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71
The homes of the patients notified are visited by Mrs. Fisher,
who leaves a card of instructions as to the prevention of consumption,
supplementing the printed directions with oral advice.
This card is as follows:—
BOROUGH OF HAMPSTEAD.
public health department.
Precautions Against Consumption.
Consumption is an infectious disease. It is caused by a germ
called the tubercle bacillus,which grows in the lungs of a consumptive
patient in enormous numbers, and the sputum (spit) coughed up by
the patient contains a great many of these germs. When this
sputum is allowed to dry it may become powdered into a fine dust
and be blown about in the air. Any persons breathing this air may
take the germs into their lungs, and after a time become consumptive.
This is how Consumption is spread from one person to
another.
A consumptive patient who does not take care to destroy his
sputum before it becomes dry is a source of danger to other people
and to himself, for he may re-infect himself by breathing his own
dried sputum.
A consumptive patient should on no account spit on the floor
of any room, workshop, theatre, or other place where people
assemble; or on the floor of any railway carriage, tram-car, or other
public conveyance; or on a street pavement.
Nor should the patient spit into an ordinary pocket
handkerchief. The sputum soon dries in the pocket, and when the
handkerchief is next used a cloud of infective dust may be scattered
around the patient.
At home the patient should spit into a piece of paper or clean
rag, which should be at once burnt on the fire. If there is no fire
the patient should spit into a jar, pocket spittoon or other vessel
containing water or some fluid disinfectant to keep the sputum
moist. The vessel should be emptied twice a day down the watercloset,
and then thoroughly cleansed with boiling water before being
again used.
Outside the house the patient should spit into a pocket spittoon,
which should contain a little water or fluid disinfectant, and should
be kept perfectly clean. Or the patient may carry a number of
pieces of soft paper, or clean rags to spit into. These after being
used should never be carried loose in the pocket, but in a tobacco