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1920
32
ablement from measles. It is a truism that the better the conditions
the less skilled the nursing need be. Under good sanitary
conditions, the services of a sensible mother, under medical advice,
are usually sufficient. Where the sanitary conditions are unfavourable,
frequently a doctor is not in attendance until complications
set in, and the mother does not appreciate the seriousness
of the disease if neglected. In many instances the mother is not
able to devote sufficient attention to the care of the patient. It
was for such cases that the Council intended the services of the
nurse appointed in 1919. The services of the nurse were not perpetually
required for this purpose, and a joint appointment was made
of Health Visitor and School Nurse.
In the Annual Report of 1919 it was pointed out that the
services of the nurse were not utilised for the purposes intended,
and there were various reasons for this lack of appreciation. Neither
was the accommodation at the Fever Hospital used to any appreciable
extent. The Council has passed a Resolution that cases of
measles may be nursed in the Fever Hospital when accommodation
is available and when circumstances render it desirable that the
patient should be nursed in an institution. Only 3 cases were
removed to the hospital.
Measles and its complications may be followed by ailments
which cause prolonged or permanent disablement, where they do
not cause death, and deafness and eye affections are complications
which may seriously handicap a child in his educational career.
Mr. McLeod Yearsley, in papers entitled "The Causes Leading to
Educational Deafness in Children," with special reference to
prevention, found that measles was responsible for nearly 12 per
cent. of the cases of educational deafness. Conjunctivitis with
lachrymation forms a part of the symptoms displayed by measles,
which ordinarily subsides with the end of the illness. Persisting
eye affections may reduce acuity of vision, or cause partial or
even total blindness. Some authorities place measles as the responsible
factor in 2 per cent. of the cases of total blindness.
In order to ascertain what complications had occurred,
all the cases were visited about three months after the end of the
epidemic, and the following were the complications disclosed by
this inquiry:—
Ear discharge 12
Inflammation of the eyelids 11
Deafness 1
Nasal discharge 1
An attempt was made to obtain consent for the treatment of
all those suffering from ear or eye disease at the School Clinic.
Most of them obtained treatment either from their own doctor,