[Report 1935] / Medical Officer of Health, Edinburgh City.

  • Edinburgh (Scotland). City Council.
Date:
1935
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1935] / Medical Officer of Health, Edinburgh City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    128/248 (page 114)
    Defect Notices. Notices of “ defects ” were issued to parents as follows :— At Systematic examinations .... 2,931 At Class-room inspections .... . 5,351 At Vision and hearing tests of 7-year-olds 510 8,792 It is of interest to note that defect notices were issued in the proportion of 1 in 5 at systematic examinations ; 1 in 4'9 at class-room inspections and 1 in 86 at vision and hearing tests of 7-year-olds. While 690 of the notices referred to dirty and verminous conditions, it must be remembered that our standards have risen materially of recent years and that in only 40 of these cases was it necessary to resort to statutory warning notices. “ Running Ears.” There would appear to be no diminution of otorrhoea among infants entering school for the first time. In 1925, 0-7 per cent, had this defect. Since then the per- centage has been about 0'8 except in 1926 when it was 1-6 and in 1933 when it was 1 *2. No direct relation between the incidence of this condition and the prevalence of its commonest cause—scarlet fever—can be traced. But parents cannot be too strongly urged to persist with treatment in pre-school years because the condition militates severely against a child’s educational advancement. It is of interest to note that the condition seems more prevalent in the Leith area. Since amalgamation the proportion of otorrhoea cases to all others seen by the Aural Specialists has always been higher in Leith than in Edinburgh. Whether this is due to fewer facilities for hospital advice or to failure of parents to seek such advice it is difficult to say. Dental Care. It is pleasing to record the steady increase among school children of dentally “ clean mouths ”—that is, mouths without sepsis or dental decay. Among children inspected by the Dental Surgeons in schools in the Edinburgh area the percentage “ clean ” in 1915 was 12 ; in 1925, 15*3 ; and in 1935, 27 8. In Leith the figures are more erratic—in 1914, 10*3 ; in 1925, 134; in 1931, 21*2 ; in 1935, 17-5. Still, Edinburgh children lose over 20,000 teeth, by extraction, each year at the School Dental Clinics. It is to be regretted that more 12-year-olds do not accept treatment. Apparently, at this age they dictate to their parents, ignoring the fact that one or two small stoppings would preserve an almost perfect set of teeth for years to come.