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
Walthamstow 1925
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Walthamstow]
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advised to cover the non-squinting eye from 1 to 2 hours daily to
begin with and eventually to keep it covered all the time the child
is in the house.
In this way a great improvement in the vision of the squinting
eye has been obtained in a number of cases, and where, when first
seen the child was 7 years or under, the vision in the majority of
cases returned to normal.
| Boys. | Girls. | |
|---|---|---|
| Converging Squint L | — | 3 |
| 1 | — | |
| Alternating „ | 1 | — |
| Needling for Cataract | 1 | 1 |
| Ptosis | — | 1 |
The work of the clinic also includes the following-up of cases
until school attendance ceases. In this way, 1,072 children making
2,558 attendances, were seen as per following table. Fifty-seven children from
the Myope Centre made 105 attendances.
In addition, 706 attendances were made by children requiring treatment. In all, the attendances at the Clinic totalled 3,369.
| Diseases. | No. of Children. | No. of Attendances. | Average No. of attendances per child. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys. | Girls. | Boys. | Girls. | Boys. | Girls. | |
| Myopia | 113 | 86 | 221 | 223 | 2.00 | 2.60 |
| Hypermetropia | 92 | 100 | 176 | 236 | 1.91 | 2.30 |
| Myopic Astigmatism | 31 | 54 | 86 | 157 | 2.77 | 2.90 |
| Hypermetropic „ | 83 | 118 | 157 | 325 | 1.90 | 2.70 |
| Mixed „ | 30 | 53 | 91 | 140 | 3.00 | 2.60 |
| Squints | 81 | 89 | 209 | 232 | 2.57 | 2.60 |
| Other defects such as Nystagmus, Corneal Opacities, etc. | 22 | 27 | 47 | 52 | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Odd Eyes | 29 | 21 | 40 | 46 | 1.40 | 2.00 |
| Glasses not required | 19 | 24 | 62 | 58 | 3.00 | 2.40 |
| 500 | 572 | 1089 | 1469 | 2.3 | 2.5 | |
Myope School.—During 1925 Mr. Lindsay Rea paid 7 visits to
Walthamstow, and as well as seeing each child at the Myope Centre
he passed one girl and two boys for admission there.
Oil December 31st there were 27 boys and 30 girls on the school
register, 19 of these being Blind within the Act, and being taught
Braille.