Page 3 Advertisements Column 2

Patea Mail, Volume II, Issue 119, 31 May 1876, Page 3

■PRECAUTIONS AGAINST THE SPREAD OF TYPHOID EEVAH Drawn nj> hv Wim.iAm Oglu. M.A - , M.D., Oxoii;. F.R.C.P. Loud., Medi cal Officer'of Health for the cmidlin'>d districts of East Herts ; and circidatod I>y the' Sanitary Authorities. r|IYPHOTD, enteric, or gastric fever ,-*L arc the names given to one and the same infections disease, this being a fever produced by exoremontal poisoning and almost invariably accompanied by diarrhoea* Of all excrcmontal matter, tlic most poisonous is that which comes from persons thonisolvos ill with the fever 5 and it is principally by means of their stools that the disease spreads from-one person to another.. The poison may bo taken in by breathing the effluvia from those discharges, or from the privy, cesspool, or drains into which they have been emptied ; or by drinking water ,from wells into which they have soaked ; or by swallowing particles that have adhered to clothes, bedding or other objects, and thence been accidentally transferred to articles of food or cooking utensils. Destruction of the fever poison in the stools, the moment these leave the body, by means- of disinfectants, and (inasmuch as the action of disinfectants is not thoroughly certain) the safe disposal of the stools themselves, are the means by which we should try to prevent the disease from spreading. . Let all persons, therefore, who would keep themselves and their neighbours free from infection, observe strictly the following rules slmold the disease occur in their houses; —■ / 1. Remove at once from the sickroom all carpets, curtains, and other objects likely;.-to get fouled. '2. Keep every one whoso presence is not absolutely necessary out of the rick room, and by means of "open windows and onon doors give 'the patient as much fresh air as possible. , b. Put a piece of waterproof sheeting under the bed clothes, in the middle of the ii'd. so us to prevent' tin*, hod from get ting soiled. , ' 4. Rut a toaenpfu! of t.?V* ■ following disinfecting fluid, into a bad-pan- or other vessel each time before the patient uses it, and- add some more immediately after ; —ti'da. Wider, a gallon; ;-ui p'nate of iron (i.e., copperas )> a pound ; carbolic add (the common inquire bind), half a pint, in preparing Ibis fluid the iron, should first ho dissolved by stirring in boiling water, and the carbolic acid added uhen the iron is dissolved and the fluid cool, 'Remember that carbolic acid; is a poison; keep the mixture therefore in a safe place. The same fluid may be used with great advantage to disinfect any accumulation of filth, such as a dung-pit or cesspool. As a general rule two quarts will suffice,to disinfect one cubic foot of foul matter. 5. Take care that the discharges arc thoroughly mixed with the disinfecting fluid, and then carry them immediately into the garden or field, and bury them in a deep trench, previously dug for the purpose, as far as possible from any well or other water supply. On no account let them be thrown on to a refuse heap. If the house bo in a town, and without a garden, so that the stools must of necessity be thrown down the closet, add a double allowance of the disinfectant, and take-cafe that the emptying be done without splashing the seat, and that the closet be flushed until basin and pan are thoroughly clean.

6. Let‘ bed and body linen, iniracdiately* it is taken off, bo put into a tub of water, to which carbolic acid has been -added,--in the proportion of half a pint of acid to a bucket of water. Have the tub and fluid ready prepared and at hand before the linen is taken off. Let the linen soak in this for two hours, and and then let it be actually boiled in washing, On no account must tire linen be sent to a laundress without thorough previous disinfection, nor without informing her of its character, so that she may not wash it with the linen of other persons, 7. Let the nurse observe the most scrupulous care to keep everything clean. Let her wear a dress of washing material, as this is more easily disinfected 'than wool. As her hands must almost unavoidably get soiled in helping the patient, let them wash them frequently in water to which some disinfecting fluid has been added, and let her take care that the water thus used, as well as jail other slops, be; emptied carefully- into the garden trench. ; ' 8. When the illness is over, the bed if soiled, should be burnt; or the tick or sacking cover' may. be" disinfected fby thorough boiling, and the flock: or straw stuffing burnt. Should there he a disinfecting oven available,the stuffing of hair nmttrasses may bo teased put and then disinfected by baking at a temperature of 250deg. F. Otherwise tins also should be destroyed. i 9. If fever be in your neighbourhood but not as yet in your house, take the following precautions to keep it out: : Drink-no water that is open to the least suspicion, or, if yon can get no other, boil it before drinking. Use no closet or privy that is used by-houses in which there ■is already fever. . Give immediate notice to the Sanitary Inspector of any nuisance in your neigh bourhood, such as a stinking drain’ or gufly, heaps of offensive refuse, and the like.” Use all your influence influence i o insist .upon the, proceeding precautions teiiig strictly carried out. by., v our being!)bonus whoso bouses are alrauy infected.