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15
(e) and (/) Eye Disease, Vision and Squint.—With reference
to the findings of School Medical Inspection with regard to eye
diseases, I have to report that on the whole, with the exception of
defective vision, including squint, these diseases have shown a
decrease. These diseases, too, tend rather to manifest themselves
amongst communities that are not particularly devoted to hygiene,
so that here too your figures give a reassuring message that,
generally, personal cleanliness is being more and more appreciated
by the parents of the children attending your schools.
With reference to the increase in the number of cases of defective
vision found and the number of cases of squint, I am unprepared
at the present time to make any serious statement, but perhaps
I might suggest that the total number of children of the intermediate
code group examined this year was considerably in excess of that for
last year, and that it is amongst these children defects of vision are
chiefly discovered.
It will be noted that there were no less than seventeen cases
of squint found requiring treatment among the schoolchildren
during the year 1928. The corresponding figure for last year was
seven. These cases of squint are naturally found chiefly among the
children who are entrants.
The number of these cases is sufficient to indicate the wisdom
of the Council in deciding to take up refraction work for children ,
under school age.
(g) Ear Disease.—The condition of your children with regard
to ear disease remains practically as it was last year. It will be a
long time before we deal effectively with this problem, which is
intimately associated with the kindred problem of enlarged tonsils
and adenoids, with which I am dealing in the next paragraph of
this report.
(h) Tonsils and Adenoids.—There is a decrease this year in
the number of cases of tonsils and adenoids found, but, although
this decrease is material, it is by no means sufficient to make the
problem anything other than a very grave one. Nature never
intended such a vast number of children to have tonsils and
adenoids which are interfering with their growth and development.