MEASLES.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLV, Issue 139, 19 June 1911, Page 3

MEASLES.

j HINTS FOB* MOTHERS.

; An ideal of national health can only be attained by ..the. gradual control and1 elimination of . preventible disease. Measles lias for many years ; been considered erroneously a mild disorder ot childhood, inquiring apparently no effective preventive treat- ' menb. The attitude o^ health ami j educational authorities has been somewhat like that of the old-fashioned , mother who puts a healthy child to bed! with another who is "infectious"' •with the idea that it is "much better for them all to get it *>ver .at once"—' an attitude which mfkes -osoiipe from infection .A ppwjfcicai impossibility and ensures^ife© rapid development of epidjomiee. The chief d -.ngers from < xteeasles-infection are duo to the fact that the disease is most infectious dWing the first few dj-ys, when the symptoms are those of ordinary cold in the head. A, child s'.ffering from what seems a violent cold may infect a dozen or 20 others befora his "rash" I appears and lie1 is sent home from school with measles in the acute stage.

WHY DANGEROUS

There ia great need at the present time for better realisation of parents as to the eeriousne&s of measles as a childish complaint. ' The disease is dangerous because of the nature of the complications and tne .after effects of the illness. The mortality from measles is three times a* high as from scarlet feWr, which ia considered a much more serious disease by the general public. Even h? mild cases measles may be followed by pneumonia, whilst during convnalesence phthisical complaints frequently do* velop, generally as a result of lack of care.

At ia measles conference, held the other day in London, Mr John Burns summarised some ot tho main points of the discussion of the metropolitan medical officers. Th© chief ot these from the practical point ol view were the question of notification, and the exclusion of children under five years from school. Most medical raei and women realise from' their own experience the need for notification, if any organised' preventive scheme is to be successfully worked.

• AN :*JRGENT. NECESSITY.. , ,A§ of notification #nd com-

pulsbrx '^^uvfelbtioxfy:. ftljA.., moHialifey iroin•'.sdkrlet \fsyer Ijsis falfen'' apf^rbsimiaißly>fiK)in! 1000 to itfQ |(6i- ihillidii tically stationary iai;£ifcoutv 300; per, million. Tlie recent widespread Qpi* deniitjs m Jiondbn; iuicl elsewhiex'ei have boon cbai'Sictorised: .by t serious syniptoms,* frequent . complications,, andi a, higli; moi-taJity. o^aths from this dieesise last wedk; in Steflield rose: to 96, the highest fignrei recorded for .ten ■yeaii-s-; -■'.-■!■ •'■'■'■•■•

The control of infections is an urgent necessity. It i& tune that some steps were taken to check the spread of tho disease in our schools. The first measure should be to provide the public health authorities with power to deal with measles .is a notifiable infectious disease. Further hospital' accommodation is also called for, whilst if children under five years of age were (removed from school, at least during the course of an epidemic, the mortality would be affected for the better, because it is wellknown thiat the disease "s more serious arid complications are n.ore common amongst young children. PRJWEOTING THE SPREAD.

Better education of the public, and of mothers especially, regarding infection and" disinfoctioi' would make for greater care to prevent the spread of measles. In many households, even of the bettor classes, th<s child is not isolated at all. The idea is that measjes cannot be carried by a third person and' that anyone who has had the disease in childhood is imuiune to j another attack. I Those statements are open to controversy. In the first pluce, on ey attack does not confer immunity, and | an inmate of a measles household,' mixing freely with the community outside, may. be in tho early stages of measles and distribute it 'cr,obes freely in sneezing and coughing* from w-h'at is* considered a "cold."

Further, some medical men consider ,that measles can be \*carried," and cas.es'ere oited where infection has been conveyed b,y a letter., Thus notification, isolation, and aitor disinfection dre not only advisable; they are absolutely imperative if the health and safety of our1 child population aroto be injured. i

PRACTICAL POINTS FOR MOTHERS.

A great deal can be done by good management to lessen the danger andl avoid the development of complications and after result" from measles:

1. Guard- against chill by keeping ; child; in bed fox* a. week; and in the same room for a fortnight in an ordinary uncomplioatod case of measjles. 2. A woollen jacket, reaching from neck to hips, protects throat

and front and back of lungs. 3. The doctor in charge of the case should be sent for wt once if the child complains pf ear-ache, as ■ middle oar disease is a fairly common complication. 4. Give nourishing food1 and perhaps a course oi: cod liver oil in . convalescence. 5. - Any persistent congh after measles is a sign that tho child Should be under the care of a doctor. Dr. Elizabeth S. Chesser, in London Morning Leader.

Mr T. E. Taylor, M.P., introduced a deputation from the W.C.T.U. and other societies to the Hon. G. Fowlds in Christchurch on Thursday morning, asking for the compulsory training of girls in domestic work for two and ahalf hours a week. Mr Fowlds said that in the past he had done his best to place continuation classes for boys and girls on a sound basis, but there had been so much opposition to the proposal from employers that he had had to modify his proposals. Still he had don© something in that direction. He thought continuation, classes should be used. What the deputation proposed was too big an order.

* "LINSEED COMPOUND," the "Stockport Remedy" for Coughs and Colds. Of 4.0 years' proven efficacy. *

It is rare (says the Christchurch Press) that a person who has been in the Magistrate's Court more than once makes an appeal to the sentimental side of Mr H. W. Bishop, S.M. But one did the other morning. "I'm most- unhappy,3' he said. And he obtained sympathy, for Mr Bishop's memory is long. "Oh, I know that," he said. "Your wife is the most loquacious \v,qman that 1.. have ever known. She took possession of the Court,"