London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Finsbury 1910

Annual report on the public health of Finsbury for the year 1910

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70
3. Improper Exposure.—Mothers, too poor to pay for
medical treatment at home, have been known repeatedly to
take the child who is ill, backwards and forwards to a doctor
or to a hospital, risking the infection of others, and the development
of pneumonia in the child. When these cases are discovered
they are given tickets for home medical treatment by one of the
charitable medical institutions in the Borough.
4. Premature Resumption of ordinary daily routine.—
Many parents regard the disappearance of the rash as an indication
that the disease has vanished, that all danger is over. When this
has happened the child is allowed to go out of doors in all weathers,
insufficiently and improperly clothed; he then contracts pneumonia
and is in danger of dying.
It is recommended that the child, however well he may feel,
should remain in bed for one week after the rash has completely
gone, and should be kept indoors for still another week, after
getting up.
5. Improper nursing.—Some of the children have been
found to be improperly and insufficiently fed, to be in bed clad only
in a flannelette vest, with shoulders and chest exposed, covered
over by a thin counterpane with or without a blanket. Many of
the children are dirty, unwashed, and looked after by others just a
few years older. The feeding is often injudicious—allured by
newspaper advertisements the parents buy cod liver oil or its
emulsions and neglect to provide milk which is much more
suitable.
6. Treatment.—The home treatment generally consists of
saffron and brandy; sometimes this is varied and saffron and
senna, saffron and syrup of buckthorn, or saffron and onions are
used. The onions were stated to be "very good for bringing the
rash out and strengthening the eyes after being weakened by the
measles.
Illustrative cases are appended:—
1. Exposure of set purpose.—A family consisting of the
father, mother, and 7 children ranging from 19 months to 14 years,