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43
I think it was a very happy idea for the Mayor to invite us to this
conference on this delicate but highly important subject.
We must all feel that if any good is to be got from this voluntary
notification of Phthisis, it must be by the cordial co-operation of the
medical practitioners with the Local Authority of the district. In fact, I
believe I am justified in saying that the Council will act chiefly through
the medical man in attendance. I may also state, in order to remove any
apprehension, that enquiries as to the origin of the disease, will be, as far
as possible, made by myself. The precautions the Borough are issuing
for consumptive persons are as follows, viz.:—
PRECAUTIONS FOR CONSUMPTIVE PERSONS.
Consumption is, to a certain extent, an infectious disease.
It is spread chiefly by inhaling the expectoration (spit) of
patients which has been allowed to become dry and float
about the room as dust.
Do not spit except into receptacles, the contents of which are to be
destroyed before they become dry. If this simple precaution
is taken, there is practically no danger of infection.
The following detailed rules will be found useful, both to the
consumptive and to his friends:—
1.—Expectoration indoors should be received into small paper bags
and burnt immediately.
2.—Expectoration out of doors should be received into a suitable
bottle—to be afterwards washed out with boiling water—or
into a small paper handkerchief, which is afterwards burnt.
3.— If ordinary handkerchiefs are ever used for expectoration they
should be put into boiling water before they have time to
become dry: or into a solution of disinfectant as directed
by the doctor.
4.— Wet cleansing of rooms, particularly of bedrooms occupied by
sick persons, should be substituted for "dusting" and
sweeping.
5.— Sunlight and fresh air are the greatest enemies of infection.
Every patient should sleep with his bedroom window open
top and bottom, a screen bemg arranged, if necessary, to
prevent a direct draught, and, if possible, should occupy a
separate bedroom. The patient need not fear going out of
doors in any weather if warmly clad.