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53
it had been felt that some printed form of advice
should be issued to sufferers both for their personal
welfare and for the protection of the healthy; to this
end a draft notice was prepared and presented to the
Committee on the 10th March, and was approved by
them, for printing and circulation throughout the
Borough. The notice reads as follows:—
METROPOLITAN BOROUGH OF BETHNAL GREEN.
PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE.
PREVENTION OF THE SPREAD OF CONSUMPTION.
Consumption is infectious, but if proper precautions are
taken, the risk of communicating the disease to healthy
persons is very small.
The mucus or phlegm coughed up by the patient contains
the germ of the disease and the greatest care must be taken
that this is disinfected or destroyed. This phlegm is not
harmful so long as it is moist, but if allowed to become dry
it gets blown about as dust and finds its way into articles of
food or may get drawn with the breath into the lungs.
For this reason persons suffering from consumption
should be most careful not to spit on floors or places where
other people walk. A special spitting cup should be provided
either lined with paper or containing water. This
spitting cup should be emptied into a clear fire or down the
W.C. Out of doors a pocket handkerchief may be used, but
all handkerchiefs so soiled should be boiled for at least five
minutes before being washed.
The room in which a consumptive patient lives should
be well ventilated, thick curtains should be avoided and as
much fresh air and sunlight as possible admitted. An open
window day and night is beneficial. The floors should be
kept clean and all dust and flue carefully removed.