ADENOIDS 335 



germs. On this account sweeping and dusting should be so per- 

 formed as to remove dust from the room and not to fill the air 

 with it. Sweeping raises into the air the dust from the carpets 

 and furniture. Before the room is used again plenty of time 

 should be allowed for this dust to settle and the air to clear. Then 

 the dust should be removed from the furniture on which it has 

 collected, with a damp cloth, and not with a brush or feather 

 duster, as these latter do not remove it but simply throw it into 

 the air again. Opening windows while sweeping permits currents 

 of air to remove most of the dust particles, and at the same time 

 renews the oxygen. 



• Stone cutters and others who work in dust-laden rooms often 

 suffer from serious diseases as the result of inhaling these particles. 



Disease of the Respieatoey Organs. 



Adenoids. — This is the name given to certain grapelike 

 sweUings or gro\vths which develop in the upper part of 

 the pharynx just behind the nasal opening. They often 

 form in children, and if allowed to grow soon close the 

 opening to the nose, and thus make mouth breathing 

 necessary. They may even develop to such an extent as 

 to close the Eustachian tube leading from the pharynx 

 to the ear, and thus produce deafness. While they are not 

 in themselves dangerous, and often shrink and disappear 

 as the child grows older, they may indirectly cause much 

 harm as well as annoyance to the gi-owing child. In 

 children, the bones are in process of formation, and mouth- 

 breathing often produces an unsightly deformation of 

 the jaws. Adenoids also render the child liable to colds, 

 since air which enters by the mouth is not properly warmed, 

 and thus may chill the delicate membranes, and so pro- 

 duce sore throats, tonsilitis, etc. They are growths which 

 may be easily removed, and children suffering from them 

 should receive proper treatment for their removal at once. 



