Health Notes. The Menace Of Measles.

The popular opinion of measles ranks it as a mild and harmless disease, and mothers are apt to consider that the sooner their children contract the infection the better as they are “bound to have measles.” This is a fallacy and is responsible for all the children of a family being allowed free access to the room in which the first member is discovered to be suffering from measles. The idea probably originated in the fact that in the Middle Ages the disease was so rampant that every child succumbed to it. But this is evidence not of inevitability of infection, but of the extreme infectiousness of measles, and the ease with which it passed from child to child.

It is quite a common occurrence to-day to meet adults who are suffering from the aftermath of measles. The weakness may be in the form of heart disease, kidney trouble, ear or eye trouble, etc. It is a hard price to pay just because the parents were desirous for the child “to take it and have done with it.”

The parts first affected are the delicate lining membranes of the eyes, nose, throat and bronchial tubes, all of which become red and swollen. The patient complains of headache and a pain in the eyes when exposed to sunlight. The temperature runs up to 101 or 102 degrees, and in young babies the general disturbance may cause a convulsion.

During this stage it only appears that the child is “off colour,” but in about ten days from the commencement of the infection a blotchy rash appears, and the child has probably infected several other children.

Measles are distinguishable from an ordinary cold by the appearance of bluish white spots on the inside of the lower lip and cheek. These spots appear very early in the illness, and are a guide as to the proper steps to be taken.

At this stage the child should be isolated, and the discharges from eyes, nose and cough should meet with prompt disposal in the fire. Paper handkerchiefs or old linen should be used and promptly burnt, so as to endeavour to confine the outbreak to the one member of the family. A wise precaution is to sterilize cups, plates, etc., used by the patient. Special attention should be given to the eyes by bathing them frequently with a weak solution of boracic acid. The teeth and mouth should also receive their fair share of attention. Careful sponging with warm soapy water soothes the restless little patient, as this helps the skin to act as a cooling surface when the body heat is high.

As an additional precaution for the protection of the eyes, the patient should be kept in a darkened room.

The patient is completely “off his food,” so all he gets are little sips of water to which fruit juice may be added. Internal cleansing is important.

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