CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 277 



be taken to prevent such pollution, not only in cases of this 

 disease, but in all others. Physicians attending cases of 

 contagious disease near our public water supplies should 

 especially instruct those having the care of the sick in this 

 matter. 



How can we best protect our families and others when a 

 case of contagious disease occurs in one of our homes? We 

 have seen that the real source from which these diseases 

 emanate is the bodies of those suffering from them ; that in 

 the bodies of such persons, these germs of disease are being- 

 multiplied in enormous numbers and that through the secre- 

 tions they are constantly being thrown off, contaminating 

 everything in the immediate vicinity; therefore, the first 

 and most important step in the way of protecting others is, 

 to place the patient in such surroundings as to exclude con- 

 tact with others, except so far as is necessary for proper 

 care. In other words, isolation is of the first importance. 

 This isolation of the infected person should be as complete 

 as possible, for no half-way measures will insure protection 

 to the other members of the family. In fact, I might say 

 generally, that half-way or imperfect sanitary precautions 

 are always dangerous, and often may prove worse than no 

 precautions at all, for they lull us into a feeling of security 

 that does not exist and so lead us to neglect precautions that 

 we should otherwise take. 



The patient should of course be placed in a room by him- 

 self, and kept there until all danger of his communicating 

 the disease has passed. When possible, an adjoining room 

 should be set apart in which the nurse and attendants may 

 change their clothing before visiting other parts of the house. 

 The sick room, after the removal of all unnecessary articles, 

 should be supplied with two or more wash-basins, a large 

 slop jar, a generous supply of small cloths, and a large 

 bottle or jug containing a solution for disinfection. This 

 disinfecting solution is an all-important matter in preventing 

 the spread of contagious disease, for on its potency to 

 destroy all forms of germ life depends the safety of the 

 household, the safety of the community. This solution 

 should always be prepared under the directions of the physi- 

 cian. I beg of you to remember this, never to rely on the 



