Home Health Guide

Manawatu Times, Volume 67, Issue 205, 28 August 1942, Page 2

Home Health Guide

MENINGITIS (By the Health Department.) The recent reported increases In thfl .ncidence of meningitis in the Dominion -ocuses attention once more on one of, ne most serious of infectious diseases, .here is no need to feel any undue alarm ,at this upward movement, which is in-j variably noticed during wartime when there are large concentrations of men in camps; but it is just as well to be pre-{ pared, because immediate and skilled treatment is essential if it is to be successfully checked. Chilling bodily fatigue and strain are liable to render a person opon to active mfection, because they lower bodily resistance. Meningitis flourishes in crowded conditions. It is wise, therefore, to eep the children away from crowds. Knowledge of the symptoms is invalu.ble, and may make the difference between life and death. A violent headache, a rapid rise in temperature (as much as xO2 to 104 on the first day), rigidity of the neck, nausea and vomiting are the principal characteristics of the onset of meningitis. Doctors confirm their diagi nosis of it by a lumbar puncture —that is, the drawing off of some of tho spinal fluid, where tho meningococcus lodges, for test. There are several types of meningitis, ranging from the epidemic, or common type, to the fulminating type, which is swift and tragic. Don’t take any chances if the signs are suspicious. Delay might enable the germ to carry out its deadly object of piercing the brain covering. Get the doctor at once. He knows what to do, and has modern hospital aids at his command.