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The eyes of nearly all infants are Inclined to be long sighted.
As children grow up the eyes become increasingly used for
reading and study and a tendency to short sight develops.
For this reason I would again stress the necessity of all
children's books and papers having a large, clear, type. There
is considerable danger of short sight developing when children
convalescing after illness are permitted to read in bed, especially
by artificial light.
(e) Nose and Throat Defects. At the routine medical inspections
there were twenty-three cases of enlarged tonsils, one case
of adenoids, and twelve cases of adenoids with enlarged tonsils
requiring treatment. Thus out of 1,999 children examined in
the routine way, thirty-six or approximately 1.80% were found
to need operation. In addition, there were eighty-one children
or 4.05% with enlarged tonsils or with adenoids and enlarged
tonsils requiring to be kept under observation but not requiring
treatment. At the Health Centre fifty-six other cases were
found on special examination to require operation for this condition.
The percentage figure for those requiring treatment is
lower than that for the preceding year.
There are fewer cases recommended for the removal of tonsils
and adenoids now than formerly.
(f) Ear Diseases and Defective Hearing. At the routine
inspections six children were found to be suffering from defective
hearing, and six from otitis media, all requiring treatment.
There were also five children with defective hearing and one
who had recently suffered from otitis media requiring to be kept
under observation.
In other words 0.90% of the children examined in the
schools were found to be suffering from defective hearing or
from discharging ears. Furthermore, two children with defective
hearing, sixty-six with otitis media, and fifty-one with
other ear diseases, all requiring treatment, were examined as
special cases at the Health Centre.
Deafness and running ears are still of too frequent occurrence
amongst school children. A discharging ear is a source of considerable
discomfort and unpleasantness to a child. The impairment
of hearing which is nearly always associated with it gives
rise to a considerable handicap in school life. The chronic discharging
ear is also a source of danger owing to complications of
the mastoid region which are liable to arise. Infectious diseases
such as measles and scarlet fever are common causes of discharging
ears. Nearly all the cases of scarlet fever, however, that
occur in the Borough are treated in the Infectious Diseases Hospital,
and it is uncommon for a child to be discharged with a
running ear or with impaired hearing. Infections such as measles,
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