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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
Object Description
Description
Title | Health bulletin |
Other Title | Bulletin of the North Carolina State Board of Health; Bulletin of the North Carolina Board of Health |
Creator | North Carolina. State Board of Health. |
Date | 1915; 1916 |
Subjects |
Children--Health and hygiene Diseases Hygiene Public Health--North Carolina--Periodicals Sanitation |
Place | North Carolina, United States |
Time Period | (1900-1929) North Carolina's industrial revolution and World War One |
Description | Volume 30, Issues 1-12. Issues for Feb.-May 1917 and for Jan.-July 1918 not published. |
Publisher | Raleigh,North Carolina State Board of Health. |
Agency-Current | North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services |
Rights | State Document see http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,63754 |
Physical Characteristics | 61 v. :ill. ;23 cm. |
Collection | Health Sciences Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Type | text |
Language | English |
Format | Bulletins |
Digital Characteristics-A | 20,256 KB; 302 p. |
Digital Collection |
Ensuring Democracy through Digital Access, a North Carolina LSTA-funded grant project North Carolina Digital State Documents Collection |
Digital Format | application/pdf |
Related Items | Imprint varies: published later at Raleigh, N.C. |
Title Replaces | Bulletin of the North Carolina Board of Health** |
Audience | All |
Pres File Name-M | pubs_edp_healthbulletin191516.pdf |
Pres Local File Path-M | \Preservation_content\StatePubs\pubs_edp\images_master\ |
Full Text |
Cfte Librarp
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tlXnMmty of Bonb Carolina
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Philanthropic &ocietir0
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1915-16
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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 |