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146
Ringworm.
Of the 2,409 children inspected, five had ringworm of the scalp but none
had ringworm of the body. Two were boys, and three were girls.
The number of children away from school for ringworm at the end of the
year was 94, 79 of these being for ringworm of the scalp and 15 for ringworm
of the body.
The children who are away from school for ringworm are inspected by the
School Medical Officer at intervals of not less than a month in the School Medical
Office. The exclusion certificate for cases of ringworm is never given for a
period longer than a month. If the children do not present themselves for
examination at the end of this period they are visited by the attendance officer.
A child who has been excluded for ringworm is not admitted to school until a
clearance certificate has been sent by the School Medical Officer.
A child who has ringworm of the scalp is always away for several months,
sometimes even for over a year. This prolonged exclusion from school is no
doubt very detrimental to the child, and very trying for the parents, but it is the
only course to prevent the disease spreading through the schools.
Other Skin Diseases.
No children had scabies, two had impetigo; fifteen children had other
skin diseases.
Teeth.
The number of children with decayed teeth is given in the table at the end
of the report. It will be seen that 42.7 of the entrants had sound teeth, 51.89
per cent. of the leavers, while 18.5 per cent. of the entrants, 5.82 per cent of the
leavers had four decayed teeth or more. The above figures apply to both
temporary and permanent teeth.
Nose and Throat.
The number of children who had had operations for enlarged tonsils and
adenoids before inspection was 93, or 9.1 per cent. of the children whose
parents were present at the medical inspection and for whom only a history was
available.
The percentage of children with marked enlargement of tonsils was 0.16,
while 1.04 per cent. showed evidence of marked adenoids. The proportion of
children with enlarged tonsils is greater among the entrants than leavers. The