Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1949-08-12

clothing along for each member
of the family. A few good warm
blankets should be standard out
ing equipment,
Another m ust is personal
is personal cleanliness. Extra
care should be taken to see that
hands are thoroughly washed
after using the toilet and before
eating. Food should be kept COW
cred free from flies and other in
sects. In the same token, gar
bage that is not tightly covered
should be burned or buried.
Cleanliness also means not using
somebody else's personal times
such as handkerchiefs, or eat
ing utensils.
These caut i ons guard
against general disease spread.
BY being careful in these ways
it is felt that perhaps people can
reduce the spread of polio, in
spite of the fact we actually do
not know how it is spread.
Frankly, the precautions should
be practiced all the time, not
just during an epidemic. They're
good, common-sense health rules.
The same type of precautions
apply in case of illness. Call
your doctor at once if there are
symptoms of headache, nausea,
upset stomach, muscle soreness
or stiffness, or an unexplained
fever. The biggest weapons
against polio which your doctor
has are early diagnosis and
prompt treatment. These are
more important than any other
factors in helping to prevent
crippling. If your doctor orders
hospital care, see that this ad-
vice is followed promptly.
The symptoms l listed could
be caused by many, many diff
ferent conditions. Often a child
complains of stiffness of the
back or neck, and this is a more
important sign that his illness
may be the beginning of an at
tack of polio. In the arly stages
there are often pains in the legs
arms, and other muscles. Mus
cles may be tender to the touch
and show signs of rigidity. The
very vagueness of the early
complaints like slight fever and
headache is the reason why
many cases of polio are COM
pletely overlooked. The attack is
so mild that the person recovers
completely. To play safe, call
your doctor when you spot any
of these signs of illness in your
child.
Polio is generally believed to
be primarily a disease of the
spinal cord and the central nerv-
Gus system. Apparently, the par
alyzing stage of the disease con-
tinues for only a relatively short
period of time. Usually the virus
has done all the damage it is 60
ing to do within a few days. For
that reason, the bed rest is err
tremely important at the onset.
This can't be over-emphasized.
The paralysis can be made worse
if the victim fights the disease
and keeps trying to be active.
In the past, polio claimed
most of its victims among chill
dren under five years of age.
But now the pattern is changing.
The disease is affecting more
children over five, more teen
ayers and more young adults.
Among adults, it's becoming a
little more common among
housewives than it was ten to
twenty years ago. This change
in age groups affected is so
marked that the disease really
should be called poliomyeietis,
rathe than its common name, in
fantile paralysis. This increased
occurrence among adults is hap
pening in nearly all parts of the
world. This change in age dis
tribhtion has been noted parti-
cularly in America and the Scan
countries who enjoy
high standards of living and
good sanitation. 1t is belived that
through improved environment
more children escape exposure
in early life only to be exposed
and contract the disease as
adults. The same has been noted
for other childhood diseases like
mumps, chickenpox, ct
cetera.
When one compares the deaths
for a 1O-year period you find
that polio belongs in the cate
cory of measles, scarlet fever,
whooping cough and only slight
ly exceeds any one of these dis
eases in its total deaths and Grip
pling of children. When. review.
ed over a period of thirty years
it is clearly shown that polio ex-
ceeds these diseases in import
ance today only because control
have made a marked
in the severity and
consequently the mortality of
the common communicable dis
eases of childhood.
In conclusion, let's remember
two points:
/. Polio is feared because 1t
is mystery.
2. 1t is of relative slight i'm