-82 HYGIENE AND SCHOOL LIFE. 



gramme should be so arranged that the periods of eye work 

 would, in affected children, be shortened and greater time for 

 rest and change left between them. " Extra work," such as 

 music, drawing and needlework and . home study, should be 

 curtailed in such cases. 



TJic Ear. — The practice of boxing a child's ears often leads 

 to a rupture of the drum-head that may injure him for life. 

 Children should be warned against introducing pen-holders, 

 pencils or other things into their ears. Deafness in a 

 greater or less degree should be looked for among children, 

 as ear troubles often follow colds, enlarged tonsils and 

 adenoidal growths, while hardened wax is often a cause of trouble 

 — adenoidal growths are very serious if not detected and dealt 

 with under medical supervision. 



The Mouth and Voice. — Adenoids or enlarged tonsils also 

 affect a child's speech, facial expression and breathing. 



The principal vocal defects are stammering, stuttering, lisp- 

 ing, drawling and hurried, thick or indistinct speech. A 

 ne'rvous temperament generally intensifies vocal weakness, and, 

 as much depends in after life upon a good vocal faculty, any 

 weakness should be reported and dealt with under medical 

 advice without delay. Congenital defects, such as hair lip, 

 cleft palate or defects in the lips, teeth, tongue or palate 

 naturally require looking for. 



Contagious Diseases. — It may not be out of place, as I am 

 more particularly addressing our lay members, to point out 

 that "contagious" diseases are usually transmitted by direct 

 ■contact, and " infectious " diseases through the media of 

 water, food or air. To give some idea of the necessity for 

 regular and continuous medical inspection, I venture to name 

 a few of the common diseases that may be communicated by 

 one child to another, and thus a whole school be thrown into 

 confusion, either or both of which events might possibly have 

 been prevented if the teacher had been competent to detect 

 them in time. 



Usually air borne are chicken-pox, erysipelas, influenza, 

 measles, mumps, scarlet fever, small-pox, whooping cough, 

 etc. 



Usually air or ivatcr borne are diarrhoea, dysentery, diph- 

 theria, enteric fever, etc. 



Usually air borne or by inoculation are tuberculosis, scrofula, 

 lupus, opthalmia, tetanus, ringworm, etc. 



There can be no doubt that no greater good can be done 

 in school work than by the study and application of hygiene to 

 prevent the diseases that ravage our children. It is unjust 

 to the clean child from a clean home to be forced into contact 

 with one that is neglected and knows little of personal cleanli- 

 ness. 



Preventive Measures. — Children should be taught the 

 dangers of drinking from a cup that has been used by a score 

 of others. Teachers should know how to prevent such a 

 dangerous practice, and members of School Boards should 

 realise the necessity of providing proper sanitary drinking 



