HOME HEALTH GUIDE

Timaru Herald, Volume CL, Issue 22043, 16 August 1941, Page 3

HOME HEALTH GUIDE

Treatment Of Common Complaints measles (Prepared and issued by the Health Department) He has a bad cold, watery eyes, a little dry cough, and a sore throat, and shows a little fever —he is unmistakably in for a bout of something. Ten-to-one it’s measles.’ A blotchy red rash appears on the face and behind the ears—it is measles. Rush him to bed and keep him there during the fever and acute rash stage. Isolate him. See that he’s kept warm and has plenty of fresh air. Confine the diet to milk and milk products, together with a little fruit juice, orange or sweetened lemon, to relieve thirst. One peculiarity of measles is that it affects the eyes. In the old days, many people drew the blinds in the patient’s room. This is not necessary, but it is advisable to protect the eyes from direct light. After all, it is bad enough being sick )in any circumstances, but to be kept in the dark all the time isn’t particularly cheerful. Of course; the most satisfactory way of combating measles is to dodge them, especially about this time of the year. Keep your children away from other children with colds, and if your child has a cold keep him away from other children. It is during the period of the cold—usually about four days—that measles is most infectious. Its high degree of infectivity at this stage is one of its most dangerous features, and the reason why it is difficult to control an epidemic. Measles is rarely the direct cause of death, though it can be fatal in very young children. Improper treatment can give rise to complications. In the last war many soldiers died from pneumonia following an attack of measles. It might also revive inactive tuberculosis, and some painful eye and ear infections can be traced to measles. There are, indeed, some definitely unpleasant aspects of it. Serum injections have been used to tide weak babies over an infectious period, but the effect of this is only temporary. Injection and convalescent serum during the incubation period either prevents an attack or modifies its severity according to the time given. One thing more, a child suffering from measles must be kept away from school for fourteen days from the time the rash appears.