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

;
—
12 The Health Bulletin December, 192\
Long ago some wise man observed
that one of the troubles about education
was that so much the people
learned was wrong. So far as we know
no one has ever tried to dispute that
observation.
We are moved to make these comments
at this time because the truth
of such a dictum has been borne home
to us anew. The science of public
health and sanitation is a comparatively
new one, in its modern application
at least. Science itself and medical
progress have made such rapid
strides in the last few years that it
is out of the question for people generally
to be expected to keep abreast
of this progress.
The experience of this writer as a
public health official now approximates
about twenty years. As we look
back over the period we are impressed
with the fact that a good portion of
our time has been required in trying to
prevent the spread of erroneous conceptions
of what public health is and
what may be expected by the application
of the principles of modern public
health to everyday life.
Recently there has come to our desk
about one-half dozen health bulletins
from as many different cities of the
country carrying a particular cartoon
which illustrates ijerfectly the question
under discussion. This particular cartoon
has no indeutiflcation mark on it.
In other words, it is without a daddy.
But we presume that it was prepared
and issued by some public health
syndicate either personal, commercial,
or official. It makes little difference
which.
Briefly speaking, the cartoon is in
four parts. The first section illustrates
Mr. and Mrs. John Smith, we will say,
in their living room looking over the
school reix)rt cards of their two children.
The cards are so bad that Mr.
John says he fears the children are
just plain dumb. Mrs. John says no
she just knows they are sick. The
second section of the cartoon illustrates
Mrs. John in the school room
with her little girl in the chair being
examined by the school doctor, who
has a whale of a big head, and, of
course, wears glasses. He is telling
MISINFORMATION
Mrs. John that no wonder the child
is behind in her studies because she
can only half see. Section three of
the cartoon has the school doctor looking
into the throat of the little boy
and telling Mrs. John that now as soon
as these bad tonsils of the boy are removed
he is going to feel like a brand
new boy. Now in section four comes
the detestable overplay, to say the
least, of the whole situation. Over
that picture labeled in big type is, "One
Month Later." Get the full significance
of that if you can. One month after
Mr. and Mrs. John have been troubled
over the report cards they have had
the children examined at school ; it is
presumed that they have had the oi>eration
for tonsil removal done ; and the
caption states that the little girl now
has proper glasses, and Mr. and Mrs.
John are happily reading the new report
cards, and Mr. John is very much
pleased that these are the best reports
that the children have ever had.
Now every school nurse, every parent
with any experience, and certainly
every school doctor, knows that such
a transformation could not possibly
take place all inside of one month. The
State Board of Health of North Carolina
has been responsible during the
last ten years for the removal of tonsils
and the fitting of glasses for several
thousands of school children. We have
always promised that we hope improvement
will take place within six months
to one year after the oiieration for tonsil
removal is done. Our experience
has borne out our promise in a ma-
,
jority of cases. But to expect a child I
to undergo a tonsil operation and to
get back into school in time to greatly
improve his school work inside of one
month is ridiculous, to say tho least.
Such cocksure assertions and pictures
afford one of the reasons why even yet
a great many practicing physicians look
askance at a good deal of the medical
inspection of school work being done by
school doctors and school nurses and
so on about over the country.
Infallible rule for the prevention of
automobile accidents : Keep out of cars
Walk in the woods. Greensboro News.
j