London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Leyton 1939
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Leyton]
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The examinations were conducted primarily in order to discover and treat
children suffering from contagious or infectious disease such as ringworm, scabies,
impetigo, uncleanliness, defects of eyes or ears, etc. Any other defects affecting
the health or happiness of the children were attended to, and in some cases visits
were made to billets and contact was kept with the County Medical and Nursing
Staff as far as possible.
The following table gives some idea of the conditions found :—
| Leyton Children | Essex Children (or other Evacuees). | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of children examined | 3,053 | 1,460 |
| 2 | — | |
| Scabies | 10 | — |
| Impetigo | 28 | 5 |
| 28 | 20 | |
| Conjunctivitis | 4 | 3 |
| Squint | 1 | — |
| 112 | 30 | |
| 14 | 8 | |
| 16 | 62 | |
| Enlarged Cervical Glands (non-T.B.)... | 15 | — |
| 1 quiescent | ||
| 58 | — | |
| Other Defects and Diseases | 80 | 75 |
The following remarks are based on purely general impressions. I should
like to deal with the problems which have aroused most interest or publicity in
the lay and medical press.
Uncleanliness : Leyton, in common with most areas, has in each school
children from groups of families which are a constant source of worry to the school
nurses. These children are excluded from school again and again on account
of uncleanliness. It needed only five weeks without supervision during the
school vacation to make them a virulent source of infection to their cleaner
school fellows, and a train journey in crowded carriages plus a week's freedom in
the country to spread vermin to children never infected before. Add to this the
fact that foster parents, unaccustomed to give the constant care to children's
heads which clean mothers do give in poorer districts of this city, and one can
understand the rapid spread of verminous conditions. Many of our parents
brought their children home because of this fact.
Body vermin are very seldom found among Leyton children, and the only
case of bug infestation which arose was due to a second-hand suitcase bought the
day before evacuation.
The problem of dealing with chronic offenders should be tackled much more
vigorously, and the clumsy procedure of prosecuting for non-attendance at school
should be amended in some way so that more direct action is possible.
Impetigo : There is not a great incidence of this skin complaint among Leyton
children nowadays, and the distribution of the cases in Essex was rather interesting.
The infant departments of two schools, widely separated, had a number of very
severe cases, mainly around the knees. One senior school in another area had a