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102
the parent of the child was seen and instructed how to proceed,
if the child were not old enough to be taught how to keep the ear
clean by him or herself.
As mentioned in previous reports, one of the most difficult
things to impress on parents is the importance of Nose Hygiene
in dealing with ear discharge. Consent would willingly, in most
cases eagerly, be given to operative measures such as removal of
tonsils, but lesser measures calculated to produce a healthy nose
ana naso-pharynx are only too often met with indifference and scepticism.
A little lecture on Anatomy sometimes has the desired
effect in stimulating co-operation from the parent.
Where home treatment is not being carried out adequately,
the parent is interviewed and instructed. Straight speaking is
not always appreciated, as witness one case which had been resisting
treatment through home neglect, and had in the end to be
referred to the Acton Hospital where it was considered that a
mastoid operation would now be necessary to cure the condition
This the mother would not consent to, and said that she had never
meant to allow any " interference with her son, although she had
allowed us to send her to hospital with a letter and wasted the time
of the specialist in seeing her boy. On being told that it was largely
her own fault that there was any question of " interference," the
mother left the clinic and took her child to another hospital, where
similar treatment was advised and carried out. It is not often that
such situations arise, in only 3 cases last year did the Clinic fail
to obtain the willing co-operation of the mother, in others it may
have meant repeated interviews but success was attained in the end.
In comparing the figures for the clinic for 1936 with those
of the previous year, it must be noticed how the cases of otorrhoea
have increased. This may be explained, partly, by the fact that
Measles was rampant in the first half of 1936 and the epidemic
resulted in many cases of ear infectious. Last year this was found
to be generally much more the case than is normal in Measles
epidemics.
In several cases where treatment was being carried out
conscientiously, and the desired results were not being obtained,
attention was directed to the child's general condition and success
was attained when treatment was combined with general tonics
and cod liver oil and malt.