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7
Nose and Throat Defects.
Reference to Table II will show individual defects under
this heading.
In view of the attention now being paid to this question,
it is of interest to recall that for some years a conservative outlook
has been adopted regarding the importance of removal of
tonsils and adenoids.
Those of us actively engaged in clinical work among preschool
children, must often have wondered why, if tonsil
removal was of importance, greater attention is not paid to this
condition in the under five's before many of the damaging
effects attributed to unhealthy tonsils and adenoids are already
in evidence, some of them to be permanent.
It always seems to me that by the time the child reaches
school age, he has already been exposed for a considerable
proportion of the most dangerous period of his exposure to
risk period," and by the time he has been kept under observation
this period is still further increased.
The indications for tonsil and adenoid removal in our School
Medical Service remain as before, that is, if the tonsils are not
giving rise to secondary conditions or repeated sore throats,
they do not call for removal.
It should perhaps be noted that a considerable proportion
of our Tonsillectomies have already been advised by their own
private practitioner to have the operation and they are consequently
referred to the clinic for convenience of arrangements
in securing the operation.