London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Walthamstow 1938

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Walthamstow]

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"The patient is shown two different pictures, one for each eye,
e.g., a lion is seen by the right eye and a cage by the left eye, and
is taught to use both eyes simultaneously and thus see one complete
picture of the lion inside the cage. Fusion must then be developed
by means of two similar pictures, such as mickey mouse with a
hammer and mickey mouse without a hammer but with a nail to hit.
"When the patient has learnt to superimpose, the complete
picture of mickey mouse with the hammer and nail is perceived.
Stereoscopic pictures are then substituted for fusion slides, and the
eyes are gradually exercised towards normality until the muscles
are sufficiently strengthened for parallelism to be maintained.

"Treatment lasts for 20-30 minutes twice weekly, and the course may take anything from three months to two years to complete, according to the type of squint.

Total number of cases seen during 193837
Unsuitable for treatment3
Waiting list19
Amblyopias (all have shown improvement)9
Cases treated (of which two have been cured)6
Total attendances189
Number of clinics34"

(e) Nose and Throat Defects.—The scheme for treatment
remained the same as detailed in previous reports. All operations
for the removal of tonsils and adenoids were carried out at the
Connaught Hospital at a fee of £2, which includes a stay of one
night in hospital before and after the operation.

The following table shows the number of cases treated:—

Year.At Connaught Hospital.Privately.Total.
19381102112
19371033106

(f) Ear Disease and Defective Hearing.—(i) Mastoid Disease.
—One boy was referred to the Prince of Wales's General Hospital,
Tottenham, for mastoid operation under your Committee's scheme.
(ii) Ear Disease.—Minor defects under this heading are treated
at the minor ailments clinic, the numbers treated being given in
the table relating to the work of these clinics.
Audiometer Testing.—The use of the Cowan picture frame
in conjunction with the audiometer was continued. This procedure
enables infants to be tested as soon as possible after entrance to