[Report 1923] / School Medical Officer of Health, Liverpool.

Liverpool (England). Council.

Date:: 1923

Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1923] / School Medical Officer of Health, Liverpool. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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usually require attention for considerable periods, and in suitable cases arrangements are made for parents to carry out the treatment at home under clinic supervision. By this means the loss of education which would be entailed by daily attendance at the Clinic for a protracted period is obviated. The treatment of this disease (as experience has shewn) is one which is particularly apt to be neglected by parents in view ol its chionic nature, but it is one which frequently results in serious impairment ot hearing, and is, moreover, a constant source of danger to the child s health and even life. Il is interesting to note, however, that it is reported that in I.ondon, since the treatment of this condition has been undertaken by the Education Authorities, Hospital statistics have shewn a well marked diminution in the incidence of the serious complications ol this condition, c.g., mastoid disease, meningitis and cerebral abscess. The treatment of one other disease, viz., keratitis, which is an inflammatory condition of the delicate transparent membrane in front of the eye, is also frequently delayed by parents, particulaily in Ihc poorer quarters of the City, even when, as is frequently the case, it is accompanied by severe pain. Apart from the relief of pain, piompt and appropriate treatment diminishes the period of absence from school and prevents what may become a serious permanent defect oi vision through the formation of corneal opacities. The Clinics thus fulfil a very important purpose in providing early treatment for what may otherwise become serious diseases, and to some extent they are not without their place in the education of parents and children alike as to the benefits of early and appropriate treatment.