Health bulletin

              Cfte Librarp
of t^t
tlXnMmty of Bonb Carolina
CndotoeD bp %^t SDialectic
ano
Philanthropic &ocietir0
6)4. 06
NB6h
1915-16
Med. I.t.
jOStPHRUZiGM
BOOV< BINDERS
eALTlMOfit.WPl
This book must not
be taken from the
Library building.
;LUNC-15MN.36
1 OP-13370
Bdletin will be -serxt free to qinij citizerx of ihe State upor\ request!
Entered as second-class matter at Postoffice at Raleigh, N. C, under Act of July 16, 1894.
Published monthly at the office of the Secretary of the Board, Raleigh, N. C.
Vol. XXX APRIL, 1915 No.l
WHAT THE LEGISLATURE DID
The last General Assembly favored public health. They
made no drastic or spectacular move against preventable
disease but what they did was a substantial step forward.
Here is a brief summary of the public health legislation
passed:
1. The Vital Statistics law was practically perfected.
2. A training school for nurses was authorized at the
State Sanatorium.
3. Provision was made whereby towns and counties
may pay the necessary SI.00 per day for their indigent
tubercular sick at the State Sanatorium.
4. Provision was made whereby counties employing a
county physician might terminate his services at any time
in order to employ a whole time county health officer.
5. Provision was also made for slightly increasing the
capacity of the Sanatorium, for an antitoxin farm, and for
partially supplementing the deficiency that will be made
by the withdrawal of the support that has been rendered
by the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Editorials 3
Notice to Physicians ... 4
Sanitation of the County
Home 4
Which Season Shali. It Be? 6
Roosevelt on Health ... . 7
Typhoid Stopped in European
War 7
Be a Hog 7
Women and Health Work . 8
Organize Neighborhood Mother
Clubs 10
Crime Stalks Abroad ... 12
Spring Weather and the Baby 14
To Avoid Eyestrain from Con-tagious
Diseases .... 15
A Lesson for Children . . .15
In Love With the Sanatorium 16
The Visiting Nurse .... 17
C.\n't Afford the Risk ... 18
A Pony's Biography .... 19
Fresh Air and How to Use It 19
Education is the Foe of Tuber-culosis
20
Open the Windows .... 20
Acrostic—LoNGimTY ... 20
Periodic Health Examinations 21
The Cost of Neglect Paid in
Human Life 22
Spring Fever and "Americani-tis"
22
A Look Into Your Back Yard 23
Why Have Typhoid Fever? . 24
MEMBERS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA STATE BOARD OF HEALTH
J. Howell Way, M.D., Pres., Waynesville
Rit'HARD H. Lewis, M.D., . . Raleigh
J. L. Ludlow, C.E., . . Winston-Salem
W. O. Spencer, M.D., . . Winston-Salem
Thomas E. Anderson, M.D., . Statesville
Chas. O'H. Laughinghouse, M.D.,
Greenville
Edward J. Wood, M.D., . . Wilmington
J. A. Kent, M.D. Lenoir
Cyrus Thompson, M.D., . . Jacksonville
Official Staff
W. S. Rankin, M.D., Secretary of the State Board of Health and State Health Officer.
C. A. Shore, M.D., Director of the State Laboratory of Hygiene.
L. B. McBrayer, M.D., Superintendent of the State Sanatorium.
J. R. Gordon, M.D., Deputy State Registrar.
Warren H. Booker, C.E., Chief of the Bureau of Engineering and Education.
Miss Mary Robinson, Chief of the Bureau of Accounting.
FREE PUBLIC HEALTH LITERATURE
The State Board of Health has a limited quantity of health literature, on the subjects
listed below, which will be sent out, free of charge, to any citizen of the State as long as
the supply lasts. If you care for any of this literature, or want some sent to a friend, just
write to the State Board of Health, at Raleigh. A post card will bring it by return mail.
No.
B MBmm
I PUBU5ALD 5Y TME, HQI^TA CAgQUhA 5TATL BOAIgD °^MEALTM~| [R
Vol. XXX APRIL, 1915. No. 1
EDITORIAL BREVITIES
All outdoors Is ours for the taking
—
the health of sunshine and fresh air
and that good feeling that comes extra.
Usually what is food for flies is poi-son
for man. Where they feed you
should not feed. Where they swarm
they find something to eat. If it is in
the meat shop, the cafes or restaurants,
the grocery stores or your own kitchen,
you should not eat there.
If for some reason you did not have
your spring cleaning in March, get it
done the first days of April. Don't
stop with cleaning the house. Clean
the yards, back and front, and see that
there's no winter trash left, or places
where flies or mosquitoes may breed
during summer.
Now is the time to fight the fly.
Don't wait till next month or the next
when he arrives with a host ten thous-and
strong, to try then to put him to
death. Strike now while he is one.
>
Clean up. Destroy his breeding place.
Leave him nothing to live on. The
fight now against individuals is easy
! compared to the ten thousand new re-cruits
next month.
More and more it is being found
through investigation that backward
school children, delinquents and tru-ants
and even juvenile criminals have
some physical defect as the cause of
their being where they are. Many of
the defects have been found to be bad
eye sight, bad teeth, adenoids, enlarged
tonsils or glands and those diseases
that are easily remedied if discovered
and treated in time.
If you have that "tired, good for
nothing" feeling, don't think that all
you need is to invest a dollar in some
tonic or blood purifier. That is your
first inclination, no doubt, but take the
second thought. Change your living
habits—perhaps you are eating too
much, meat especially, or not getting
enough exercise, or not drinking
enough water, or not getting eight
hours regular sleep—and in less time
than you could have taken the medi-cine
you will be feeling better and will
have saved your dollar and self respect.
Eat vegetables. Now is the time you
should do away with meats and heavy
winter diets and eat vegetables. Not
mainly because you have them, and
lest they should waste, should you eat
them, but because you need them, your
body demands them. Bulky, laxative
foods as spinach, mustard, green peas,
string beans, spring turnips, lettuce,
radishes, etc., are necessary in the
early spring diet. If you do not have
them in your own garden and they are
not to be found in the market, live on
canned vegetables a while longer. If
at this season you eat mainly vegeta-bles
and fruit, drink plenti^ of water
and take daily exercise in the sunshine
and open air, you will not be likely to
have an attack of spring fever.
THE HEALTH BULLETIN
NOTICE TO PHYSICIANS
Influence of A^e and Temperature on
Antitoxin and Vaccine
G
ms
HE best temperature for the stor-age
of all these biological prod-ucts
is between 32° and 41°
Fahrenheit (0° to 15° C). The aver-age
ice box, which with ice constantly
present maintains a temperature be-tween
32° and 60° F., is conceded to be
satisfactory for all practical purposes.
Diphtheria Antitoxin and Tetanus
Antitoxin will lose about 10% of their
potency in twelve months in ice box;
they will lose about 10% in six months
in room without ice in winter; and
they will lose about 10% in three
months in room without ice in sum-mer.
To offset this deterioration "it
is the custom of licensed manufactur-ers
of diphtheria and tetanus anti-toxin
to place in their packages of an-titoxin
from 20 to 30 per cent excess."
If fresh antitoxin is not at hand, there
need be no hesitation in using old
stock provided allowance is made for
loss of potency, according to method of
storing.
Change of color and slight sediment
in diphtheria antitoxin does not neces-sarily
indicate contamination. The
risk would be greater if injected intra-venously
than if injected subcutan-eously.
Smallpox Vaccine is good for two
months if kept in ice box, but will lose
potency in less than a week at room
temperature in summer.
In regard to Typhoid Vaccine, no sat-isfactory
data is procurable, inasmuch
as there is no potency standard for
measuring its efficiency. The commer-cial
typhoid vaccines are recommended
as good for use for twelve months.
The State Laboratory of Hygiene fol-lows
the U. S. Army in discarding all
typhoid vaccine which is more than
four months old. It is believed that
no appreciable deterioration occurs
during the one or two days necessary
for transportation, but it is recom-mended
that it be stored in ice box.
Dr. C. a. Shore,
Director State Laboratory of Hygiene.
SANITATION OF THE COUNTRY
HOME
Wliat the Farmer Can Do to Make His
Home Sanitary
^^^pHT is a new story especially to most
'^ country people that the city is
healthier than the country. It ^
has not been long, however, since the
reverse of this story was true, when
country people were healthier than
city people—when country people held
it in mind that cities were in health
as well as in morals Sodoms and
Gomorrahs, centers of degeneration,
due to wither and decay. But the
tables have turned somewhat. Statis-tics
show that the rural death-rate Is
higher than the urban, except in the
small towns where there are no sani-tary
measures enforced and no pro-
CLOSED WELLS ARt SArEI?
tected water supplies. This difference
j
is particularly noticeable in the death-j
rate from typhoid fever and diarrheal ,
or baby diseases. '
THE HEALTH BULLETIN
So it is very largely a question of
sanitation. Water, filth and flies
—
sources of typhoid and most baby dis-eases—
make the country death-rate
higher than the city death-rate.
The sanitation of the country home
is more or less an individual concern,
and perhaps for this reason the coun-try
has not made the advance in better-ing
health conditions that the city has.
While it is to the country's disadvan-tage
in having no sewage disposal
plant and no law compelling cleanli-ness,
the farm house is not altogether
defenseless. It can to a great extent
make sanitary and safe its environ-ments.
As to the home water supply, the
country home owner can see that his
well or pump has no drainings from
stables, barns, privies and other out-houses,
and that no surface waters en-ter
the well. A bucket and chain should
not be used as handling these causes
aOSlD Pl^IVIK PPEVEr/rrTYPflOID
the water to become dirty and unfit
for drinking purposes. To adopt safest
measures, he should use a pump for
drinking water or a well in which a
pump has been placed and the top of
which has been cemented over.
He must know that open privies are
the main sources of typhoid and that
flies are the main carriers; therefore
to guard against this disease the privy
must be made as flyproof as possible.
A cheap practical privy for the country
home is what is called the pit privy.
It sits over a pit 4 or 5 feet deep and
Is weatherboarded down at the back
so as to make it flyproof. If the
ground is soft and has a tendency to
cave in, a frame may be placed inside
the pit, at least around the top. In
the course of a few years if the pit
should fill up, it would be necessary to
dig a new pit near by, fill up the old
one, and set the privy over the new
one. The privy should sit close down
on the ground all around to exclude
flies, and the seat holes should have
self-closing covers. It should be loca-ted
at least 200 feet from the well or
pump or spring, and on lower ground
where the drainage from the pit will be
away from the well or spring. Care
should be taken to prevent surface
water from draining into the pit.
The house should be w^ell screened
against flies, especially where the food
is prepared, cooked and served. It is
possible to have a flyproof kitchen and
a safe home by screening all the doors
and windows and the back porch. It
is quite necessary to screen the back
porch as food is often prepared here
and flies are attracted to it by the
odors of the food and from the kitchen.
The porch also serves as a harbor for
flies in rainy weather. Screening the
back porch and the doors and windows
practically solves the fly problem of
any home.
Cleanliness in, as well as about, the
country home is perhaps the greatest
health factor. The yard and home
environments should of course be well
drained, the stables, barns and out-houses
placed at a safe distance, the
yards kept clean and free from trash
—
all this, of course—but unless there
is cleanliness in the home it becomes
like the inside of the cup, a whited
6 TPIE HEALTH BULLETIN
sepulc4ier which appears beautiful
without, but within, all uncleanness.
There must be first of all cleanli-ness
of food, especially in its prepara-tion.
Food on which flies have crawled
is dangerous. Milk demands the most
particular care and cleanliness, other-wise
it becomes dangerous. All un-cooked
food, especially, should have
careful attention and be kept from
flies.
5C2ttn THE rUES OUT
The next greatest concern is personal
cleanliness and cleanliness of the home
in general. To keep the body clean by
frequent bathing is one of the best
safeguards against every disease, es-pecially
in warm weather. The sleep-ing
room should be scrupulously clean.
The bed clothing and night clothes
should be sunned frequently and aired
daily. The sleeping room should be
well ventilated day and night and
.should not be over crowded, either
with persons or things.
With these foregoing practical pre-cautions
and the good common sense
that usually abounds in the country,
there is no reason why any farm house
should not become safe and sanitary.
Now that spring has come when the
young flies buzz in the sunshine, ready
to start on their deathly journeys, no
home should be found unprepared to
meet the situation. Prevention should
seize upon the mind of every farmer
and not let go till his family and
home are protected and safe.
As a further preventive of typhoid
we urge anti-typhoid vaccination. So
efficient has this means proven in pre-venting
typhoid fever and in reducing
the death-rate from this disease that
it is accepted as offering almost ab-solute
immunity. The treatment
causes only a slight indisposition—
perhaps a headache, rarely any fever
—
and offers immunity three or four
years, perhaps longer. Ask your coun-ty
health officer or your physician to
write the State Board of Health, Ral-eigh,
for sufficient treatment for your
family.
UHICH SEASON SHALL IT BE 2
North of the Mason and Dixon Line
winter is considered the sickly season
of the year. South of the Mason and
Dixon Line summer and autumn have
been considered the sickly season on
account of the prevalence of typhoid
and malaria, but so rapidly is the
knowledge of sanitation and the use
of vaccination against typhoid driving
out these two diseases that the South
also will be forced to accept winter as
its season of sickness.
Meanwhile the North sees where it
can change winter, as its most sickly
season, as the winter diseases are due
to germs and are the most prominent
factor producing the sickness rate.
Pneumonia is found to be at the head
with the common colds as a disabling
factor closely following. The other
leading diseases, also due to germs,
may be mentioned as scarlet fever,
measles, rheumatism, bronchitis and
other like preventable diseases. The
solution of the northern situation, they
claim, lies more or less in the question
of ventilation. Germs and bacteria do
not propagate in zero weather, there-fore
it stands to reason that the north-
THE HEALTH BULLETIN
ern disease germ is of tlie liot house
variety, but no weakling. Germs can
and do flourish at hot house tempera-tures.
The point is: Northern people
spend too much of their time in hot
houses and not enough in the open air.
It is at this point through education
the North hopes to make the change.
If the South be wise she will also
fight winter disease germs with fresh
air—breathing it and living in it. The
advantages are on the South's side and
there's no reason her sickness rate
from winter diseases should not also
be greatly reduced. In the meantime
she should not let up on typhoid and
malaria, but should rid herself of these
blights also.
ROOSEVELT OX HEALTH
In an address on "The Conservation
of Natural Resources," Ex-President
Roosevelt said, "Let us remember that
the conservation of our natural re-sources,
though the greatest problem
of today, is yet a part of another and
greater problem to which this nation
is not yet awake, but to which it will
awaken in time and with which It
must hereafter grapple if it is to live —'The Problem of National Efficiency'
—in which the most important factors
are the mental, physical and moral
fibre of its people."
TYPHOID STOPPED IX EUKOPEAX
WAR
Typhoid vaccine is again demonstrat-ing
its eflSciency. Of the French active
army, practically all had been vacci-nated
against typhoid before the war
broke out. A great many of the ter-
,ritorials and others subsequently draft-ed
into the army had not been vacci-nated.
During the latter part of Oc-tober
a great many cases of typhoid
developed among these men. Vacci-nating
doctors were according sent to
the firing line and a whole army corps
of 40,000 of these men were immunized
against typhoid. By the end of De-cember
the good results from this
treatment became apparent. Typhoid
had practically disappeared, and the
only cases remaining were among the
men of two regiments which the doc-tors
were unable to reach.
BE A HOG
A delegation from a certain state
went to Washington to secure financial
aid to help control the ravages of tu-berculosis
in their state. They were
promptly informed that there were no
funds available as no provision had
been made for this purpose.
Soon after this an epidemic of hog
cholera broke out in the same state.
Upon receipt of the information by the
Government authorities, a special car
was equipped and dispatched forthwith
regardless of expense. Why? Because
hogs have a monetary value.
Senator Root, in speaking of this,
said, "If you want to get anything from
Washington, be a hog."
The misfits in life offer sufficient evi-dence
that a fair proportion of babies
are born deficient and that children are
not developed to the full extent of their
possibilities. Certainly an educational
system which takes little or no ac-count
of the physical and mental com-position
of the material it is called
upon to mould, is deficient.
It is the unanimous opinion of all
authorities and students of the disease
of tuberculosis that sanatoria offer
the only practical and safe way of fight-ing
the ravages of the White Plague.
By means of these institutions the pa-tient
himself can be cared for and
treated in the best possible manner,
the patient's family are protected by
having the source of danger removed,
the patient can be cured in a much
shorter time in a sanatorium than by
home treatment, and be returned to his
family to care and provide for it as
before.
r
,
I
.
I
, i~T
PUBLIC HEALTH
RND SANITATION
WOMEN AND HEALTH WORK
How Woineu's Clubs M.ay Organize and
Obtuin Sanitary Conditions for Their
ToAvn or Community.
^^OMAN is the natural born liouse-
^A' keeper and when it comes to
cleaning house, whether it be ^
private or municipal, she is in her
sphere. Yet, where men and women
work together, most is accomplished,
whether it be in the home, in the
church or in the state. It is especially
true in health work. Woman instinc-tively
feels the call to better condi-tions,
not only for her own family but
for all the families. The more inter-ested
she becomes in making her own
home clean and safe, the more inter-ested
she becomes in her larger home,
her neighborhood and town.
Some one has said that women in
this country have gone mad on the
subject of betterment work. It's not
that at all. They have simply awak-ened
to common needs and to natural
rights that have for centuries been
kept asleep. They are likewise re-sponding
to the light that has been
given them. Furthermore they are
quickened to their responsibility as
mothers and citizens and are seeking
to meet this responsibility.
We predict that woman's part in
public health work has just begun in
North Carolina. We further believe
that through woman's activities,
through her betterment clubs and va-rious
other organizations, that health
work is to receive its greatest impetus
in the next few years. The State
Board of Health is frequently called on
by these clubs to furnish them plans
and suggestions and give directions to
some definite line of work that they
may work surely to some end. Conse-quently
we are glad to suggest here
what we believe will be practical ways
and means of accomplishing much good
and improving the' health conditions
in any town or community. Under the
headings, "What to Do," "How to Do
It," and "Special Topics for Study,"
we offer plans that have worked effec-tually
through clubs for health, and
that proved free from working friction
and antagonism. Here we would ad-vise
that unity and cooperation, es-pecially
among officials and other or-ganizations,
are the greatest factors
making for success in health work and
progress. Antagonism is destructive
of all good results.
What to Do
First. Know the general needs of
your town or community. Make sani-tary
surveys. Know that the source
of your water supply is free from con-tamination,
that your milk supply is
pure, that your sewer system is not de-fective,
that there is proper drainage,
that garbage piles and stables are not
sources of flies, that the market and
grocery stores are sanitary, that food
is not exposed to flies and dirt and that
the streets and alleys are clean.
Second. Know the town ordinances,
the laws that are enforced and those
not enforced. Know the official duties
of town and county officers. Have
some acquaintance with the town bud-get—
its source and outgo. Too often
it has been the case that where ten
dollars have been spent on cure and
relief, only one dollar was spent on pre-vention.
Health expenditures should
be the other way—ten dollars for pre-|
vention where one for cure.
I
THE HEALTH BULLETIN 9
Third. Cooperate with town or coun-ty
health oflBcers. Enlist the support
of the mayor and town commissioners,
also the Chamber of Commerce. See
that efforts along the same line on the
part of officers or other organizations
are not duplicated. Organize for team
work.
How to Do It
First. Give publicity to facts and
conditions. Make known the findings
of the survey or tour of investigation
by use of newspaper. Offer definite,
well thought out plans of remedy to
every unfavorable finding.
Second. Institute campaigns for
cleanliness—against filth, flies, unclean
food, food shops, and markets; against
nuisances, and all conditions detrimen-tal
to health. Apportion the several
districts or wards to several commit-tees.
Enlist householders, business
and professional men, newspapers,
schools and school children. Enlist
the colored people also.
Third. Institute campfiigns for
health education. Distribute free liter-ature
that may be obtained from the
State Board of Health, Raleigh. Ar-range
for public lectures and private
talks. Make use of newspapers, arti-cles,
moving pictures, posters, hand-bills,
etc., to increase health informa-tion.
Use the slides and lectures pre-pared
and sent free by the State Board
of Health. Offer prizes to school chil-dren
for best essay on health subjects.
Enlist the ministers and churches.
Fourth. Observe clean-up weeks,
public health days—Tuberculosis Sun-day,
for instance—and all better health
movements. Belonging to this class
may be mentioned anti-typhoid vaccine
treatment, better baby contests, and
better health exhibits in connection
with county or community fairs; also
the sale of Red Cross Seals, etc.
The foregoing is in line with organ-izing
and getting down to work. It
presupposes departmental work, com-mittee
work, and every division and
subdivision necessary to enlist the
interest of all and put all to work.
But it does not presuppose that every
suggestion can be carried out at one
time or in the order of the suggestions.
It is merely a working basis, and one
that with abundant faith and strong
conviction will attain success, if "gone
hard after."
Special Topics for Study
For club study and discussion, for
a broader and more intelligent working
basis, and for the accomplishment of
efficient work and definite results on
the part of the club, we offer here a
series of studies that may be amended
or changed to suit the needs and
occasion.
I. The Child and the School.
1. His rightful inheritance: Sani-tary
surroundings in which to
live and grow—home, school,
community.
2. The necessity of forming heal',h-ful
habits—clean teeth, clean
hands, breathing through nose,
daily exercise, sleeping regular-ly
in fresh air, etc.
3. The school: Proper heat and ven-tilation;
Common drinking cups
and towels; sanitary closets,
etc.
4. Report of committee on sanitary
condition of school.
5. Dental and medical inspection of
school children. Its value.
II. Contagious Diseases—Measles,
Whooping Cough, Scarlet Fever,
Diphtheria.
1. Crime of exposing children to
such diseases. The idea a relic
of barbarism.
2. Serious results: Weak eyes, deaf-ness,
lameness, weak lungs, etc.
3. How prevented—Cleanliness a
great factor.
10 THE HEALTH BULLETIN
III. Tuberculosis—the Great White
Plague.
1. Cause and spread—Carelessness
spreads consumption.
2. Prevention—Control of sputum.
3. How the "cure" may be had
—
sunshine, fresh air, rest and
good food. Sanatorium best
place.
4. Report of committee on local
tuberculosis work and needs.
5. Fresh air schools.
IV Typhoid and Malaria.
1. Sources of typhoid—either eaten
or drunk.
2. How to prevent typhoid.
a. No filth, no typhoid.
b. Vaccinate, no typhoid.
3. The Mosquito and Malaria.
4. How to Prevent Malaria.
a. Destroy mosquito.
b. Quinine as a preventive and
cure.
5. Report of committee on local
sources of typhoid and malaria.
V. Food Saxitatiox.
1. Screened and unscreened food.
2. Woman's part in the pure food
campaign. Know labels and de-mand
quality.
3. Report of committe on sanitary
conditions of local markets, gro-cery
stores, restaurants and food
shops.
VI. Patent Medicines.
1. Harm of patent medicines.
a. Cause delay of proper treat-ment.
b. Cut chances of recovery.
c. Reduce financial aid.
2. Fraudulent and deceptive.
a. Exorbitant prices.
b. Exorbitant claims.
3. Narcotic and alcoholic.
VII. Alcohol and Tobacco.
1. Alcohol versus health.
2. Alcohol and degeneracy.
a. Idiots.
b. Delinquents.
c. Criminals.
3. Tobacco versus health.
4. Boys and cigarettes.
ORGANIZE NEIGHBORHOOD
MOTHER CLUBS
Health Work SpeciaUy Adapted to
Women's Clubs
f^\ us there is no more appealing
^^ and essentially important work
oiUO tjiat women or women's clubs
might enter into than forming and
supervising Neighborhood Mother
Clubs. These clubs are specifically
for mothers—all the mothers in the
neighborhood—and have for their pur-pose
the instruction of motliers on all
subjects pertaining to her and her
child. In other words the aim of the
Mother Club is to have better mothers
and therefore better babies.
The idea originated with the Better
Babies Bureau of the Woman's Home
Companion and has proven, during its
short existence, its helpfulness to
thousands of mothers and their chil-dren.
This bureau offers free a series
of programs for a year, or a year's
work, and a limited amount of litera-ture
especially valuable to all club
members.
The subjects of the programs out-lined
for the year fall under these
three interesting heads: Prenatal
Care; Care and Feeding of Infants;
From Babyhood to School Age. These
may be varied to suit the needs. For
the fuller preparation of these pro-grams,
a list of reference books, with
the names of the authors and publish-ers,
also the price, is given. These
may be borroVed or purchased as the
club sees fit. It further suggests a
most helpful plan of organizing which
we give below.
Those who may become interested
THE HEALTH BULLETIN 11
in this great work of bettering hu-manity
will find full cooperation and
every necessary aid and suggestion by
writing the Better Babies Bureau of
the Woman's Home Companion, 381
Fourth Avenue, New York City.
Suggestions for Organizing a Neigh-
J)orlioo(l Xotlier Chil)
The success of a mother-club de-pends
largely upon the manner in
which it is organized. It must be
democratic.
Its membership should be limited to
mothers. In a city it should be con-fined
to a certain neighborhood. In a
small town or village the membership
may be drawn from the entire com-munity.
In order to secure active co-opera-tion
from the entire membership, the
organizer or leader in the work should
have three qualifications—executive
ability, personal popularity and a mind
open to suggestions.
Hold your opening meeting in a
place where mothers will feel free to
come. A school house always appeals
to the community spirit. If a private
house is chosen, be sure that its mis-tress
is not too fashionable and that
she has the gift of making women feel
at home. Many mothers, who would
like to join your organization, have
neither the wealth nor the time for
social functions, but they can give an
occasional hour or two to study the
needs of their children. Make your
club what the name implies—A Neigh-borhood
Mother-Club—an organization
for the interchange of ideas. Keep it
free from the spirit of patronage.
Announce your opening meeting ^'n
your local papers thus:
"Mothers who are interested in the
physical and mental betterment of
their children, are invited to meet at
on at
o'clock, for the purpose of forming a
Neighborhood Mother Club. The ob-ject
of the organization will be the
study of practical child hygiene, the
physical and mental development of
children, and household sanitation.
This is an important movement for the
betterment of our homes and our home-life,
our children, and our community.
All mothers will be made welcome."
Let your organization plans be sim-ple.
At the first meeting elect a tem-porary
chairman and secretary. Pre-sent
a general outline of your program,
asking for suggestions. You may then
elect permanent officers as follows:
president, vice-president, secretary
and treasurer. Your president will
appoint a committee on program.
The president will preside over all
meetings at which she is present. The
vice-president will preside in her ab-sence.
The treasurer will handle all
funds. The secretary will carry on all
correspondence. The chairman on pro-gram
will plan a program for each
meeting, assign topics to members,
secure the services of special speakers
and arrange for music, if it is desired.
If there are dues, make them light.
If the meetings are held in a school
house or private house, your expenses
will be small. Dues of ten cent;: r.
month will be ample to pay for postage
on correspondence handled by the
secretary, and for the occasional pur-chase
of needed books.
Fortnightly meetings are generally
sufficient for busy mothers. Limit
your business discussions to ten min-utes,
which is time for the reading of
the minutes, reports of the secretary
and treasurer. Limit all papers, talks,
etc., to twenty minutes, to be followed
by a ten minute discussion.
Emphasize the spirit of helpfulness
and cooperation. Many a mother club
has died because a well-meaning presi-dent
has supplied an imposing array
of special speakers, but failed to inter-est
her members in discussions or to
draw on their supply of mother-lore.
When you invite physicians, regis-tered
nurses or educators to speak, tell
them frankly that all speeches are
limited to twenty minutes.
If you will send ten cents in stamps,
12 THE HEALTH BULLETIN
for postage and packing, the Better
Babies Bureau will supply you with
seven Better Babies Health Posters to
be hung on the walls of your meeting
room.
Clubs wishing to distribute in their
community the Better Babies pam-phlets
—"Hints to Mothers Who Want
Better Babies," "What Every Mother
Wants to Know About Her Baby" and
"Little Helps for Expectant Mothers,"
can secure these by paying the express
or mailing charges. Express charges
are collect. No charge is made for
the pamphlets. Write to the Director
of the Better Babies Bureau, stating
specifically which of these pamphlets
you desire and how many of each you
wish to distribute.
At the end of 'a year's work, your
mothers will realize the great value of
cooperative study, interchange of ideas
and practical work for family and pub-lic
hygiene. Your organization will
become a power for good in your com-munity
and will be able to carry for-ward
many civic improvements.
CRI3IE STALKS ABROAD.
Ho>v Innocent Sick are Duped into
Early Graves for Paltry Dollars.
CD
going on all over this State of ours
right now. About how many of these
blood frauds do you suppose there
would be if the religious and secular
press of the State would stop advertis-ing
patent medicines? Read what the
American Medical Association has to
URDERERS stalking abroad in
our land could be no worse than
these insidious betrayers of in-nocent
blood. The accompanying let-ter
from a despairing husband is typi-cal
of hundreds of tragedies patent
medicines are responsible for in North
Carolina every year:
"Gentlemen: My wife has been
down for the past two years with tu-berculosis
and I have tried all most
everything. She is now using a very
expensive medicine Eckman's Altera-tive
at $2.00 for every 17 table spoon-ful.
She has used 12 bottles. I can't
see any improvement. Please tell me
just what you know or think of it in a
case like this. Thanking you for any
advice rendered."
Here in a nutshell is a typical story
of hundreds of other similar crimes
Climate Failed-
Me<lkige Cared
fpriest's Advice Led toj;
Their Recovery
llShe Had Consumption
Was Dyin?: Now Well
Bone TresbDeal lor
Tibercolwb
Kir^*«nrColds May l«a"4
'
to CoasmnjHoi'
I iMiBQCnaat? j'
^
IMTBMS Sua SpoSr ''
TbcUcvcs This Will "Cure':
Lung Troubles"
,.,\\
Sample Advertisement of
Eckman's Alter.ative.
and
for
say about Eckman's Alterative,
ask yourself who is responsible
such tragedies.
"Eckman's Alterative resembles Tu
berculozyne in three, particulars:
it is sold as a 'consumptive cure';
it is exploited by a horse doctor;
it is u cruel fraud. It further resem-bles
Tuberculozyne in that it is ad-
CD
(2)
(3)
THE HEALTH BULLETIN 13
vertised by the testimonial method,
but then practically all 'patent medi-cines'
are sold in the same way. The
product is sold by the Eckman Manu-facturing
Co., Philadelphia, and is said
to be the 'discovery' of T. T. Eckman,
a veterinarian, who first tried it on
cows and later experimented on a
member of his own family.
"Instead of being sold on the mail-order
plan, as Tuberculozyne is, Eck-man's
Alterative is sold through the
medium of the druggists. It is heavily
advertised in the daily press, the ad-vertisements
consisting, generally, cf
testimonials, to which are attached
laudatory paragraphs about the prep-aration,
with the names of the local
druggists inserted. An extensive ad-vertising
campaign is being carried on
and it is reported that the Eckman
concern spent $150,000 during 1912 in
advertisements. Here are some of the
claims made for this nostrum:
" 'A medicine for the cure of tuber-culosis.
It has cured this disease
again and again.'
" 'Cures have been effected . . .
where no intelligent care was taken of
the patient, where money was scarce;
good food and good cooking unusual.'
" 'Consumptive patients need no
longer dread either the fate that for-merly
overtook all sufferers from lung
trouble, or costly and often terribly
inconvenient journeys far from home
to other climates or to some expensive
sanatorium. Hundreds are now stay-ing
quietly at home curing themselves
at no expense beyond the cost of a few
bottles of medicine.'
" 'The sanatorium treatment has
only benefited temporarily, while Eck-man's
Alterative has cured.'
"
These quotations are sufficient to
show that the firm uses the methods
classical to "patent-medicine" fakirs:
that of attempting to discredit the ra-tional
scientific treatment of disease
and to substitute therefor a worse than
worthless nostrum.
Eckman's Alterative was analyzed in
the laboratory of the American Medi-cal
Association and the chemists' re-port
follows:
Laboratory Report.
Eckman's Alterative comes in an ?
ounce bottle and is a dark brownish,
turbid liquid with a strong odor of
cloves. The label declares the pres-ence
of 14 per cent of alcohol. Quali-tative
tests demonstrated the presence
of alcohol, calcium, a chlorid, small
amounts of vegetable extractive and
traces of vegetable tissue. No other
substance of a medicinal nature was
detected.
Quantitative examination gave the
following results:
Total solids (residue at 100
c), including 3.93 gm. of
calcium chlorid (CaC12) 6.25 gm.
Alcohol 11.22 gm.
Insoluble residue 0.073 gm.
Water and undetermined,
to make 100.00 cc.
This analysis agrees in general with
that made by the New Hampshire au-thorities
who reported the presence of
3.59 per cent of calcium chlorid and
small quantities of powdered cloves.
Here then we have a mixture of alco-hol,
calcium chlorid and cloves, which
every intelligent physician knows is
perfectly worthless for the cure of con-sumption,
sold at an exorbitant price
—$2 for eight ounces—under the
cruelly false claim that it will save the
tuberculous. As has been pointed out
time and again, the inherent vicious-ness
of fraudulent consumption cures
lies in the fact that they lead the suf-ferer
to abandon or ignore those hy-gienic
and dietetic measures which are
his only hope. It is not easy, it is not
always comfortable, it is frequently
disagreeable to follow the treatment
which experience has shown to give
the only hope of success. It is much
easier to continue living the life which,
in so many cases, has been responsi-ble
for the consumptive's condition;
merely taking at stated intervals a
medicine which its manufacturers de-clare
to be all that is necessary to
bring about recovery.
—
Jo-urnal A.
M. A.
fllLDflYGIBNE
SPKINGl WEATHER A>D THE BABY
How tlie Baby Should Be Cared for in
Spring and Summer
In April and May the baby death
rate begins to climb. It reaches its
height in June and July. Why? There
are a number of reasons why this is
true. The change of weather most
likely has something to do with it;
baby's food and clothing is another
factor; while to flies can be traced the
greatest cause.
Baby in hot weather needs especial
care and attention. Heat is weaken-ing.
It strikes at every point where
sr:r£3^5t^^^
air bring baby to the brink of the
grave, but dirt pushes it in. Next to
the hand that feeds it, baby blesses
the hand that bathes it and keeps it
clean.
The accompanying cut shows the
high death-rate of babies in North
Carolina during fly season. Flies are
carriers of dirt and disease. Flies are
the especial disseminators of the
diarrhoeal diseases, better known as
summer complaint. And yet this dis-ease
that is most dreaded by mothers,
especially dreaded by those mothers
who do not nurse their babies, can to
a great extent be prevented. Flies
must not crawl over baby's face or
=FEor-i
fur 5EA5on
I I
Month * Jan fi:b Mor Apr May June My AuJ ^cpt Od Nov Pre
Th= height CJ{ tKe PIckW Columns .nJ.cates ttie relative numWr 4 PeoHis f,r
cocVi month
Mote the llSH DEATH CATE DURlMOr FlTr 5EA50M
baby has been neglected or has not had
the proper care. If baby's food is not
the best—mother's milk—heat is likely
to spoil it; if the air it breathes is
stuffy and foul, heat makes it sicken-ing;
if there's uncleanliness about
baby, about its clothes, its bed, the
floor on which it crawls or its play-things,
hot weather makes them dan-gerous.
Dirt is baby's poison. Some-one
has said that bad food and bad
come in contact with any of its food.
Its bottle, nipple and milk must be
kept entirely away from flies. The
nipple and bottle should be cleaned in
hot water before each using. What
is very important, baby should be kept
comfortably cool and given pure fresh
air to breathe. It should be kept
scrupulously clean. It should have a
daily bath and a daily change of
clothes for comfort and its best health.
THE HEALTH BULLETIN 15
TO AVOID EYESTRAIN FROM CON-TAGIOUS
DISEASES
If your child is out of school recov-ering
from an attack of some disease
like measles, mumps, whooping cough,
scarlet fever, diptheria and the like,
don't rush him back to school as soon
as the doctor announces him free from
contagion. To do this is to run a
great risk of eye-strain which may
prove his injury for life.
In any of the above named contagious
diseases the eyes are greatly weak-ened,
especially for near objects as
writing, and the sudden strain from
near to distant objects often prove too
much for the eyes of one recuperating
from any of these diseases, and eye-strain
is the result. This result is
usually accompanied with a flow of
tears or with a smarting or burning
sensation, but fortunately it is fre-quently
outgrown.
It is well to give the child time to
fully recover his bodily strength and
then allow extra time for the eyes.
The eyes, however, are not separate
and apart from the body and independ-ent
of the body's condition. They are
a most sensitive part of the body and
are kept strong or weak as the body is
kept strong or weak. Hence the need
of protecting the eyes during illness.
Reading should not be permitted to
any child suffering from any of the
common contagious diseases.
A LESSO\ FOR CHILDREN
Vie Are All Children—But of Different
Aares
The mouth is the gateway to the
body, for health or disease. It was
designed for speaking, eating and
drinking, but never for breathing, ex-cept
in emergency. Acquire the habit
of keeping the lips closed, shutting out
dust and dirt, which irritate and often
carry the germs of disease. Most dis-eases
are taken in through the mouth.
Medical inspection of schools has dis-closed
a serious prevalence of defec-tive
teeth among children. Teeth are
intended for biting and chewing. They
should be used vigorously, thereby in-creasing
the circulation of blood to
them. This will nourish and strength-en
them, and the gums and jaw will
develop accordingly. Any organ of
the body not used becomes weak, and
more subject to disease.
This is especially true of the teeth.
To provide for this we choose a given
amount of firm, dry food daily and
chew it till it is very fine. It will
taste better, and digest more readily,
thus giving the whole body greater
strength and power to resist disease.
Stale, hard bread is fine for this pur-pose,
and nutritious.
It must be remembered that dental
caries, or decay of the teeth, has its
origin in lack of nutrition, and when
the teeth begin to ache or decay con-sult
a dentist or physician at once,
for prompt treatment will be necessary
to stop the damage.
Immediately after eating, remove all
particles of food from around the
teeth, using floss or brush, or both.
Do this with a will and to the purpose
of actually cleaning the mouth, and
make this a regular habit of the daily
life.
—
Exchayige.
The child that is below normal in
physical health cannot make satisfac-tory
progress in its studies at school.
Sometimes, in fact, as a rule, the ail-ments
are not of the dangerous kind,
unless long neglected; but all the
same they serve to place the pupil in
the defective class, and this seriously
interferes with both its educational
and physical growth and advancement. —Chicago Health Department Bulle-tin.
The best disinfectants—sunshine,
soap and hot water.
tuBERODlOSlS
IX LOVE WITH THE SAJfATORIUM
There is usually a sentiment—a most
natural one—that all hospitals, sana-toria
and institutions for the sick are
gloomy, cold-hearted places. Likely
there is a feeling of this kind among
certain people in our State regarding
the Sanatorium for treatment of con-sumptives.
They may have a notion
that there is a lack of warmth and
sympathy in the treatment, and that
the nursing given the patients at an
institution of this kind has none of
the personal tenderness.
The reason for this feeling, in spite
of the "cures" that are sent out, is that
the Sanatorium's v^^ay of treating and
nursing tuberculosis is different from
the usual home way. The home way of
nursing, carried out as it should be, is
not unlike the Sanatorium's way, but
not one home in a hundred will do it
or can do it. Besides the scientific
method of nursing employed at the
Sanatorium and the constant medical
attention, there are numerous other
advantages not to be had in the aver-age
home. There is to be had pure
milk and a proper dietary;. there's the
regular periods for rest, recreation and
quiet; there's no reinfection; there's
no home worries or anxieties, and
there's a jolly, congenial crowd doing
just the same thing you are doing and
consequently you are not lonely.
Taking the cure at the Sanatorium
is not such a cold-hearted proposition
after all. That the patients find the
treatment kind and efficient and that
life is not robbed of all its tenderness
has been attested to over and over by
the patients themselves. As a general
thing they fall in love with the place
and are loath to leave it. They feel
like it is good for them to be there
and there they wish to remain, except,
perhaps, for their loved ones at home.
One ex-patient who has recently re-turned
to her home after taking the
cure, writes back as follows:
"I have been intending to write you
every day since I came home, trying
to express my gratitude for the blessed
help and health I received while at the
Sanatorium.
"I am so truly thankful to you and
the staff for the sweet health and
strength that I am now enjoying that
I shall ever praise you all and pray
also for you that God v/ill still give
you strength to help others as you
have helped me. When I think of the
first days there at the Sanatorium, I
feel like now I have been resurrected.
I am still improving and taking the
'cure' faithfully."
Another writes:
"I had a very pleasant trip home
and am very pleasantly situated as
far as one can be in a city, but spend-ing
the past year in the country and
that country in the North Carolina
Sanatorium that 'nestles 'mid the long-leaf
pines,' has quite spoiled me, es-pecially
as I am not able to enter into
the joys and pleasures of the city life.
"Am I lonesome? Don't mention it,
for when Mr. G is off on duty and
D at school, I am, indeed. 'Tis
then that I take passage on memory's
ship, anchor outside the closed door,
peep in and see you all and live over
the 'happy-sad' days of my stay among
you. For, as I often said, the past
year was one of the sweetest and
happiest, if 'twas saddest, years of
my life. I was brought nearer God
and my fellowman and through Na-ture
learned to know Nature's God
more.
"In my walk yesterday I passed S
—
Sanatorium, and on the upper porch
were standing several nurses. I felt
THE HEALTH BULLETIjS"
like waving them a happy smile in
love and memory of the dear, sweet
nurses over in Sanatorium. I talk
Sanatorium, sing Sanatorium, and
praise Sanatorium until I am afraid
people will think I am Sanatorium
mad, but 'out of the abundance of the
heart the mouth speaketh,' and my
heart will ever be full to overflowing
with love and best wishes for the
Sanatorium.
"My husband has accused me of be-ing
homesick for you all, and I plead
guilty, for taking the cure with a jolly
and congenial crowd is far different
from taking it alone."
THE VISITING NUESE
Her Place in Public Health Work
j^l HE nurse has long been appre-
2^^ elated in the sick room and the
'"'^ hospital where her services are
still indispensable, but not until re-cently
has her peculiar fitness placed
her in the field of disease prevention
and social uplift. On our awakening
to the fact that keeping people well is
as important or more so than getting
people well, the nurse finds open to her
an enlarged field of service. She hears
multifarious calls. These calls come
from multifarious needs. There are
visiting nurses of all kinds, in general
work, in specialties, such as tubercu-losis,
nurses in schools, factories, play-grounds,
and nurse work connected
with babies and young children. Any
line of these oiTers unbounded oppor-tunities
to a clever, ingenious nurse
for a wide and appreciative work.
In North Carolina the visiting nurse
is new, but she is making her way
rapidly and assuredly into the ranks
of public health workers. Many pro-gressive
towns and mill communities
have already employed her services
and have been more than repaid in the
better health, better homes and better
living conditions she has brought to
them.
General Work
The work of a visiting nurse is
much that of a teacher and a mis-sionary.
Perhaps her greatest mission
is her educational and uplift work.
She goes into the homes of the poor and
the ignorant and gives assistance and
instruction in an hour of need that
wins her appreciation and far-reaching
results. She reaches people and places
otherwise left destitute, forgotten and
neglected. She sees conditions as they
are and helps to make them as they
should be. Besides the care the nurse
must give to the individual patient,
she must nurse the room, perhaps
the family's only room—see that it is
in good order as to cleanliness, ven-tilation
and cheerfulness and all else
necessary to the patient's recovery.
Furthermore, she must teach the fam-ily
or some member, to keep it so. She
must also instruct as to the attentions
heeded by the sick one.
With the recovery of the patient,
the nurse's duty by no means ends. It
is here perhaps her best work begins.
She has won the confidence of the
patient and family and is now in posi-tion
to strike at the cause of the ill-ness.
It may be unsanitary condi-tions,
intemperance, lack of sufficient
food for lack of work, etc., any of
which she may be able to help rectify,
either through the family itself or
through the various agencies of help.
Tuberculosis Work
There is no end to the usefulness of
the visiting nurse in tuberculosis work.
She induces the patient who is yet in
the curable stage to enter the sana-torium
for treatment, if he is able or
if she can procure the means for him,
but in the case of advanced and in-curable
stages, she gives the nursing
and instruction that will be to his
comfort and render him harmless to
those about him. Where one suspects
he has tuberculosis, she hastens him
to the physician for examination and
then advises him accordingly. She
goes into the consumptive home and
educates the family in the healthful
and sanitary ways of living. She gives
18 THE HEALTH BULLETIN
out the elementary yet sufficient facts
about tuberculosis—that it is prevent-able,
that it is curable, that fresh air,
sunshine, rest and good food are its
enemies and that in controlling the
sputum you control the spread and con-tagion
of the disease. Many a patient
has succumbed to tuberculosis because
he did not know how to take care of
himself or because he did not know
the advantages and availability of
sanatorium treatment. Many a patient
has spread the disease to others be-cause
he did not know its infectious
character, and many a person has
fallen victim to this disease because
he did not know that it was dangerous
to eat from the same dish, drink from
the same glass or dry his face on the
same towel as that used by a tubercu-lar
patient.
Scliool and Baby Nursing
There are unlimited opportunities
open to the school nurse. The keeping
of our little citizens physically fit is
not a small task and is not without
big rewards. Her services along this
line have corrected defective vision
and hearing, removed the adenoids of
mouth breathers, treated skin diseases
and followed up the treatment of chil-dren
in the home that were examined
and prescribed for by the medical
school examiner.
But perhaps nowhere is the visiting
nurse more valuable to the community
and more appreciated by those whom
she serves as in her preventive work of
infant mortality. She not only nurses
sick babies but cares for well babies.
She keeps them well by teaching the
mother the proper care and feeding of
her child and how she may avoid the
preventable diseases that claim so
many. Nor is that all. The fact that
forty per cent of first year infant
mortality occurs during the first
month of life brings out the fact that
one of the most important duties of
public health nursing is prenatal work.
This work is teaching the mother to
prepare in every way and at the proper
time for her child's coming.
The visiting nurse is a valuable
asset in any town or community in a
number of ways. As an assistant to
the public health officer she becomes
his strong right hand. Where her
services have become recognized she
is summoned almost as quickly as the
physician, and he, too, recognizes that
he cannot do his best without her
assistance and cooperation. She is for
any town or community an important
health factor, a force for education
and a power for good to weak and suf-fering
humanity.
CAN'T AFFORD THE RISK
The I nited States Department of Agri-culture
Believes in Prevention
C5
HE United States Department of
Agriculture is considering the
^*™^ advisability (to the extent of giv-ing
it a special hearing) of prohibiting
the importation of all corn from Java,
India and parts of Oceana. Why?
Not because the market is already
glutted with home products, as you
might first suppose, but because the
corn plant in these countries suffers
from a disease which causes the leaves
to "turn brown and dry up." This is
serious you will admit, as it prevents
the "full and perfect maturing of the
ear," and for this reason, of course,
the disease should be kept out of our
country. Fortunately, it has not ap-peared
here, but the risk is that it
may and this is quite sufficient grounds
for the quarantine.
Any disease so blighting as to ren-der
that which it attacks incapable o:
attaining perfect development should
be legislated against, and fortunate, in-deed,
is the United States Department
of Agriculture in being able to take
such legislative proceedings.
When civilization further advances,
when legislative wisdom likewise in-
\ THE HEALTH BULLETIN' 19
creases, when material values give first
place to human efficiency and its value
that is incalculable in dollars and
cents, then, perhaps, will those blight-ing
diseases which cause men, women
and children not only to "'turn brown
and dry up," but which cut them off
and leave them no chance for "full and
perfect maturing," then will they re-ceive
some legislative attention. Then
and not till then will we stop paying
annually the value of our whole corn
crop in the deaths alone from just one
preventable disease—tuberculosis. In
other words, when the foes of human
life which cause people to "turn brown
and dry up" receive the speedy and
unquestionable legislative attention
and action that animal and plant life
receive in our country, then win nu-man
life have an equal chance with
animal and plant life for "full and
perfect maturing."
A PONY'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY
By a Small Boy
One morning after having a bad
night's rest, I tried to get up, but
couldn't. It seemed that I couldn't
move my legs, so there I lay till the
little girl came from school; then she
came to my stall and saw me. She
then ran to the house and brought her
father out to see me, but he could not
do anything for me, so he left, but to
return soon with a big Horse Doctor
who said I had tuberculosis of tne
knee and could not walk for a few
weeks, but I would be able to walk if
he could get a special tuberculosis doc-tor
from the State Capital. The next
day in walked another doctor with
the first doctor. He came over to me
and worked with me for awhile and
went away, but he helped me a great
deal. For the next week or two he
came to see me every day, and one day
when he came he sent for two men to
come in, and when they came they
helped me up and you don't know how
good I felt.
My mistress came down to see me in
the afternoon after I had been helped
up in the morning, and she told me
how bad tuberculosis was and how
proud I ought to be that I did not die
with it. She then told me that I was
even better off than people, because I
could have a special State doctor and
that it didn't cost her father anything,
and that people had to pay great sums
of money to even get a house to live in,
if they didn't own one, and that they
could not even get a doctor anywhere
to treat them free, and that the State
would not provide for the treatment
of tuberculosis at any cost, much less
free.
After she left I thought that it was
better to be a dumb brute than to be
a civilized- human being, because the
State would protect me in any kind of
disease, or any other kind of trouble.
FRESH AIR AND HOW TO USE IT
By Theodore Werle, in The Crusader.
People spend too much time, money
and energy In keeping fresh air out.
That effort expended in bringing fresh
air in would make the bicycle the most
expensive runabout most physicians
could afford.
Some people cannot be convinced
that night air is good for them to
breathe. They persist in breathing air
of their own choosing, and choose the
wrong kind.
One man said upon being advised to
sleep with his windows open that he
would prefer not to, since he knew dis-ease
to settle on the earth while the
sun was down. If he must, however,
he would put a sliced onion on the win-dow
sill to keep out sickness. He was
told to use the onion, if he wished, but
the window must be open. His result-ant
gain in the strength and health
was layed to the onion. If you are in
doubt about the curative value of that
aromatic vegetable, open the window
and put an onion on the window sill.
The air in a room is dangerous to
20 THE HEALTH BULLETIN
health when it becomes overheated, ab-normally
dry, or loaded with impuri-ties.
One lamp or a gas burner will
foul air as rapidly as will three or four
persons. The best way to keep air
fresh is through open windows and
doors with a cross draft. If cross ven-tilation
is not possible, windows may
be lowered from the top and raised
from the bottom.
Sleeping in cold, fresh air is much
like learning to swim. After once you
have the courage to get in, you'll soon
gain confidence. You will rapidly be-come
a fresh air enthusiast.
RmA
EDUCATION IS THE FOE OF
TUBERCULOSIS
ORE and more are we convinced
of the imperative need of enlight-enment
as to the precautions that
consumptives should take. And yet
not consumptives alone, but everybody
should thus safeguard himself. For
personal protection against tuberculo-sis,
the safest defense is personal en-lightenment
as to the nature, cause
and spread of the disease, also the
means of preventing the disease.
In a recent survey made by the
Minnesota State Board of Health of
five counties, it was found that 80 per
cent of the persons directly exposed to
the disease were infected. These were
members of the families in which there
was a consumptive or in which one
had died. The figures further showed
that infection was far more prevalent
in ages over 16 than under 16. How-ever,
in the same survey only 8 per
cent of those not personally associated
with a consumptive showed signs of
infection.
But the most significant facts
brought to light were the prevailing
ignorance of the disease and of the
precautions against infection and the
utter need of popular education con-cerning
the disease—its nature, source,
how transmitted and how prevented.
In some communities it was found
that more than every other farm house
had harbored the disease, which fact
was due to the lack of precautions
and to unrestricted communications be-tween
families. Ignorance was to
blame for the spread of this disease.
If a similar survey were made of five
counties in North Carolina, the figures,
no doubt, would tell a similar tale.
We are now and then made to wonder
at the ignorance—that ignorance that
cherishes the companionship of super-stition—
that still exists concerning
sickness and disease. There are not
a few people in North Carolina who
still believe that night air is poisonous
and there is a greater number who be-lieve
that if one of their parents or
grandparents died with tuberculosis
that they must per force die with it,
too.
What is more alarming, the patent
medicine fakers are still reaping big
profits from the victims of tuberculosis,
and delaying their chances as well as
diminishing their means for recovery.
It was education that opened up the
fight against tuberculosis and it will be
education to fight it to its finish. Just
when and how soon is now the great
question.
OPEN THE WINDOWS.
Bear in mind that colds are conta-gious.
Protect yourself and your neigh-bors.
The man with a cold is very likely
to be the man who sleeps with a win-dow
closed.
ACROSTIC—LONGEVITY.
Learn temperance.
Open the windows.
Night air is good air.
Get up early.
Eat slowly.
Vaccinate today.
Insist on cleanliness.
Take no dust.
You'll see my acrostic.
—E. F. Strickland, M.D.
PERIODIC HEALTH EXAMINATIONS
Ey ^Tiich Disease May Be Detected
and Intercepted
"^^^T is no fad, this movement of pe-
^\ riodic health examinations. It is ^^ rather a means that grew out of
a serious need
—
a means for extending
life at its most valuable period. Per-haps
I can make you see the condi-tions
that prompted this movement
that is prolonging life through the
early detection and treatment of dis-ease.
The idea originated with a life in-surance
company. The examinations
of the policyholders, the average age
of which was 35, showed that only 2.40
per cent were normal in health, that
is, that about two only out of every
hundred people examined for life in-surance
were sound in body and un-attacked
by disease. The remaining
97.60 per cent, were in imperfect
health and needed advice regarding
their physical condition and living
habits. What is more significant,
93.04 per cent, were not aware of any
ill health conditions, while 65.75 per
cent, were in immediate need of a phy-sician's
treatment. It was found that
53.60 per cent, of these policyholders
suffered from urinary trouble and that
23.50 per cent, had too high or too low
blood pressure, and these diseases had
reached the more or less serious stage.
Now, what does this mean? Simply
this, that instead of allowing some
insidious disease to steal upon us and
attack us fatally before we are aware,
cutting us off in the prime of life and
robbing us of our best years, we may
through periodic health examinations
know the approach of illness and thus
arm ourselves against its attack.
These examinations may be quarterly,
semi-quarterly or annually. It is a
cowardly mistake for a man to be
afraid to know if he has or is about
to have any disease. Just at this
point is where death has marked his
greatest numbers and just at this point
is where our new health knowledge
is striving hardest to rob death of his
numbers.
It is an old and exploded theory that
a man should not know if he is predis-posed
to some disease of has already
developed it, assuming that he will
succumb to the idea and make no fight
against it. On the oiher hand, the
sooner he is told, the better it is for
him. He has more intelligent fighting
chances. He knows what habits to
correct and what methods of living
to mend. If there is need for surgical
operation, he seeks it in time. If he
eats too much and poisons his body
with uric acid and other toxins, he
may, with his physician's advice, diet
himself and thus ward off Bright's dis-ease,
diabetes and other kidney trou-bles.
If he has tuberculosis or is likely
to contract it, he may so adapt his life
to the needs for cure and be restored
to health. A man should know when
sickness is headed his way. It is the
only intelligent and safe way he has;
to live. It gives a man a fair chance
at living that otherwise, through his
ignorance, gives death the greater
chance.
To be thoroughly examined, at least
22 TUE HEALTH BULLETIN
once a year, unafraid to know the truth
and resolute to attain better health
and prolong life, confidently accepting
and heeding the physician's advice
—
this is the best life assurance any man
can ever take.
THE COST OF NEGLECT PAID IN
HLMAJf LIFE
The comparison of the human body
to a machine is well taken. The heart
is a pump, and the blood vessels form
a system of elastic tubes. This system
is liable to overstrain, and its life is
largely governed by the use that is
made of it. If the early signs of
strain or poison are detected, the pa-tient
can be safeguarded. Even after
•arteries are definitely thickened and
iiardened, a proper manner of living
may prolong the individual's life in-definitely,
while a life of strain or in-discretion
may quickly bring about pro-
/gressive degeneration and death.
Recently I talked with a textile man-ufacturer,
who informed me that he
ipaid four men $75 per month each to
'do nothing but inspect and test the ma-chinery
in his plant. These men are
continually at work. They do not sit
in their offices and wait for a break-idown
to be reported. If a breakdown
•occurred, very likely they would lose
their jobs. "When I asked this man
liow long the plant could run without
:sucii inspection, he smiled pityingly
such a question required no answer.
The same principles are applicable
to the human machinery. If a com-paratively
simple inanimate machine
requires daily inspection, is it too
much to inspect once a year the mar-vellously
complex human machine with
its almost infinite capacity for going
wrong?
This is largely a matter of plain
common sense. We know that there is
too much sickness, suffering and pre-mature
death from chronic disease.
We know that these diseases creep
jipon us slowly, insidiously; that their
first manifestations that send us to a
doctor may be at a stage when we are
past his help. Does it need a Solon
or an Aristotle to determine what shall
be done to prevent such catastrophes?
What is the remedy for this life
waste, this decimation of our popula-tion,
which would be looked upon with
horror if caused by Zeppelins or ma-chine
guns, but is viewed with equa-nimity
by all except the loved ones of
those who are abruptly taken in the
prime of life and work by apoplexy,
heart disease, Bright's disease, or can-cer?
The degree to which medical science
and modern knowledge of personal hy-giene
can modify, check or prevent
such conditions is a medical and not
an actuarial question. Actuarial guid-ance
is, of course, necessary in apply-ing
this knowledge to life.
So this is our point of attack. Thor-oughly
examine the human body at
least once a year. With the knowl-edge
thus gained it is possible for
medical science and the new born
science of personal hygiene not only
to check the progress of disease, but
to lead those of average health up to
higher planes of physical efficiency
and well being. It is not enough to
keep people out of sick beds. The gen-eral
level of fitness and capacity for
living long and living well must be
raised.
—
Life Extension Institute.
SPRING FEVEB AND "AMERICAN-ITIS"
"Americanitis" has been defined as a
sort of mental and physical staleness
which hinders effective work, dulls the
enjoyment of life and may break out
at any time in most any form of recog-nizable
disease. What is spring fever
but more and worse? It takes the
"pep" out of life, puts disgust in pleas-ure
and impossibility in work. It robs
a man's feeling of his self-respect and
almost annihilates his supply of con-ceit.
For the time being it reduces
THE HEALTH BULLETIN 2a
him to a mere heap and renders him
fit for nothing but the junk pile. He
hasn't enough Hfe left in him to take
the "cure" he needs. What is he to do?
The best thing to do for spring fever
is to prevent it—not have it at all.
For "Americanitis" or chronic spring
fever, "take a walk" is the prescribed
preventive, but for spring fever of
March, April and May we suggest more
than a walk. We advise a change of
diet from the heavy winter foods of
meats, pastries and gravies to a lighter
diet of vegetables, fruits, etc., a laxa-tive
diet. We advise drinking plenty
of water, getting eight hours regular
sleep and daily exercise in the sun-shine
and open air. Avoid constipa-tion.
Let tonics and bracers alone.
By all means don't get down some old
medical advertising book and try to
diagnose your case. It makes little
difference what medicine book you
read, you'll find your exact case and
just how many bottles it will take to
make you feel "better than I have felt
for years." Patent medicines usually
appeal to spring fever victims for they
know that it's a stubborn fight and re-quires
will power. They hope to get
over it througli an easy way—the way
that requires the least exertion on
their part—and that is usually to in-vest
a dollar in some tonic or blood
purifier.
Spring fever is a condition more
easilj' to prepare for and avoid than a
disease that will yield to diagnosis
and treatment. It is brought about by
the body's inability to adjust itself to
the change from cold to warm weather.
We should prepare for this change the
first warm days by strictly adhering to
the rules of right living.
when summer is in sight. You feel like
getting out and cleaning up. It is the
thing to do and the sooner and better
you clean up, the better your summer
will be and the safer your health.
For those who see and yet see nothing
to do, we would like to take a look
with them in their back yards and call
their attention to the following points:
Is your back yard as clean and sani-tary
as you can make it?
Does it contain rubbish or dump
heaps—tin cans, sweepings, piles of
ashes or cinders?
Has the woodpile crawled practically
all over the yard?
Is there trash under the house or
under any of the outhouses?
Is the yard gate on its hinges and in
good working order?
Are there any pales off the fence en-closing
the yard?
Are there weeds growing where
grass, flowers or vegetables could
grow?
Are there stagnant pools of water
on the premises—about the pump or
well or thrown from the kitchen win-dow?
Is the garbage and waste kept cov-ered
and free from flies?
Are there any stables in which flies
may breed?
Is the privy open and frequented by
flies?
If any of these conditions exist,
there's work to be done. There's work
to be done first for decency's sake
and second for health's sake.
A LOOK IXTO YOUR B.VCK YARD
When winter is gone with its fires^
coal scuttles and wood boxes, you want
its ashes, cinders and trash to go, too.
You want a rest. In fact, you want no
suggestions of winter lying around
Think twice before the fly season
gets here, and ask yourself if you are
going to eat at the "second table" with
flies that come from old-fashioned open
back privies all summer long. If you
don't relish the idea, weatherboard
your privy down tight in the back
and place it down fly-tight and light-proof
over a pit some four or five feet
deep. This may not be ideal, but it
will be a vast improvement over 95
per cent of our present privies.
24 THE HEALTH BULLETIN
WHY HAYE TYPHOID FEYEE?
Is this a familiar scene? Does tlie
gloomy shadow of this sick room sug-gest
horror to you—days of slow burn-ing
fever and nights of anxious watch-ing?
It is a typical case of typhoid
fever, taking weeks to burn out its
flame, to run its course. But has it
occurred to you that this could have
been prevented? That typhoid is one
of the most easily preventable diseases
known? Did you know that it is a
filth disease, that about the only place
typhoid germs grow and multiply is
in human intestines and that you
flies have nothing to do with anything
you eat or drink. Screen them out of
every part of the house, the back
porch included. See that your well or
spring is on higher ground than the
privy and other outhouses so that your
water supply may not be polluted with
human fecal matter perhaps containing
typhoid germs.
There is yet another preventive
—
anti-typhoid vaccine. The State now
furnishes this free. Ask your physi-cian
or health officer to write to the
State Laboratory of Hygiene at Ra-leigh
and get the sufficient number of
About One Person Out of Three Contracts Typhoid.
either have to drink or eat these germs
in order to have a case of typhoid
fever? These are the main facts about
it except that in rural districts flies
and open privies are the main factors
in spreading it. Of course where the
drainage of any surface closet finds its
way to the well or spring, there is
grave danger.
You see clearly what is necessary to
do in oi?der to prevent typhoid. See
that the privy is fly-proof. See that
doses for you and your family. Be-come
immune to typhoid. It is the
best and cheapest health assurance you
can get. The treatment is mild, caus-ing
but slight indisposition, and gives
you immunity for at least three or four
years.
"Not only is public health purchase- ,
able, but it is the best bargain ever i
offered."
CH /•- r HILL, C.
Publi5\ed h^ TAE. ^°Rm QI^UMP. STArLBQARD y"AmLT/\
This E)ulleiir\willbe 5er\l free to arwj citizeA of "fhe State upor.reqaest.i
Entered as second-class matter at Postoffice at Raleigh, N. C, under Act of July 16, 1894.
Published monthly at the office of the Secretary of the Board, Raleigh, N. C.
)1. XXX MAY, 1815. No. 2
MOREHEAD CITY AGAIN
Exactly one year ago this Board called attention to some deplora-ble
public health conditions in Morehead City. Now >ve call atten-tion
to Morehead City again. Within a year when the public hue
and cry was to the effect that "we are too poor," "we can't afford
sewers'' and "we can't even aft'ord sanitary privies,'' there has been
a bond issue raised sufficient not only to build sewers in the busi-ness
portion of the town but they have gone farther, so far as this
Board can learn, than any other town in the State regardless of
size or wealth and provided for sewers to every man's door with the
exception of some ten or twelve isolated houses.
Can any town in the country beat that record J If it can, we
want to hear from it. These sewers are now about 50 per cent
complete and the engineers expect to finish by July 1.
>or is that all. The water mains instead of reaching the favored
few are being extended to every man's door. Another record!
Xor is the end yet. The new set of town officers recently elected
are pledged to do the unprecedented in tliis State—to require every
family accessible to water and sewers to connect up to both, to use
iioth, and to abolish completely all insanitary privies formerly in
use. Even the ten or twelve isolated houses far up on the peniu-sula,
out of reach of water and sewers but within corporate limits,
will install sanitary privies.
With a capable, intrepid, broad-minded incoming administration
pledged to health reforms, Morehead City bids fair to outrank any
other city, not only in the State but in tlie entire South, in point of
public health and sanitation, and to be truly the Summer Capital
Healthful by the sea.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
MoREHEAD City Again .
Editoei^vl Brevities
Against Bad Company
Bigger Than His Job .
Are You a Member? .
KiNSTON Progressing .
What the Fly Is . .
Raise Ducks ....
School Health Clubs
Why the Patent Medicine
Business is Fraudulent
Can't Afford Servers .
Flies or No Flies . .
Allies—cartoon . . .
Slandering Providence
First Things F^rst . .
Penny Wise and Pound Foolish
Reai. Consumption Cure . . .
25 The Waste of Child Life . . 38
27 Diphtheria 38
28 The Young Mother's Rest . . 39
28 Keeping Our School Children
28 Well 39
29 Unnecessary Blindness ... 40
29 Clean Milk 40
29 North Carolina at War ... 41
30 If You Have Tuberculosis . . 43
Health for the Poor .... 44
31 Become Immune to Malaria . 45
32 What Are Headaches? ... 45
33 Why We Work 46
34 Typhoid Carriers 47
35 Needs 47
36 Hkalth Resolutions .... 48
37 Grandpa's Story in 1965 ... 48
37 David Meets Goliath—cartoon 48
MEMBERS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA STATE BOARD OF HEALTH
J. Howell Wat, M.D., Pres., Waynesville
Richard H. Lewis, M.D., . . Raleigh
J. L. Ludlow, C.E., . . Winston-Salem
W. O. Spencer, M.D., . . Winston-Salem
Thomas E. Anderson, M.D., . Statesville
Chas. O'H. Laughinghouse, M.D.,
Greenville
Edward J. Wood, M.D., . . Wilmington
J. A. Kent, M.D., Lenoir
Cyrus Thompson, M.D., . . Jacksonville
Ofttcial Staff
W. S. Rankin, M.D., Secretary of the State Board of Health and State Health Officer.
C. A. Shore, M.D.. Director of the State Laboratory of Hygiene.
L, B. McBr.\ter. M.D., Superintendent of the State Sanatorium.
J. R. Gordon, M.D., Deputy State Registrar.
Wareen H. Booker, C.E., Chief of the Bureau of Engineering and Education.
Miss Mart Robinson, Chief of the Bureau of Accounting.
FREE PUBLIC HEALTH LITERATURE
The State Board of Health has a limited quantity of health literature on the subjects
listed below, which will be sent out, free of charge, to any citizen of the State as long as
the supply lasts. If you care for any of this literature, or want some sent to a friend, just
write to the State Board of Health, at Raleigh. A post card will bring it by return mail.
No. 12. Residential Sewage Disposal Plants.
No. 14. Hookworm Disease.
No 19. Compilation of Public Health Laws
of North Carolina.
No. 23. The Vital Statistics Law.
No. 25. Tj'phoid Fever Leaflet.
No. 27. The Whole-Time County Health
Officer.
No. 29. Rules and Regulations for County
Boards of Health.
No. 30. Measles.
No. 31. Whooping Cough.
No. 32. Diphtheria.
No. 33. Scarlet Fever.
Anti-Spitting Placards (5 inches
by 7 inches).
Anti-Fly Placards (14 inches by 22
inches.
Anti-Typhoid Placards (14 inches
b" 22 inches).
Anti-Tuberculosis Placards (14
inches by 22 inches).
No. 41. Tuberculosis.
No. 42. Malaria.
No. 43. Practical Privies.
No. 44. State Policy for the Control of
Tuberculosis.
No. 45. The Control of Smallpox.
No. 46. Compilation of County Health
Laws.
No. 47. Privy Leaflet.
No. 48. Fly Leaflet.
COWAnoS & »MOuaHT0H I
DW
[2] I PUBU5AELD BY TML nPRTA CAgQUMA STATE. BQMgP s^MEALTM I \°}
Vol. XXX MAY, 1916. No. 2
EDITORIAL BREVITIES
Before the discovery of Jenner,
smallpox was considered a disease of
childhood. Only a few children
reached the adult age without having
had the disease.
The front yard is a pretty good in-dex
to the people who live in the
house, but the back yard is a better
index to their lives, their uealth and
their habits of cleanliness.
Because a man has been paying fire
insurance on his home for twenty years
and never had a fire, he doesn't cancel
his policy. Health insurance works
on the same basis, except that it costs
less and produces more.
Colds are getting to be a disgrace
—
rightly so. They indicate that in most
instances the possessor of "a bad cold"
(and we have yet to hear of a good
cold) has disobeyed some ordinary
rules of health. His punishment is
meted out to him in the form of 'a
bad cold."
What have you done with the pro-ceeds
raised from selling Red Cross
Christmas Seals? The per cent you
kept for home or local anti-tuber-culosis
work could not be better spent
than as part of the expenses of a
town or community nurse—the visit-ing
nurse as she is called. She is to
any town and community a most valu-able
asset—a nurse, a teacher and a
social worker.
"It's the cleanest town in the State"
is about the most attractive advertise-ment
a town could have. It would at-tract
homeseekers and investors; it
would draw visitors and become a
health resort; it would be the stop-over
place of traveling men, and best
of all it would be a safe place for you
to live and do business.
Why not clean up and stay clean?
Spasmodic cleaning does not get a
town tbe name of a clean town. Nei-ther
does one health lecture or one
crusade against flies during summer
make it or even get it the name of
a healthful town. What you must do
is to clean up and keep clean; bring
about sanitary conditions and keep
them sanitary; have it somebody's
business to look after these condi-tions,
enforce laws and if needs be
punish the violators of the law.
The 62d Annual Meeting of the State
Medical Society will be held in Greens-boro,
June 15-17. The State Health
Officers Association meets at the same
place on Monday, the 14th. Great
preparations are being made for thesa
meetings. Programs of unusual inter-est
have been prepared. The State
health exhibit, together with the excel-lent
health exhibits from South Caro-lina,
Georgia, and Florida, Will be
given in Greensboro the same week.
These two meetings and the exhibits
should attract large crowds.
28 THE HEALTH BULLETIN
AGAIIfST BAD COMPANY
Not long ago a company which
spends thousands of dollars annually
on advertising sent the following
message to their advertising agent:
"Will you please say to all newspapers
desiring to carry our advertising,
that we decidedly object to being
placed in close company with noisome
patent medicine ads. and other fakes
or near fakes?"
It won't be long before newspapers
and various advertisements will be
known by the company they keep.
BIGGER THAN HIS JOB
Here is a case of a man too big for
his job. He lives in a county that
needs and wants a whole-time county
health officer, but, unfortunately, the
county fathers do not feel that it is
quite possible at this time to provide
for the expense of such an official.
By law, each and every county is
required to have either a county phy-sician
whose business it is to render
assistance to the county poor, con-vict
camps, jails, etc., or to employ
a whole-time county health officer. The
latter's duty in addition to that already
mentioned for the county physician,
is to devote the remainder of his time
to public health work, such as lectur-ing
to school children, making medi-cal
inspection of school children, hold-ing
tuberculosis and hookworm clinics,
vaccinating and immunizing against
typhoid and smallpox and, by any
other means. Improve the health con-ditions
of his county.
In the particular case in hand, up
in Henderson County, one of the phy-sicians,
Dr. J. S. Brown of Henderson-villg
made application for the office as
county physician. He made applica-tion
knowing that the county officials
did not deem it expedient to employ
a whole-time county health officer at
that time. In this connection the Doc-tor
is quoted as follows: "It is my
purpose to work myself out of a job as
soon as possible, not by doing low
grade work but by performing my
duties to the very best of my ability."
In making application to the county
board of health for the position as
county physician, this Doctor made the
following statement: "Believing that
a whole-time health officer should be
employed as soon as possible, I hereby
make it a part of the above office that
I agree to resign from either or both
offices (county physician and quaran-tine
officer), at the end of any month
prior to the usual time of expiration
of these offices two years hence at
the request of the board of health in
order to make room for a whole-time
health officer."
Now we claim that a man who will
make such a proposition as this to a
county board of health is too big for
the job, and should be given serious
consideration when the question of a
whole-time health officer is considered.
AEE TOU A MEMBER?
The American Public Health Asso-ciation
is puzzled to know why more
of North Carolina's "intelligent, pro-gressive
health workers" are not mem-bers
of the Association. The num-ber
of North Carolina members is
now only nineteen and so small is
this number in comparison with the
State's active interest in health work
that the Association wonders if the
merits and purposes of the organiza-tion
, are known among our State's
health promoters. Whereupon, Prof.
S. M. Gunn, Boston, Mass., Secretary
of the Association, has this to say of
the advantages to be derived from
membership in the Association:
"The Association stands avowedlr|
for mutual assistance, higher organi-{
zation, efficiency and economy in^
health work. Through its monthly
publication. The American Journal of I
THE HEALTH BULLETIN 29
Public Health, this Association offers
a service which is indispensable to
any public health worker. If I can
induce North Carolina health workers
to write to me now in person and
inquire more thoroughly into condi-tions
of membership and possibilities
of attending the annual meeting in
Rochester, N. Y., September 7th to
10th, 1915, I feel sure they will want
to come into this active organization
at once. I most cordially invite such
inquiries."
KIJfSTO^ PROGEESSI>G
Kinston is cleaning up. They have
just passed an anti-fly ordinance re-quiring
that all stable manure be
cleaned up and removed at least once a
week and, furthermore, that between
cleanings the manure shall be kept in
a closed box. They have also passed
a meat and milk inspection ordinance.
The credit for these forward steps
belongs very largely to the Kinston
Free Press which, by the way, is one
of the most vigorous health advocates
to be found among the newspapers
of the State. While perfection is not
expected from these two ordinances
alone, they represent a long stride
forward and the Kinston Free Press,
when speaking of these two ordinances
editorially, hits the nail on the head
when it says:
"Neither is an acme, perhaps, but
both are a long stride in the right
direction. Nobody expects the fly or-dinance
to entirely eliminate flies. That
would be possible, no doubt, if there
was an earnest desire on the part of
everybody and hearty co-operation in
complying with the spirit of the
measure. Unfortunately, that cannot
be had. There are people who will dis-regard
this law as there are those who
will disregard any and all laws."
WHAT THE FLY IS
There is just one living thing, it
seems, which performs not a single
useful function in the scheme of the
universe. It is that creature best
known as the house fly but more
rightly known as the typhoid fly. He
was formerly supposed to be a scav-enger
that destroyed destructive mi-crobes
or germs in decomposing mat-ter,
but we know better now. We
know that he destroys nothing but
life, health and happiness, that he
spreads microbes wherever he goes,
and leaves disease and death along
his trail.
As we know more about the fly,
about his filthy habits, his breeding
place and the disease carrier that he
is, w^e have come to regard him as
fitting in the universal scheme of
things only as a danger signal, as a
warning of filth and disease. We know
now that wherever he is, where he
tarries, there is food for him, and
what is food for him is poison for
people. We should be suspicious of
any place where flies swarm or tarry.
We should take them as danger sig-nals
and avoid their objects of attrac-tion,
whether they be the restaurant,
the hotel, the grocery store, the mar-ket
or the butcher's shop.
The care of the public health is the
first duty of the statesman.—Disraeli.
A man is a man even though he has
not had measles.
R.USE DUCKS
Recently health ofl3cers have been
finding out that ducks—just ordinary,
web-footed, farmyard ducks — make
good sanitarians so far as the mosquito
nuisance about their ponds is con-cerned.
It appears that ducks destroy
mosquito larvae in rather large num-bers.
Just how many mosquitoes per
duck per day we are not yet ready to
announce. Some of the mosquito lar-vae
are devoured while others are
doubtless ruthlessly detached from
their moorings, trampled under foot,
drowned and otherwise obliterated.
PUBLIC HEALTH
AND SANITATION
SCHOOL HEALTH CLUBS
How School Children ^Vork for Health
^Vhen Organized
^^HE School Health Club is a new
v-' and popular feature of health and
sBa educational work in North Caro-lina
at the present time. As it is be-ing
tried out in Johnston County and
elsewhere in the State, but more ex-tensively
in Johnston County, perhaps,
it proves to be a most effective way to
reach the country people and rural
communities in the matter of health
and sanitation. These clubs are or-ganized
in the different schools under
the direction of the teachers with the
school children as members and of-ficers.
In Johnston County forty-five
clubs with two health officers and
about twenty-five members to each club
were organized.
Naturally the interest of the children
in health work extends beyond the
schools to the communities and neigh-borhoods
in which the respective club
members and officers live. The health
officer of Johnston County, speaking of
the progress of the work and especially
of the work of the officers, said: "They
at once began to change the appearance
of The school buildings and grounds,
and they spread this enthusiasm over
the community until the community
began to take on a new idea, and be-gan
to put things in good order. The
result is that the schools are 100%
better than last year and the homes
are improved almost equally as well.
Pumps have taken the place of the
open bucket wells at the schools and
individual drinking cups are used. The
privies have been made sanitary and
no trash is seen on the floor at any
time. Meetings are held every two
weeks and large crowds gather to hear
the pupils discuss subjects pertaining
to their physical welfare."
There is yet another beneficial fea-ture
in connection with this work. The
school club officers act as "sanitary
scouts" in their neighborhoods and
report to the health officer any condi-tion
they find insanitary or not con-ducive
to health. This cooperation on
the part of the boys and girls through-out
the county does not only give them
a practical working knowledge of
health conditions as they are and
what they should be but has brought
the county health officer into a confi-dence
and relationship by which he
may have the cooperation of all the
people.
The county health officer prepares
his "scouts" for good service by in-structing
them in matters of health
and sanitation and how to meet those
conditions to which the duties of their
offices are likely to lead them. He sees
that the clubs have health literature
to read and use, and gives personal
attention to the club's monthly re-ports.
No greater compliment can be
paid this work than this remark of a
visitor who recently drove through the
county. He said: "It seemed to me
I could notice improved health condi-tions
about almost every home I passed.
There were screened doors and win-dows,
improved wells and closets and
an air of cleanliness and order about
the yard." It proves again that the
best way to reach the heads of the
family is through the children.
THE HEALTH BULLETIN 31
WHY THE PATENT MEDICINE
BUSINESS IS FKALDULENT
|-vjOINT out which of our patent J^ medicine ads. are fraudulent,"
^^^ says an agency handling adver-tising
for these nostrums. We might
reply by saying that so long as this
agency handles advertising of such
obvious and outrageous frauds as "con-sumption
cures" and "cancer cures,"
it convicts itself of stupidity or insin-cerity
in making any such request. We
may answer the question, however, by
saying that the whole patent medicine
business is inherently and innately
fraudulent.
The sale of patent medicines can
only be justified on the ground that
any man is capable of diagnosing his
own ailments, which is absurd on the
face of it. It is a well known fact
that the young medical student is apt
to imagine himself affected with all the
diseases he hears about during the
first few weeks he is at medical col-lege.
The difficult part of medical prac-tice
is the diagnosis of the disease, not
alone to name the disease, but to know
the stage and development of the dis-ease—
in short, know the diseased con-ditions.
The most skilled and best edu-cated
physicians find their greatest dif-ficulties
here, notwithstanding all their
experience and scientific knowledge. It
is notorious that "a man who acts as
his own attorney has a fool for a
client,"—and the wisdom of the man
who acts as his own doctor is even less
to be commended.
1. In the first place, therefore, the
use of patent medicines assumes the
ability of a man to diagnoc-^ his own
case. In results it amounts to simply
guessing, and the chances are a thou-sand
to one that the guess will be
wrong.
2. The use of patent medicines as-sumes
that one medicine is as good as
another for any disease, or that the
patient after having guessed at his
disease should guess at the medicine
required, and here again the chances
are a thousand to one that he will
guess wrong.
3. The use of patent medicines as-sumes
that the makers of patent medi-cines
have medical knowledge not pos-sessed
by the medical profession.
Every one of these three proposi-tions
are plainly erroneous and no man
having the least claim to medical
knowledge will try to maintain any
one of them. It is not that one time
in ten thousand the right medicine may
not be found for a certain disease, but
that the whole business is entirely
wrong in principle and erroneous in
practice and therefore of necessity
fraudulent. The fact that an occa-sional
vendor of patent medicines be-lieves
his medicines good for all he
claims, does not make them less fraud-ulent.
The overwhelming evidence of medi-cal
science and the opinions of all the
best physicians is that patent medi-cines
are based on a misconception of
medical practice and that they do in-finitely
more harm than good. The man
who casts these opinions aside as those
of men who are testifying falsely for
financial reasons proclaims himself a
knave or a fool and unworthy of confi-dence.
In a few years public opinion will
drive all decent publications out of the
patent medicine business, just as it has
in the last few years driven them out
of the whiskey business.
—
The Progres-sive
Farmer.
If night air is not good for you, what
other kind is there for you to breathe?
Open your bedroom and let the night
air in, and be assured it will do you
good.
"Notwithstanding the popular opin-ion
to the contrary, measles and
whooping cough are 'grave diseases.'
"
32 THE HEALTH BULLETIN
CAN'T AFFORD SEWERS
Protests From a Sick Town That
Doesn't Know It Is Sick
AN Mount Airy afford paved
streets and not sewers? That is
^^ the question we see argued in the
Mount Airy Neios. Some one not suf-ficiently
courageous to sign his name
writes over the title of "Citizen" and
makes the following statements:
(1) Sewers "are not practical for
Mount Airy at this time."
(2) "Providing an adequate sewer
system before making further street
improvements is not wise."
(3) "It is not wise to undertake to
provide an adequate sewer system at
this time because of the immense ex-pense."
He estimates the cost of sewers to
amount to $20,000.
(4) Finally, the "Citizen" concludes
that while sanitation and cleanliness
for other places and larger places is
all right, it is impractical for Mount
Airy, because elsewhere "they have
more wealth, better streets, better sew-ers,"
etc., but "Mount Airy can't do it."
Poor old Mount Airy! We would feel
sorry for her if we really thought these
charges were true. But let's see about
these charges and the facts in the case.
First, that sewers are not practical notv
but that street paving is. No reasons
are advanced to support these claims
and therefore we can't help wondering
whether sewers will be any cheaper in
a year, in five years or in ten years;
whether there will be fewer sewers to
build next year or five years hence;
whether there is no need for sewers
as yet or whether Mr. "Citizen" thinks
human fecal matter is more easily tol-erated
now when scattered from well
platform to dining room than it will
be a little later. Perhaps so. We
don't believe it will be tolerated even
now when the facts are known. On the
other hand it might be pointed out
that most towns think they have done
a wise thing when they get all their
sewer lines, water mains, and other
underground structures placed before
street improvements are made. In fact
in order to preserve the pavement some
towns forbid tearing up streets for a
period of five years after street im-provement.
Now a word in regard to the cost of
the proposed sewer system. From the
information in this office in regard to
Mount Airy, it appears that practically
all the families in Mount Airy are still
using privies, most of which are the
old fashioned, open back type where
flies, chickens and domestic animals
have free access to the filthy fecal mat-ter
reeking with disease. Take the
matter of typhoid fever and diarrhoeal
diseases of children, two fecal matter
diseases very largely fly borne, and
what does Mount Airy have? From
their own records, attested by the
death certificates filed with the State
Board of Health, and counting the aver-age
life lost from typhoid fever to be
worth only $1,700, it appears that
Mount Airy has lost over $22,000 from
deaths from typhoid alone during the
last four years. And yet they can't
afford a $20,000 sewer system. Now
this estimate does not take into ac-count
"respect, love and esteem,"
sentiment or mental anguish of
friends or the suffering of the deceased,
nor does it take into account the fact
that for every death from typhoid
there are ten or more cases and that
an average case of typhoid costs at
least $200 in doctor's bills, time lost,
etc., all of which would easily make
another $26,000 loss to the town. And
yet a sewer system would cost $20,000.
Then there were thirty-eight deaths
of babies under two years of age from
diarrhoeal diseases. For the sake.
of hard cold figures and since mone;
seems to talk most with Mr. "Citizen,
we will throw these thirty-eight ba
a
A
THE HEALTH BULLETIN 33
bies into this awful estimate at $100
a head or $3800 for the job lot and
we will leave it to Mr. "Citizen" to
explain to these thirty-eight heart-broken
mothers if $100 is not too small
a price for such human lives. Yet
Mount Airy can't afford sewers. The
wonder is that she can afford to be
without them. Of course we don't
say that sewers would completely stop
even these two diseases but we do
say that they would go a mighty long
way in cutting down the present dis-graceful
death rate from typhoid and
diarrhoeal diseases, the two principal
diseases of flies, open back privies and
fecal matter.
Then there's another considerable
item that perhaps Mr. "Citizen" has
overlooked. It is this. Flies are
great carriers of tuberculosis germs
from tubercular sputum to well people.
The records show that Mount Airy has
lost fifty-one lives from tuberculosis
during the last four years, that their
tuberculosis death rate is over twice
the average rate in the United States.
These fifty-one lives computed at
$1700 ($5,000 would be more nearly
correct) apiece amounts to $86,700.
Nor is that all—but why go into the
matter further? It really appears
that what Mount Airy needs more
than improved streets, although they
may be needed too, is not only a
sewer system but a general public
health awakening and a vigorous sani-tary
movement against flies, typhoid,
tuberculosis and other public health
diseases. An active efficient health
department can prevent a great many
of these deaths just as well as a fire
department can prevent a great many
fires.
And yet Mr. "Citizen" admits that
other cities can do it but not Mount
Airy. We challenge him to prove
such an indictment. We confess, how-ever,
that if they allow preventable
diseases to stalk abroad in the future
as they have in the past the tremen-dous
needless death and disease toll
collected will undoubtedly make it
harder for them to advance than it
would if they brace up now, face the
question squarely and then solve the
problem, for they certainly are fac-ing
a problem more far-reaching than
street paving, sidewalks or court-house.
Warren H. Bookeb.
FLIES OR NO FLIES
How to Avoid the Fly Pest This
Summer
N^HERE are several ways of hand-
^^ ling the fly problem. Of course,
^^ what should be done is to keep
everything so everlastingly clean that
flies will be unable to find either a
boarding house or a maternity hos-pital.
While this would be the ideal
way were it not for our lazy neighbors
who just ivon't keep clean, we must
look for something easier for their
sakes. Here it is. Use screens at
every door and window in the house.
If you can't afford wire screens, just
tack mosquito netting over the entire
outside of the window frame. That
will cost from 10 cents to 20 cents
per window. If you are one of those
kind who thinks the shutters must be
closed every night, or oftener, then
tack the netting to the outside window
stop along the top and down both sides.
Cut the netting about six inches longer
than the window and leave it loose at
the botton so you can put your hand
out under the netting to open and close
the shutters. No flies will find their
way in if you cut the netting six
inches longer than the window. To
aid in tacking the netting, you will
find that your lumberman has a special
mosquito netting lath or strip to tack
around on top of the cloth. This will
cost from a fourth to a half a cent a
foot and will last four or five years.
34 THE HEALTH BULLETIN
The netting will last at least one sea-son,
if not two.
Don't buy extension wire screens.
The}' are a snare and a delusion so far
as flies are concerned. Perhaps they
do keep some flies out—for a while
—
but you want to keep them all out all
the time. Furthermore, they cost 40
cents apiece. Either use mosquito
netting, wire netting, or good fly-tight,
made-to-fit screens.
What about swatting? Splendid, so
far as it goes, but it is only a retail
proposition and for that reason it is
intended only for the few flies that
dodge in at the open door. To try to
use swatters without screens, or even
with the old-fashioned extension wire
screens, is a hopeless proposition. A
dozen flies come in to attend the fun-eral
of every one you swat.
But is that all? Not by any means.
While swatters are intended for the
few flies inside the house, store or
shop, large fly traps are a splendid
thing to produce race suicide among
flies outside the house. They should
be placed on top of garbage cans, near
the grocery, meat market and stables.
Try them once and you will be sur-prised
to note the reduction in the fly
population within a week or ten days.
There is one more way: "Swat the
fly before he is born." The United
States government claims that by daily
sifting or dusting common borax
around on horse manure at the rate of
about a pound per horse per week, and
then sprinkling from two to three gal-lons
of water per day per horse upon
the manure thus treated, that it will
kill about 98 per cent of the flies be-fore
they are born. This may be all
right for those who, for some reason,
cannot or will not haul the manure
out, well away from houses, or spread
It out thinly over the ground at least
twice a week, and who are at the same
time willing to conscientiously apply
the borax and water daily.
But despite all the traps, screens and
borax, here is one precaution that
everybody should take. While some
people insist on tolerating flies and
old-fashioned open-back privies, no
matter how careful you are as an in-dividual
you will always be more or
less exposed to typhoid; so take the
hint and be vaccinated against the
disease. The vaccine is free at the
State Laboratory of Hygiene, and your
health officer will administer it free.
Avail yourself of it now and you may
reasonably feel 25 to 50 times safer
from typhoid than you were before.
Our typhoid rate begins to rise rapidly
in late spring and early summer and
keeps close pace with the fly popula-tion
until late fall.
Allies.
A TELLING POINT
"The secret of good health is to eat
onions," says an eminent physician.
But how can onion-eating be kept
secret?
—
Chicago Med. Rec.
THE HEALTH BULLETIN 35
SLANDEKING PROVIDENCE
When Through Negligence a Person
Dies From Typhoid and Other Pre-ventable
Diseases, Don't Blame it
on ProYidence.
Rev. S. L. Morgan, Henderson.
n
^m
AST summer a prominent young
attorney—one of the most popu-lar
young Christian men of our
town, died of typhoid fever. His death
made a deep impression on all the
community. The people packed the
church at the funeral service. His
pastor in his tender prayer referred
to the event in the usual manner as
a "mysterious dispensation of provi-dence,"
and doubtless most of those
in the great congregation so regarded
it. I did not.
At the same time two other prom-inent
young people of the town were
critically ill from typhoid. A great
warehouse meeting was in progress in
the town. One thousand people a day
were in attendance. The entire com-munity
was stirred over these cases
of sickness and death, and daily in
the warehouse prayer was offered for
the sick, that God would rebuke the
fever and raise up the sick. Once
or more I led the prayer and asked
God not only to raise up the sick but
also to touch the minds and hearts
and consciences of the people and
move them to clean up the city and
remove the known causes of sickness
and death. I fancied that the latter
petition sounded on the ears of most
of those who followed me as strange,
if not improper. Such a prayer is
not conventional. I dare say it is not
orthodox in the popular mind.
Then another typhoid sufferer, a
fine young woman in my own church,
succumbed to the disease. I went
with the family to bury her from the
Baptist Church in a nearby town. The
leader of the choir handed me the list
of hymns to be used in the service.
One of them was, "Thy' "Will Be Done."
I said to him: "In some circumstances
I can sing that very heartily, but not
in such a case as this. We have
learned that ordinarily God does not
will deaths from typhoid." He rather
agreed with me. We sang something
else.
Was I right—or a cold heretic? Were
these deaths necessary? Were they
"mysterious dispensations of provi-dence"?
To say so seems to be slander-ing
providence. To imply in the fu-neral
service that one believes this
is both to wrong God and to perpetu-ate
an error. I am not implying that
sickness or death is not sometimes, or
even often, according to the divine
will—"a dispensation of providence,"
but that theology which holds that all
sickness and death are decreed by
God greatly needs reconstruction. Min-isters
need to be much more discrim-inating
in their prayers and their
counsel touching "submission to the
divine will."
Well established facts about health
and disease are needed by many to
explode traditional notions of provi-dence.
A few will suffice. One begs
pardon for mentioning them. Such
facts have become so familiar. Science
has almost banished from the earth
certain diseases that were once thought
to be scourges of providence. Small-pox
is a striking instance. Years
ago it completely ceased to be known
in the great German army, so rigor-ous
was the military rule requiring
vaccination. And the celebrated Dr.
Osier has said that it would soon
become a forgotten disease if periodic
vaccination were everywhere prac-ticed.
Is a death from smallpox today,
then, a "dispensation of providence"?
Clearly it is an unpardonable neglect
of the known means of preventing
the disease. It is trampling under
foot the merciful revelation of God
to us through the wonderful discover-ies
of science.
36 THE HEALTH BULLETIN
A concrete instance or so from our
North Carolina Health BuLijn-iN will
be illuminating. In 1898, the United
States mobilized 12,000 men in Florida
for four months. During that time
there were 2,600 cases of typhoid
and 480 deaths. In 1911, again the
United States mobilized 12,000 men
in Texas for four months, and there
were among them only two cases of
typhoid and no deaths. In 1913-14
again the United States mobilized
12,000 men in Texas for many months
and in all this time there was not
even a single case of typhoid. In our
entire army of 90,000 in 1913, there
were only three cases of typhoid, and
it was clear that two of these cases
were contracted before entering the
ranks.
Enforced sanitation and vaccination
have almost completely banished the
disease from the army. Any com-munity
acting together can do the
same. It seems therefore akin to
blasphemy to put into the funeral of
a typhoid victim an intimation that
God has struck down once whom His
mercy has taught how to keep in
health and in His service. Expert
authority declares that about 600,000
persons die annually in the United
States of preventable diseases, 20,-
000 of these in our own State. Each
one of these should be made the oc-casion
of prayer, not to have grace
to submit to the divine will, but to
have a conscience keenly alive to the
sin of letting people suffer and die
needlessly.
Some time ago a sobbing mother
pointed to her darling child in the
little casket and spoke of submitting
to God's will. The Christian physi-cian
in charge told me later with a
show of impatience that this mother
killed the child by putting into its
stomach food fit for only a healthy
adult.
What I have said in general is not
to be taken to heart by individuals.
Most of us have dear ones who have
died of preventable diseases. Are we
guilty? Perhaps not. We may our-selves
take every possible precaution,
but unless the law requires our neigh-bors
to clean up we may die as a
result of their disregard of sanitary
laws. The public is beginning to
think clearly on this subject. Our
own county and town jointly have
employed an all-time health oflBcer,
and are supporting him with up-to-date
sanitary ordinances. It is a frank
effort to relieve providence of the
responsibility that rightly belongs to
an enlightened community.
Our religion has abundant comfort
to offer, but we have no warrant for
neglecting the known preventives of
sickness and death, and then hiding
behind God's providence.
FIEST THUGS FIRST
l\liy Dogs Before Women and
Children?
CCORDING to a recent editorial
^^^ in the Statesville Landmark, ^^ the State Laboratory of Hygiene
treats annually about two hundred
patients who have been bitten by rabid
dogs. The editorial estimates the ex-pense
of twenty-one days' treatment in
Raleigh at $50, this amount to cover
railroad fare, hotel bills and other
incidental expenses. To this there is
also added a $20 fee, the cost of treat-ment
where patients are able to pay
this amount.
As a loss to the State, a conservative
estimate of $10,000 would scarcely
cover the expense. This does not in-
'
elude the value of the time lost nor-does
it take into account the suffering
of the patient or even the danger of
a case proving fatal. It would seem,
therefore, that a conservative esti-mate
of $25,000, as the annual loss on
THE HEALTH BULLETIN 37
account of our policy of unrestricted
dogs, is more nearly correct. This
amount of money, according to Mr.
Stevenson, is a dead loss, since these
lives were needlessly endangered In
the first place.
These figures, of course, do not con-template
any losses as to stock, which
is by no means a small sum.
A dog tax, according to this edi-torial,
suflBciently large and properly
enforced, would discourage the raising
of useless cur dogs to a large extent,
and at the same time would protect
the dogs that are of value.
But taxation, according to the edi-torial,
is the weakest of the State's
weapons against hydrophobia. If the
same restrictions were imposed upon
dogs as upon hogs, cows and other
domestic animals, there would be no
hydrophobia for there would be no
prowling dogs running wild among
defenceless animals and children. To
confine them to the premises of their
owners is the only logical and effectual
means of protection.
Why not, according to the Land-mark,
amend our stock law to include
dogs as well as sheep and pigs? Why
should dogs be allowed to run at
large any more than cattle, pigs or
sheep? All arguments which may be
urged for the present stock law ap-ply
equally to a dog amendment, which
carries in addition, a further argu-ment
of infinitely greater import, to-wit:
the elimination of a disease than
which there is none other more hor-rible
in its effects or more fatal when
once contracted. The people of the
State are coming to this view, and we
trust it will not be many years before
North Carolina will have a Legisla-ture
that will have the courage to
pass such a law.
PENNY WISE AND POUND FOOLISH
Sure he may kill the mosquito, but
what about the head? Coal tar head-ache
cures—acetanilide, antipyrine,
etc., may relieve headache, but what
about their effects on the heart?
REAL CONSUMPTION CURE
It is the cheapest of all remedies;
It is not patented or controlled by the
trusts;
It is guaranteed not to disturb the di-gestion;
It is not unpleasant to the taste;
It may be procured everywhere;
It should be inhaled freely 17 times a
minute;
It is manufactured solely by God Al-mighty.
The name of this wonderful remedy is
FRESH AIR. —C. H. D.
"Physical fitness is the first factor
in human efficiency."
A PARADOXICAL REPLY
"Doctor, do you think eye-glasses
will alter my appearance?" inquired
Mrs. Gunson anxiously.
"I shall at least expect them to im-prove
your looks," replied the physi-cian.
—
Lippincott's.
BILDJIYGI
THE WASTE OF CHILD-LIFE
Shall the Saving of the Babies or the
Cotton Crop Give Us Most Concern?
sl^HERE is nothing so valuable as
^-^ human life, and yet we are to-day
confronted with the regret-fact
that the annual life-waste
especially in the case
BBS
table
is appalling,
of children.
We are spending millions of dollars
annually to check the spread of the
foot-and-mouth disease, to stop the
ravages of hog cholera, the boll-weevil
and the cattle tick; but how much, or,
rather, how little, are we spending
to hunt down and destroy the fly that
causes infantile paralysis, or compels
the pasteurization of the milk that
feeds the baby?
Are the little ones no longer worth
while? Is it possible that there are
those who think that the annual corn-crop
or cotton-crop is worth more
than the annual baby-crop?
Statistics carefully collected by the
United States government show us
that, of every 1,000 babies born each
year, 127 die before the next year
comes; and, of these 127 annual deaths
per thousand, it is freely admitted
that a large percentage are easily pre-ventable.
If, out of every 1,000 calves, 127
should die the first year, and statistics
should show such a loss as that year
after year throughout the country, a
storm of indignation would rise at
the lax methods of inspection that
would permit so costly a mortality;
but considered purely from the value
in dollars and cents, the waste of
child-life is a question that demands
the attention of every man who loves
his kind and wants to see this coun-try
greater and more prosperous. To
measure human life in dollars may
be a brutal way of putting the ques-tion
of health-preservation; it may be
startling, but it enables us to contrast
the care we give to our domestic
animals with that which we fail to
give our own children.
—
Postal Life
Insurance Bulletin.
DIPHTHERIA
Diphtheria is almost always taken
by close contact with a case of diph-theria
or with one who has diphtheria
germs in the nose or throat but other-wise
without symptoms of diphtheria.
It is not often contracted from things,
such as furniture, door knobs, books,
etc. Here are some suggestions that
should be remembered and followed.
Avoid contact with:
1. A person sick with diphtheria.
2. Any person with a sore throat of
any kind, no matter how slight the
attack.
3. Persons who are in immediate
contact with a case of diphtheria, for
they may be carriers of diphtheria
infection, not so much through cloth-ing
as from the throat and nose.
4. Carriers or distributors of diph-theria
infection who are under quar-antine.
Remember that more diphtheria is
contracted from persons not known to
have the disease than from known
cases.
Apace with the movement to correct
physical defects runs the effort to se- !
cure outdoor life for young children. |
THE HEALTH BULLETIN 39
THE YOUNG MOTHER'S REST
It is quite common to see a young
mother in a higlily nervous state from
lack of rest. Inquiry usually reveals
the fact that she is in the habit of
nursing her baby whenever it cries
and that the mother and babe sleep
in the same bed, and that the baby is
fed numerous times during the night.
As a consequence of all this, the
mother is tired and nervous, and this
afifects the baby who is in a similar
state. Usually at this time some well
meaning neighbor gives the advice
to feed the baby some sort of "tea."'
So the baby is dosed until its stomach
becomes upset, which further adds
to the miseries of both mother and
babe.
This state of affairs can be easily
remedied if the mother will feed her
baby only at regular hours by the
clock and give it nothing else except
pure water, except on the advice of
a physician.
It does not pay for the mother to
get too tired and worn out from lack
of rest, for, if she does, the milk is
affected, the baby's stomach is upset
and it becomes cross and fretful and
requires twice as much care as it
would if the mother were in a good
condition. If mothers would make
it a rule to feed the baby regularly by
the clock, they would find they would
have plenty of time for other work
and it could be accomplisehd at regu-lar
times
—
Dr. Edith B. Loivry in The
Texas Bulletin.
In order that children be kept heal-thy
they should be kept clean. Also
they should be taught habits of clean-liness,
and this means teaching them
to keep themselves clean. It should
be impressed upon the mind of every
child that dirt is dangerous and that
freedom from disease depends very
much on just keeping clean all the
time.
KEEPING OUR SCHOOL CHILDREN
WELL
No boy or girl likes to be sick. Nei-ther
do grown-ups for that matter.
There are some kinds of diseases that
we can do much to avoid; others, there
is nothing much that we can do in the
way of protection.
Among those diseases that boys and
girls can do a great deal to lessen their
chances of getting them are diphtheria,
scarlet fever and measles. All of these
are very contagious, "catching" as we
often say, and for most part are con-veyed
from one person to another by
the matter that comes from the nose,
throat or mouth.
Now, if the school children of North
Carolina could all be taught about
these three diseases alone, and then
follow these few simple dii'ections, they
in large part would be able to avoid
having diphtheria, scarlet fever and
measles.
Here they are: Keep away from chil-dren
who are suffering with severe
colds, complain of sore throats, and
who say they don't feel well. Without
being rude or unkind, you need not
play with them or exchange gum,
candy, fruit or food of any kind.
Do not borrow or lend pencils at any
time; and never put even your own
pencil in your mouth.
Use your own drinking cup.
Do not visit with playmates who are
not well; they may be coming down
with any one of the diseases that we
are talking about, and, as a rule, the
early stages are the most dangerous.
Do not go into any house where there
is a warning sign posted on the out-side.
The only safe rule is to not
expose yourself knowingly. Take no
chances.
—
Adopted from the Chicago
Department of Health.
"Warm rooms have killed more people
than ever froze to death.
40 THE HEALTH BULLETIN
UNNECESSARY BLINDNESS
About twenty-five per cent of our
blindness is contracted at birth. It is
what is sometimes known as baby's
sore eyes, or in the language of the
doctor it is ophthalmia neonatorum.
This infectious disease of the eyes is
due usually to the germs of an un-mentionable
disease with which the
baby's eyes are infected at birth. How-ever,
it may be attributable to the
presence of other infective organisms,
such as pneumococcus, streptococcus,
staphylococcus, diphtheria bacillus and
other organisms, but prevention from
these and other infections are very
simple.
All that is necessary is to drop
about two drops of a one per cent
solution of silver nitrate into each
eye very shortly after birth. This
simple solution, while it does not in-jure
the eye in the least, is very ef-fective
in removing the germs of a
disease that is very likely to produce
blindness if allowed to go for even a
few days.
Such treatment should be applied to
every new-born baby. Parents should
insist upon it and doctors or midwives
who do not take this precaution are
indeed taking a very unnecessary risk
and are not performing their full obli-gations
to society, to the parents, or,
most of all, to the child itself.
CLEAN MILK
Pasteurization of milk consists of
heating it to 145 degrees and holding
it at that temperature for twenty min-utes
and then cooling. This kills the
germs of typhoid, tuberculosis, scarlet
fever, diphtheria and other dangerous
disease-producing bacteria that may be
in it. Futhermore, it alters the taste,
odor, digestibility and food value but
little, if any. That's nice, isn't it?
About the only thing pasteurization
won't do is to go back and make a
sanitary dairy. Remember, it just
kills the germs. It doesn't remove the
cow stable dust, dirt or dung or even
wash the pails or bottles. There's
where a wide-awake health department
comes in—to give us clean milk. Pas-teurization
only makes it safe.
Here is an instance showing how
contagion is spread:
A mother whose child had scarlet
fever and whose home was under quar-antine,
violated the law by going to a
department store where she purchased
a coat on approval and took it home
with her. A day or two later the gar-ment
was returned and was bought by
a woman in a nearby town. Within
five days her only child, a daughter
aged 5, came down with scarlet fever
and ten days later died. This case was
the starting point of an epidmic in
that town which was not checked until
there had been eighty cases and four
deaths.
Children are naturally careless and
thoughtless and of course are igno-rant
as to matters of personal hy-giene.
And their education in this
all-important subject no more should
be neglected than should any other
phase of their mental training. Fur-thermore,
it is important that train-ing
in habits of personal cleanliness,
neatness and order should be begun
in infancy. The longer such training
is delayed, or neglected, the more dif-ficult
it will be for the child to ac-quire
the knowledge and habits that
have so much to do in making for
physical health and vigor.
"It is especially during the first
years of life that air and sun benefit-the
constitutions of children. Up to
twelve years the child should be out-of-
doors in order to cultivate his
f
senses," said Dr. J. J. Rosseau. |
SfUlRCULOSis
NORTH CAROLINA AT WAR
Mobilizes Her Forces to Drire Out the
Great White Pla^e
Miss Sadie McBeayek, in State Noemal
Magazine.
INE out of every seven death in
North Carolina is caused by
tuberculosis. One-third of all ^
the deaths from preventable diseases
is caused by tuberculosis. It is esti-mated
that there are from twenty to
thirty thousand people in our State
at the present time ill with tubercu-losis.
This means that a town the
size of Goldsboro is completely de-stroyed
every year in North Carolina
from tuberculosis. If it were known
that an invading army were about
to enter our State and that their ob-jective
point were the city of Golds-boro;
that they would surround the
town, perhaps using the trenches and
breastworks that are still to be seen
as the only surviving landmarks in
this locality of the War between the
States; that they would pillage and
sack the town and destroy every
resident there, the catastrophe would
be heralded throughout the United
States in flaming headlines, on the
first page of every newspaper pub-lished;
the horror of it would be
breathed in hushed accents from the
lips of every man, woman and child
in the State. The low price of cotton
would be forgotten. The Legislature
would assemble without delay and
would appropriate a million dollars,
if necessary, to repel the invasion and,
moreover, the people would approve
of the appropriation. Our stalwart
men, our college boys, every one would
shoulder arms and dare and die, if
need be, to repel the invasion. And
yet, this insidious and relentless dis-ease
is destroying every year the
womanhood and manhood in our State
equal in numbers to the inhabitants
of Goldsboro, and, in addition, is
leaving maimed perhaps five times as
many more. Nor is this all. Those
sick with the disease are constantly
sowing the seed that will give us yet
other cases, tomorrow, next year, on
and on, for scientific observation has
proven that from every case of tuber-culosis
in a family of seven, four
others will contract the disease. Yet,
to our shame, little is being said or
done about this terrible condition.
Our Defenses
The State Board of Health is con-ducting
a campaign of education
through The BuiiErm, fifty thousand
copies of which are sent free each
month to the people of our State.
Through the distribution of other
pamphlets, and through its Bureau of
Tuberculosis, it has its forces mobil-ized,
ready to enter into mortal com-bat—
a combat which shall not end
until every victim has been hunted up
and given an opportunity to escape
from the clutches of this mortal enemy
and has been taught to apply the prin-ciples
of the hygiene of tuberculosis to
the end that it shall not communicate
the disease to others.
The headquarters of the defensive
army are at the State Tubercular San-atorium,
at Sanatorium, located in
Hoke County. Here at this time
ninety patients are being nursed
42 THE HEALTH BULLETIN
back to health, restored to their
friends and State, and taught how to
live healthful lives, and also how not
to infect other peop