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As we have described in previous reports, treatment for squint usually
involves first, the correction of any visual defect, and then the encouragement of
the squinting eye, either by covering the good one or by further exercises and
training, particularly between the ages of three and seven, so that the images of
the two eyes can be fused to give proper appreciation of perspective.
For this training much patience and regular treatment is necessary and we
are lucky in Barking to have an Orthoptic Clinic under the direction of your visiting
Consultant, which follows-up and gives prolonged individual attention to all cases
of squint.
In some cases where it is not possible to control the squint by exercises alone,
it may be necessary when the child is older to correct any deformity by delicate
operation on the eye muscles.
TREATMENT OF DEFECTS OF EAR, NOSE AND THROAT
Question:—What are Tonsils and Adenoids? Can we do without them?
Answer:—The Tonsils and Adenoids are, of course, as most people know,
a ring of lymphoid glands and tissue completely surrounding the back of the mouth
and nose, whose function is to hold up and filter off harmful organisms which may
be trying to enter the body.
There is no doubt, seeing how often they
are removed with impunity, that we can
manage without them. Yet it is equally
certain that so long as they themselves are not
causing trouble they are best left alone.
Indeed, unless there are very clear indications
for their removal, surgeons never advise it.
The table inset shows the number of sessions and the number of new cases
seen by Mr. F. Courtenay Mason, F.R.C.S., Consultant Ear, Nose and Throat
Surgeon, throughout the year.
Question:—What are the indications for removing tonsils and adenoids?
Answer:—The two main reasons are:—
1. Chronic obstruction.
2. Chronic infection.
1. As regards obstruction there may be difficulty in swallowing, but more
usually the difficulty is proper breathing. When a child cannot breathe through
his nose he naturally breathes through his mouth, which is bad. Such mouthbreathing
may occur in two ways, either by enlarged adenoids hanging down and
blocking the back of the nose, or else by large
tonsils blocking the back of the mouth, so that
to breathe the child has to raise them with the
soft palate, thus again blocking the back of
the nose.
Mouth breathing is, of course, bad in
many ways. Not only is it unsightly to see
a child with a gaping mouth, but the whole
shape of the face may be altered. A high
arched palate, protruding front teeth and a
drooping lower jaw are not a pleasant sight for fond parents and may, indeed, cause
much self-conscious misery to the child itself. Moreover, air is meant to enter the
lungs via the nose, which filters and warms it, like an air-conditioning machine.
TREATMENT OF EAR, NOSE
AND THROAT DEFECTS
Number of Sessions 56
Number of new cases seen 498
Total Number of attendances 952
TREATMENT OF EAR, NOSE
AND THROAT DEFECTS
Received operative treatment
356
Received other forms of
treatment 345
Total 701
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