoS
get both feet on the floor, reeks with
germs.
Physicians as class can hardly be
expected 10 be so familiar with the
hacteri0 fora of the human month as
are dentists. For 5his reason they
may not appreciate as keenly the dang
er from this source. Ii is certainly
not TOO much to say that they all know
that the mouth, nose and throat are
about the only places in the body
where man habitually carries bacteria.
When we consider that the eXcra-
tiOns from the mouth, hose and throat
contain q greater variety Of .mi"TO-
Organisms tfan those from any ether
part Of the body it is apparent that
our health authorities are suffering
from a state Of mental near-sighted-
ness when they permit splitting in the
streets and permit the stagnant cen
terS of contamination caused by filthy
cuspidors i'm public buildings, railway
trains, stations, etc.
When one pictures the degree of air
infection from a million or more tuber-
culoSis people in the United States, a
large percentage of whom are ignorant
of having the disease, the countless
number who are suffering from pyorr
hea. with pus constantly present in
the mouth; the number of alvelar alb
saw nothing Of the catarrhal affections
scesses and buried crypts of tonsils, to
of the nose and throat from which so
many nennle constantly suffer: and
when one reflects upon the infectious
character of many of these germs and
the careless manner in which these eX- /
crctions are ordinarily disposed of, he
lilllNl Ulul u at AAN AAtAbhAAAAN anu NAAA
cient protective system of the human
organism. These conditions prevail /
and it is wonder that /
epidemics are not more frequent.
When we consider the bacteriolOgy 4
of the saliva, with the germs of pneu- /
monia. influenza, consumption the /
pus producing germs and frequently .
the diphtheria bacilli with the count
less other organism constantly present
in the sputum, and recall the diseases
Of known cause where infection can
take place thru the air, such as diph-
iberia, influenza, pneumonia, and tu
berculosis, it is little wonder that dis
eases of middle life are increasing, es-
pecially when we know thst these dis
eases are microbic.
If every alvelar abscess discharged
on the outside of the face instead of in
the mouth, if every case of pyorrhea
where pus is present caused a series
Of running sores ON the face, if dis
eased tonsils and catarrhal affections
IF the nose and throat were manifest
ID externally as they are internally
and the discharge from these diseased
tissues were disposed of as they are
now. it would not be long before an
indignant public would demand action
If their health boards. One must see
his menace precisely from this stand
point to realize its importance.
A study of the history Of medicine
shows that great plaques were not
until the value of cOmmun-
ty cleanliness was recognized. They
-anished when proper sanitary pre-
.autiOns were taken.
Simple laws of sanitation have play
d the paramount role in the general
cheme Of prophylaxis.
Oral NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. mouth
do more for the in
lividual and for the community at
arge than any rule of sanitation that
,as been, established since the world
'egan.