FUNCTIONS OF A CITY BOARD OF HEALTH 311 



if the weakness is corrected by procuring proper glasses, a handicap 

 on future success will be removed. 



Decayed Teeth. — Decayed teeth are another handicap, cared 

 for by this division. Free dental clinics have been established in 

 many cities, and if children will do their share in caring for their 

 teeth, the chances of their success in later life will be greatly aided. 

 Boys and girls, if handicapped with poor eyes or teeth, do not 

 have a fair chance in life's competition. In a certain school in 

 New York there were 236 pupils marked '' C " in their school 

 work. These children were examined, and 126 were found to 

 have bad teeth, 54 to have defective vision, and 56 to have 

 other defects, as poor hearing, adenoids, enlarged tonsils, etc. 

 Of these children 185 were treated for these various difficulties, 

 and 51 did not take treatment. During the following year's 

 work 176 of these pupils improved from '^ C " to '' B " or '' A," 

 while 60 did not improve. If defects are such a handicap in 

 school, what would be their effect on the chances of success in life 

 outside? 



In conclusion : this department of school hygiene deserves the 

 earnest cooperation of every young citizen, girl or boy. If each of 

 us would honestly help by maintaining quarantine in the case of 

 communicable disease, by observing the rules of the health depart- 

 ment, by acting upon reliable advice in case of eyestrain, bad teeth, 

 or adenoids, and most of all by observing the rules of personal 

 hygiene, the community in which we live would, a generation 

 hence, contain stronger, more prosperous, and more efficient 

 citizens. 



Summary. — This chapter has first tried to show how we may 

 improve living conditions in our own homes through the application 

 of some simple laws of hygiene and sanitation. 



Second, it has shown how a little unselfishness and cooperation 

 will help to make our community a better place in which to live. 



Third, it has shown how state and city departments of health 

 and other agencies are at work to safeguard our milk and water 

 supplies, to protect us through proper disposal of sewage, to care 

 for our city health by ash and garbage collection. 



Fourth, it has shown how some of the agencies which guard 

 our community health do their work. 



