The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1934-11-23

in the same age
period.
Many moralists will undoubtedly wag
their heads and say that this is be-
cause the modern girl wears too few
clothes and stays up too late.
But then how explain that in her
grandmother's day, when girls wore
loads of clothes and the widest party
was over before twelve, the same pro-
portion of girls died of tuberculosis
then as now?
| In study which we have been max
| ing in the medical research department
of the University of Illinois, we have
learned that since 1870, when the first
vital statistics in this country were col
lected, the peak age for deaths from
tuberculosis among girls was in the
ten-fourteen-year group. That peak
has held for every decade. In 1870,
20S girls died to each 100 boys in the
acknowledgment group; in $780, $50
| girls; in 1890, $50 girls; in 1900, 257
girls; in 1910, 262 girls; in 1920, 255
girls.
The jump from POS girls in 1870 to
| 262 girls in 1910 is explained by the
fact that the general death rate for
| girls in the 1870, 1880 and 1890 dec
AIDES was much higher than it has been
so far In this century. This means
that in the earlier years not so many
| girls reached the acknowledgements age
as now, with our lowered death rate
They had more typhoid, diphtheria.
and other infectious diseases in those
days to take their toll.
| Moreover we learned that this con-
dition held true in twenty-five other
| countries besides our own where sta
| tistics were available In every coun-
try the peak age for the death of girls
from tuberculosis was in the ten-four-
teen-year group, and in every country
more than twice as many girls died as
boys in the same age group.
That set us thinking Modern flap
per foolishness certainly couldn't be
held responsible for a condition that
has held for decades all over the world
The cause is physiological. This ten
fourteen-year period is the time when
girl passes through the stage from
| girlhood to womanhood. 1t is in this
! time that she starts her regular stimu-
lation periods, when the metabolism of
| the body is increased. In tubercu-
losis the cure is largely rest, but with
this monthly increased metabolism rate
the body can't rest Nothing that med
ical science can do can lower this high
stimulation of the body at this time
1t is basic law of nature that there
must be these rhythmic periods of slim
ulated bodily functions. Boys, on the
other hand do not have regular peri
DDS of increased metabolism.
What, then, can be done about de-
creasing this high death rate among
girls? The common sense thing is:
don't let the girls get tuberculosis.
You may say that is easier said than
done. But young girls can be KEEP
away from active cases of tuberculosis
This Is easier to do now than it was
in the past because active cases of
tuberculosis are now usually brought
to sanitoriums where they can be Civ
en- the proper care. But if girl should
contract tuberculosis, then take care of
it In the early stages. tuberculosis
can be cured easily if it is taken at
the beginning. 1t is when it has been
allowed to make progress that it's cure
is difficult
Parents of young girls should be on
! the watch always to note signs of list
less or. fnicky appetite, lack of desire
to play or do active exercise, irritable
ity. The cause may be some other
reason entirely, but suspect tubercu-
losis and take her to the doctor for an
examination.
| One of the great landmarks of medi-
cal science was the discovery of the
tuberculin test by Won Pirquet in 1907.
BY means Of the tuberculin test 1t is
possible to find out whether person
| has ever been infected by the germ of
| tuberculosis. The test is made by
placing q small amount of a substance
called tuberculin between the layers of
the skin. If the person has ever been
appear within two days. positive
| tuberculin test does not mean that the
| individual has active tuberculosis. 1t
means only that the germ of the dis
ease has located somewhere in the
| body. In most cases the cells of the
body have built wall around the
germs so they cannot get out, unless
the body loses Its healthy state.
II your daughter should react to this
tuberculin test, then the physician will
| give her further tests to determine
| whether or not the disease is walled
up" or in an active state. He can do
this by X-ray pictures and an exami-
| nation of the chest.
There is not much occasion for alarm
when the disease is treated at the be-
ginning. AS we said before. tubercu-
losis can be cured easily when recog-
nized In it's early stages. 1t should
never be allowed to go further.
@ Western Newspaper Union.