View report page

88
the defect. Nine were suffering from Adenoids and sent to
Hospital for operation, and nine were treated for Ear Discharge
or Impacted Cerumen. The 102 cases mentioned as "Minor
Ear Defects" in Table IV, Group I, includes 46 cases of
Otitis Media with Otorrhoea. Although classified as a "Minor
Defect," it is really a very serious condition, for apart from
the obvious disabilities that accompany it, it may be followed
by abscesses in the surrounding bone, or in the brain or even
by Septicaemia. It is, therefore, very important that this
condition should be cured and considerable success has been
obtained during the year by the use of weak solutions of Zinc
Sulphate. In some Clinics these solutions are used in conjunction
with the constant electric current (Zinc Ionisation)
and we have found that even without using electricity the
Zinc Sulphate treatment is a marked improvement on the eld
methods. Unfortunately, after being apparently clean for
weeks or months, quite a number relapse. This is due, in many
cases, to the fact that there is a primary source of infection in
the post-nasal sinuses and cells which can only be cured by
operation.
(g) Dental Treatment.—Miss Doretz, the School Dental
Surgeon, reports as follows, on the dental treatment of the
School children of this district:—
"I beg to submit to you my Report of the work done
at the Dental Clinic during the year 11)25.
"Three thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven
children were inspected, of which 83 per cent. were
referred for treatment. This increased percentage of
referred cases is the obvious result of the large number
of parents who ignored offers of treatment in 1924, when
"visiting" was discontinued for reasons stated in that year's
Report. This parental indifference is still the one great
obstacle to the satisfactory performance of the Clinic's
work. Its effect can be gathered from the following
tables:—