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12
Skin Defects
There was an overall reduction in the number of skin defects reported
due to a sharp decline in the number which required treatment. During the
year a scheme for the laboratory investigation of Athlete's Foot, to which
reference was made in last year's Report (p. 12) was successfully introduced.
Specimens of affected skin are sent to a Mycology Laboratory in
London, and subsequent reports confirm or exclude the presence of a fungal
infection. During the year 116 specimens were sent to the laboratory, and
24 (20.7%) were reported positive. This relatively low proportion was of
some initial concern but assurances have subsequently been received that
similarrates have been found in investigations completed in other areas of
the country. It is often difficult to separate the relatively small number of
fungal infections from the very much larger group of "Athlete's Foot"
caused by other conditions and these laboratory investigations have been
a welcome addition to the diagnostic facilities available to the Service.
Indeed, it is possible that the reduction in skin defects reported is partly
due to the improved opportunities for diagnosis which are now available.
When a positive specimen is identified, treatment may be given either by
the family doctor or at a School Minor Ailment Clinic. During the year 3
cases were referred to family doctors, and 21 cases were offered treatment
at the School Clinics.
A number of cases of ringworm were reported during the year. The
usual measures were taken to exclude possible spread to other pupils,
including screening the children in some classes with ultra-violet light.
This technique identifies certain strains of ringworm at a stage before
loss of hair becomes obvious. The education of affected children also
presents some problems, since they must remain absent from school until
the lengthy treatment is complete .Unfortunately the service is not
always informed of the diagnosis at an early stage, and such delays add
to the problems presented by the condition. The return of these once
common conditions is a timely warning that standards of control must not
be relaxed. There is a natural tendency for parents, teachers and School
Health Service staff to assume that the absence of these conditions
obviates the need for the preventive measures which ensured their eradication.
Some Head Teachers have been reluctant to permit hygiene inspections
in their schools, but it is clear that the price of freedom from these
conditions is indeed constant vigilance.