three and sixteen in the Hanwell district school, which receives the children of the poorest class from Southwark and the City of London. Of the children examined, 341, or only 34 per cent, had normal ears and hearing, and 449, or 45 per cent, were suffering from adenoids in some form or other.
Then there are the victims of eye-disease—a great army. Some of them suffer from what is known as "blight"—a word which expresses very well the sad appearance of the tearful dim eye and its red and powdered lids! Some have what is called "pinkeye," a contagious eye disease, as is "blight." Taking the children in the standards, an average of 10 per cent have bad vision. In one of his later reports Dr. Kerr mentions about a dozen eye-diseases found in the school-children of London. Many of these need skilled medical treatment. But a great many cases yield to simple hygienic treatment.[1]
- ↑ More than 40 per cent of the blind lose their sight through neglect—neglect in the first week of life! This fact alone might impel us to look at first and simple causes. There are not wanting men who do this for us in so far as mere individuals working alone and without much support can do it. "Mr. Bishop Harman," says Dr. Kerr, "has paid attention to the bearing of cleanliness and social conditions on eye disease. In reporting on the condition of eyelids of over 1000 children at school, Mr. Harman has made a note of the condition of eyelids and of the hair. He points out that at the age when girls are left to themselves in the matter of cleanliness the state of the eyelids grows worse. That is to say, clean hair usually goes with healthy eyelids, and vice versa."
