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SCHOOL MEDICAL SERVICE ANNUAL REPORT - AURAL CLINIC, 1945.
by
Doctor F. P. M. Clarke,
The usual weekly Session of the Ear, Hose and Throat Clinic has been
carried on during 1945 as in previous years (including the war years).
There was some disorganisation in the matter of attendances during the first
half of the year, due to the V.1 and V.2 bombings which were heavy in this
area. A number of children were evacuated and the attendances due on
appointments were frequently interrupted by the raids, notwithstanding
this, the total number of children who attended the Clinic and continued
afterwards for the required treatment compares favourably with the numbers
in previous (pre-war) normal years.
The weekly Session of the Aural Clinic is held every Saturday morning and
the required treatment is carried out on two Sessions a week at three
convenient Centres in the Borough. This arrangement assures a much hotter
attendance than if the treatment was carried out at one Centre only. It is
convenient for the children and also for the schools and saves a good deal
of school time. A certain number of the treatments which require special
apparatus and special knowledge in their application, such as Zinc
Ionisation, Proetz Displacement, Tonsil Suction, etc., are always done at the
Chief "Treatment Clinic" at the Town Hall Centre. The treatments usually
carried out at the auxiliary Centres are, diastolisation or intra-nasal
massage for rhinitis and catarrh, suction treatment for acute otorrhoea,
tonsil painting and the instillation of nasal antiseptic drops, etc.
An increasing number of pre—school children is now being seen at the
Clinic, including infants and welfare centre children. This inclusion of
children (and infants) of the pro-school age group in the schema for ear,
nose and throat examination and treatment is a very important raid desirable
advance in the cause of preventive medicine. Many conditions such as
rhinitis, acute otitis, deafness, nasal obstructions, etc. occur at this ago
v/hich, if taken in time, can be quickly and satisfactorily resolved, but if
overlooked or neglected c, n become chronic and present a much more difficult
problem by the time the child reaches his school inspection age.
During the last three years we have found aural suction a most valuable
method in the complete and rapid cure of the great majority of cases of acute
otorrhoea (running oars). The treatment is carried out at the Clinic daily
by means of the Fowler ear suction tube and most cases heal up within a week
or ten days. This method is used in conjunction with the instillation of a
10% solution of Albucid (Schering) into the ear once a day.
The French (Gautier) method of intra-nasal massage, with the special
Gautier diastolisation bougies which has proved so successful in previous
years, has been largely employed for such conditions as "catarrh", rhinitis,
nasal obstructions of non-organic origin, mouth breathing etc. The results
have been very satisfactory.
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