Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1920-06-04
GUARDING CHILDREN
AGAINST INFECTION
Cautious Measures Necessary TO
Protect Them From Com
municable Disease.

Following is the sixteenth of a series OF
articles for the mothers column, con-
trihuted by the medical consultant OF the
state. Reconstruction Commission, and
submitted hy the commission through the
clearing house of the Delaware State
program:
COMMUNICABLE DISEASES.
Due To the prevalence Of communicable
diseases in Delaware at the present tune, ~
might hc we'll to devote the next two or
three articles Ia information regarding
them, IN order that parents may hc able 10
nudge as to whether their own children or
their children $ plavmates are developing
such disease or having had 1t, are tree
from all signs denotlng righteousness. 10y
observing such signs. parents may he able
~ prevent their own children from acqnr-
ing the disease.
SCARLET FEVER.
SCARLET fever is a much dreaded and
very serious disease 1t causes about one
twentieth ot all the deaths that occur IN
the United States yearly. It's incubation
ilcriod is very short only from two To tour
days Its attack Is sudden II begins With
headache. sore throat, rapid rise OF tenn
perature, vomiting and taIntuess. The
tongue becomes the color Of ripe straw
lcrrv. the throat is very red. Small rcd
spots appear on the roof of the mouth,
4 he glands Of the neck often become en-
arged The characteristic rash appears IN
from II to 36 hours from the time 81 the
onset Of the symptoms. 1t appears first on
the chest and neck.
scarlet fever Is infectious from the time
III the appearance OF tho rash. II Is one 81
th, most infectious ii all diseases, being
carried IN many instances by third
ucrSon-Onc who has not had the disease.
IlothCs, bed linen. books amt So forth.
often carry it. In some cases 1t has been
carried for year or moro IN these articles
The discharges from the body and the
peeled skin are infectious.
4 physician IS essential III tho treatment
OF this disease. The patient should Ne put
70 he'd Immediately and placed on = milk
diet. Broths and highly alhumInous foods,
such as eggs, are to be avoided. he
patient should be kept in bed for at least
three to four weeks and all symptoms care
fully noted. for complications IN scarlet
fever are many and varied. Cold baths at
10 70 20 degrees Fahrenheit are frequent
IL useful as a means Of lowering the tenn
nerature. The patient should not To kept
N such a bath for more than Eve minutes.
and must be dried immediately upon re-
7noval from it. OF course the patient must
not he removed from his room for thus
purpose. If q large tub Is not available, \
sponge hath may be given.
Isolation must he complete. Other
Oh lldren should be removed from the
house during the illness. Ii this IS not
possible, do not under any q cumstances,
allow anyone in the sick room, except the
person who Is nursing the patient, and the
physician. All excess furniture such as
pictures, mirrors, carpets and 50 forth.
should he removed from the room IN
order to facilitate disinfection at the end of
the period Of isolation. All bed linen,
night clothes and 50 forth must he sterIllz-
ca for 30 minutes in some solution, before
beng sent to the laundry. \ two per cent
carholic acid solution, five teaspoonsful Of
carbolic acid to one quart Of water Is
vcrv good for this All discharges from
The body Of the patient must be sterillzed
N a similar solution before being empticd
AZ the end Of the illness, everything in the
Dom must be washed with an antiscptic
solution and exposed TO the sunlight before
he room Is used by other people.
MEASLES.
The incubation period for measles is
rom nine to ten days. BY incubation