Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1926-02-27
Keep Your Children
Away From Disease
State Department of Health
Gives Advice About
The Riddles

If you want the kiddies in your
home to stay well, keep them away
from other children who have coughs.
colds, measles, humps, whooping
cough, scarlet fever, diphtheria, or any
other Catching" disease, is the advice
Of DR.. J. H. M. Knox, Jr., chief Of the
Bureau of Child Hygiene, Of the Mary
land State Department of Health.
1--WE hear great DEAL" he said,
"about the importance of protecting
school children from communicable
diseases, and it is important, but few
people realize that it is just as vital
to protect the babies and the other
children who are too young to go to
school.
"A great many pople still have the
old notion that children are going to
have these diseases any way, SO they
may as well, get them and have it
over. The truth Of the matter is
that these diseases are much more
dangerous-as rule-for the very
young child than for the older boys
and girls, and more apt to end fatally.
Two out of every three of the deaths
from measles, scarlet fever, and diph-
liberia, occur among children under
five. In the case of whooping cough
our records show that nine out Of ev-
cry ten deaths from that disease &C.
cur among children under five.
Measles, in particular, is apt to
be spoken of lightly, when it really is
to be regarded as a wolf in sleeps
clothing. It is especially dangerous
for babies and children under three,
and ordinarily it is least dangerous
for the children btween five and if
teen years old. It is twenty-five times
as fatal for babies under year old
as it is for the four-year-olds,-and it
is nearly fifty times as fatal for the
babies under a year old as it is. for
the children between five and nine.
Even when it is not Immediately ia
tai, it is likely to leave trail Of bad
after-effects. It frequently opens the
way for eye and ear troubles and Of
ten is followed by pneumonia. Instead
of regarding the disease lightly, every
precaution should be taken especially
when other children in the family or
in the neighborhood have the disease
to safeguard the little ones and to
keep them from catching it.
against one serious infectious dis
ease diphtheria-we have definite
means of protection-toxin- antitoxin
and physicians and health officers all
agree that all young children, begin
ming with the year old babies, should
be given this protective treatment.
another catching disease, that is
particularly hard on the babies and
very little children and from which
they should be carefully safeguarded
is the so-called common cold. Like
the heasles, this is much more dam
gerous for the little children than for
the older ones. The little children
cannot get rid of the infectious ma
terial in the throat and nose as the
older one scan, and very often. these
persistent colds lead to broncho-pneu-
monia and to other diseases.
"There are two ways Of protecting
the children from all Of these catch
ing diseases.
First: Develop their resistance to
disease, by intelligent care, paying
special attention to food, fresh air
and plenty Of rest.
Second: Keep them away from all
other people-grown-ups as well as