London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Edmonton 1913
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Edmonton]
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Vermin.
The percentage of children with nits in the hair was 27.3. The following table will show the percentage in the two sexes and three age groups:—
| Entrants. | Leavers. | 10 year old group. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys. | Girls. | Boys. | Girls. | Boys. | Girls. | |
| Head clean | 88.6 | 59.3 | 92.2 | 51.5 | 90.8 | 46.7 |
| Very few nits | 5.0 | 13.3 | 4.3 | 22.0 | 4.6 | 18.3 |
| Many nits | 6.4 | 26.7 | 3.5 | 26.0 | 4.6 | 33.2 |
| Filthy | — | 0.7 | — | 0.5 | — | 1.8 |
| Total per cent, unclean heads | 114 | 40.7 | 7.8 | 48.5 | 9.2 | 53.3 |
At the three ages the percentage of boys with unclean heads is thus about
10 per cent., and of girls 50 per cent. The boys' heads are the dirtiest when
they first come to school, and the girls' heads are the cleanest, but there is an
improvement in both boys and girls between the ages of ten and the age of
leaving.
Fleas. Thirty-seven of the children were found extremely fleabitten,
i.e., less than one per cent.
Below is given a table showing the percentage of children with nits in the
The Junior Mixed departments omitted, as the numbers inspected were too small to base a percentage thereon.
| Name of School. | Boys. | Girls. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infants. | Seniors. | Infants, | Seniors. | |
| Brettenham Road | 4.3 | 4.9 | 28.6 | 40.4 |
| Croyland Road | 5.3 | 8.7 | 21.1 | 41.0 |
| Raynham Road | 5.1 | 17.5 | 44.2 | 63.7 |
| Eldon Road | 10.5 | 5.5 | 47.0 | 54.1 |
| Silver Street | 4.6 | 8.1 | 21.0 | 43.0 |
| Houndsfield Road | 15.4 | 1.l | 35.0 | 40.2 |
| Montague Road | 42.4 | 12.5 | 68.4 | 76.6 |
| All Saints' | 17.7 | — | 53.5 | 49.5 |
| St. James' | — | 2.9 | 28.5 | 29.6 |
| Latymer Elementary | — | 4.3 | — | — |
| St. Edmunds' | 14.8 | 2.5 | 50.0 | 67.6 |
| All Schools | 11.6 | 8.3 | 39.8 | 50.6 |
| All Schools, 1912 | 9.8 | 6.8 | 41.8 | 44.0 |
| All Schools, 1908 | 21.0 | 14.0 | 58.0 | 74.0 |