The Health bulletin [serial] - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

;
May, 1927 The Health Bulletin 29
corn grow where only forty grew before,
but we do not get excited when
we learn that seventy-five per cent of
our school children are defective. It
is too bad that our children are not
born pedigreed live stock, but they may
be able to overcome the handicap.
Defects of Children
Dr. Thos. Wood of Columbia University
reports that the physical and
mental defects of our school children
are as follows : One per cent are mentally
defective ; one plus per cent have
heart disturbances ; five per cent have,
or have had tuberculosis ; twenty-five
per cent have defective vision ; ten to
twenty-five per cent are undernourishetl
ten to twenty-five per cent have diseased
tonsils and enlarged adenoids
ten to twenty per cent have orthopedic
defects ; and fifty to seventy-five per
cent have defective teeth.
The high tension under which the
majority of our school children are
living has produced a nervous child.
The parents of many of our nervous
children are themselves nervous. The
home life is one of rush and hurry.
Leisure time is spent in a mad whirl
of amusement. Some think that they
are getting enjoyment out of their
amusement. All they get is nerves. The
child spends his leisure time at the
movies, joy riding, dancing, etc. Physical
exercise is used by a relatively
small number of school children as a
leisure time activity. Many cities consider
that playgrounds are unnecessary.
Sex instruction is relegated to some old
companion who tells the story of the
reproductive act in a way that pollutes
the young mind and makes it easier for
the child to go astray. Sex instruction
should be given in the home. If it is
not given there, and in the majority
of cases it is not, it should be given
in the schools. There is a crying need
for health education in the schools and
especially in the elementary schools.
Illinois
Needs Examinations
I hope that in the near future the
state of Illinois will awake to the need
for school medical and mental examinations.
Illinois is as yet one of the
few states that fail to require, as a
health measure, the yearly examination
of its school children. Perhaps when
an examination is required there will
not be the large number of individuals
in the schools with defects and diseases
that seriously handicap the child in
his school work.
The adult of today is not a good example
of exuberant health. Not more
than three per cent of apparently
healthy individuals can pass a rigorous
medical and mental examination and
come through with a clean bill of
health. Headaches, backaches, constipation,
circulatory disturbance, etc.,
are not considered by many individuals
as being signs of ill-health. Just because
a person is up and about he
thinks that he is healthy. Many people
boast about the number of years that
have gone by since they have seen their
family physician. They know that they
cannot be in poor health. These boasting
individuals are sure that they are
in perfect health. The unfortunate part
of the truth of the matter is that a
careful examination of these apparently
healthy adults reveals the fact
that ninety-seven per cent are not
healthy.
Death Rates Unstressed
Heart disease killed almost twelve
thousand people in Illinois last year.
The figures for kidney and cancer are
both approximately seven thousand
deaths. The newspapers carried no
block type headings to broadcast this
news. Of course it is not news in the
same sense that divorce trials reveal
honeymoon secrets.
The adult of today lacks intelligent
health knowledge. A woman has a
nervous breakdown and she visits a
"nerve doctor" (chiropractor) who
finds "sore nerves" which he proceeds
to "rub." Another woman discovers
that she is pregnant. She reads "Light
in Dark Places" instead of consulting
her doctor. Gargles are administered
to children in cases of diphtheria.
Patent medicines are swallowed by the
gallons. What woman, who has eaten
too much and exercised too little, has
not tried to reduce by chewing a "reducing
chicle" or parboiling herself in
a special bath salts costing about one
dollar and a half and worth not more
than ten cents Men are just as bad.