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
Ilford 1948
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Ilford]
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| Nervous Debility | 59 |
| Habit Spasm | 9 |
| Chorea | 4 |
| Petit Mai | 6 |
| Enuresis | 35 |
| Other Conditions | 12 |
| Deformities:— | |
| Genu Valgum | 9 |
| Posture | 26 |
| Pigeon Chest | 2 |
| Flat Feet | 56 |
| Pes Valgus | 2 |
| Intoeing | 6 |
| Valgus Ankles | 46 |
| Other forms | 16 |
| Minor Injuries | 109 |
| Rheumatism | 69 |
| Other Defects and Diseases | 201 |
| Total number of ailments | 4,046 |
SPECIAL CLINICS.
Ophthalmic Clinic.
During the year 1948, the School Oculist held 188 sessions for the
refraction of children suffering from defective vision (100 at Valentines and
88 at Mayesbrook). Full details of the work are given in Table III, Group II,
on page 90.
3,023 attendances (1,663 at Valentines Clinic, 1,360 at Mayesbrook Clinic)
were made by 1,464 schoolchildren (811 at Valentines Clinic, 653 at Mayesbrook
Clinic), as compared with 1,309 schoolchildren in 1947.
The 1.464 children were not all suffering from crave defects of vision.
The following table shows the vision in the worst eye, as tested by Snellen's Type:—
| 6/6 | 6/9 | 6/12 | 6/18 | 6/24 | 6/36 | 6/60 | less than 6/60 |
| 362 | 267 | 221 | 208 | 137 | 169 | 87 | 13 |
The children who saw 6/6 (practically normal vision) were suffering from
symptoms such as headaches, inflamed eyelids, etc., which rendered further
examination necessary.
The 1,464 children were found to be suffering from the following defects:-
| Diagnosis. | New Cases. | Old Cases. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | B | A | B | |
| Myopia | 73 | 50 | 120 | 93 |
| Myopic Astigmatism | 4 | 6 | 35 | 15 |
| Hypermetropia | 70 | 27 | 145 | 105 |
| Hypermetropic Astigmatism | 17 | 28 | 65 | 36 |
| Anisometropia | 10 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| Hypermetropia with Squint | _ | _ | 20 | 4 |
| Squint | 46 | 42 | 113 | 140 |
| Blepharitis | 7 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| Chalazion | 2 | 1 | — | — |
| Congenital Cataract | — | — | — | 2 |
| Congenital Coloboma | 1 | — | 1 | 2 |
| Corneal nebulae | - | 1 | — | 2 |
| Conjunctivitis | — | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Nystagmus | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| Other conditions | 2 | 5 | 1 | 9 |
| N.A.D. | 23 | 20 | 40 | 36 |
| Totals | 257 | 192 | 554 | 461 |
A—Valentines. B—Mayesbrook.