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Education Committee. This figure is considerably higher than
that for the previous year. The total number of unclean children
found by the nurses during their systematic inspections of the
schools during 1933 amounted to four hundred and seventy-three.
During 1932 the number was one hundred and eighty.
In the latter half of 1933 it was decided to keep a record
of every unclean child found by the nurses during their inspections,
no matter how slight or trivial the degree of uncleanliness.
It is for this reason that the figures for unclean children
found by the nurses show such a considerable increase over the.
figures for the previous year. Actually, the standard of cleanliness
in the schools has been raised very considerably. A few
years ago, children who were admitted to the Isolation Hospital,
suffering from various infectious diseases, were not infrequently
found to have unclean heads. During 1933, the Matron informs
me, no unclean heads were found among the children admitted
to the wards.
(c) Minor Ailments and Diseases of the Skin. The minor
ailments found at the routine and non-routine inspections are
indicated in Table II.
Ringworm of the head and body, scabies, impetigo, other
skin diseases, minor injuries, diseases of the ears and eyes
(including otorrhœa and blepharitis) together with miscellaneous
conditions such as sores and chilblains were the common ailments
detected.
Of the children examined as routine cases in the schools,
0.85% were found to be suffering from skin diseases.
One was suffering from scabies, three from impetigo and
eleven from other minor skin ailments.
Three hundred and three or 12.51% of the special cases
examined at the Health Centre were discovered to be suffering
from diseases of the skin. A great number of these cases were
sent up by the teachers and attendance officers. There were
eighteen cases of ringworm of the body, sixteen cases of scabies,
one hundred and thirty-six of impetigo, and one hundred and
thirty-three of other skin conditions.
Ringworm of the scalp and scabies are not of frequent
occurrence amongst school children in Wimbledon. Impetigo,
however, is common amongst all school children. As it is contagious,
a number of children suffering from impetigo have to be
excluded temporarily from school.
In many cases, however, it is possible for the sore to be
covered by a dressing, and these children, as a rule, are allowed
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