Page images
PDF
EPUB

OF

VIRGINIA

DEPARTMENT

SIC

SEMPER

TYRANN

HEALTH

HEALTH

BULLETIN

Vol. II.

DECEMBER, 1910

No. 12

A Tuberculosis
Catechism

FOR BEGINNERS

The Truth About a Dread Disease In Simple
Form.

Recommended for Use in the Public and
Private Schools of the Commonwealth.

"We cannot begin too soon to educate our
children regarding that greatest men-
ace to their health and happiness-the
White Plague."

INTRODUCTION.

Consumption has such a hold upon the people of Virginia that it can only be eradicated by heroic means. Half-way measures and partial education may lessen but they cannot conquer the disease. Only when we enlist the whole people and train the whole people, can we give them the means of overcoming consumption. Experts are convinced that tuberculosis education, which means tuberculosis prevention, must begin like any other education-in childhood and must continue until every citizen knows enough about the nature and spread of the disease to protect himself and his family. The sooner this education begins, the better; the longer it continues, the surer its results.

For this reason, the State Health Department and the State Antituberculosis Association have conjointly prepared this catechism on consumption, in the hope that a simple statement of the facts regarding the disease will make an impression upon the minds of the children and will give them due warning of the great menace to their happiness and lives.

Teachers cannot be too strongly urged to teach this catechism to the younger children and to explain to them the nature and dread results of the disease described within. Every teacher who does. this, even if it involves a sacrifice of time and a temporary disarrangement of regular work, may be assured that he has given his pupils a better chance in life, a stronger assurance of future happiness. If possible, the catechism should be used during the sale of the Christmas seals and as frequently thereafter as possible.

The Truth about a Dread Disease in Simple Form.

FIRST LESSON.

Question. What is the most dangerous and fatal disease we know? Answer. Consumption or tuberculosis.

Q. What is consumption?

A. Consumption is a disease of the lungs that can be communicated from one person to another.

Q. Can a person have consumption elsewhere than in the lungs? A. Yes, but pul-mo-nary or lung consumption is the most common form of the disease.

Q. Is consumption very dangerous?

A. Yes. It kills more people in the United States every year than any three other diseases combined.

Q. Is it very fatal in Virginia?

A. Yes. The State Health Department says there are 20,000 cases of consumption in the State today.

Q. How many people die of consumption in Virginia every year? A. At least 5,000.

Q. What causes this disease which kills so many of our people? A. A germ, called the tu-ber-cle bacillus.

Q. What is this germ, or tubercle bacillus?

A. It is a very small plant, which cannot be seen with the naked

eye.

Q. Do these germs grow very rapidly?

A. Yes, they multiply by millions in a short space of time.

Q. Where do these germs grow?

A. Chiefly in the lungs.

Q. How do the germs get into the lungs?

A. They are usually breathed into the lungs from the dust in the air.

Q. But how do the germs get into the dust?

A. Because some people who have consumption spit on the ground or in places where the spit can dry.

Q. Is this wrong?

A. Yes, it is contrary to law and it is wrong for a person to give to anyone a disease he has contracted.

Q. Does every person who gets the germs into his lungs have consumption?

A. No. If a person is strong and healthy he may not have consumption, even if the germs get into his lungs.

Q. What, then, is the best way to prevent consumption?

A. To keep the body strong and healthy.

Q. When these germs of consumption get into the lungs, what do they do?

A. They grow and produce a poison which weakens the one who has the disease.

Q. What else do they do?

A. They cause the lungs of the person to harden and then they destroy them.

Q. When a person has consumption and is not treated for it, how long will he live?

A. He will generally die within three years and may die much

sooner.

Q. Can a person tell when he has consumption?

A. Not always, but generally there are signs of the disease.

Q. These signs are called symptoms. What is the first of them? A. A person who has consumption at first has a cold which does not get well like other colds.

Q. Do you mean that every person who has a cold will have consumption.

A. No, indeed.

sumption.

Not one cold in many hundred develops into con

Q. What other symptom may a person have?

A. He will have a cough, which lasts a long time.

Q. What is another symptom of the disease?

A. Loss of weight.

Q. Does this always happen in case a person has consumption? A. Yes, in almost every case.

Q. Can one be certain he has consumption when he has a cold

that lasts a long time, a cough and is losing weight?

A. No; but he should go to see a doctor and be examined.

Q. Can the doctor be positive the person has consumption?

A. In most cases, he can. If he is in doubt, he can have an examination of the spit made at the State Laboratory.

Q. What is this State Laboratory?

A. A place in Richmond where trained men study disease germs. Q. Suppose a person finds that he has consumption, must he then give up all hope and prepare to die?

A. No. He may live for many years.
Q. Can consumption, then, be cured?

A. It can, if it is treated in time. This is one of the greatest discoveries of recent years.

Q. Who found out that consumption could be cured?

A. Many men studied the disease and helped in making the discovery, but the man who did most in America was Dr. Edward Trudeau (Tru-do).

Q. What did Dr. Trudeau find out, about consumption?

A. He found that if a person who had consumption lived in the open air for some months, he would be much better and might get entirely well.

Q. What do you mean by saying a person must "live in the open air" if he wants to be cured of consumption?

A. He must not spend any time in a close or badly ventilated room. Q. Must he sleep out of doors?

A. Yes, or in a room which is always filled with fresh air.

Q. How will this help him get well?

A. We do not know, but there is something in the fresh air that helps overcome the germs and keeps them from growing.

Q. What else must a person do to get well of consumption?

A. He should follow the advice of his doctor.

Q. Is it best for him to work?

A. His doctor may advise him to do so, or he may tell him to do only a small amount of work.

Q. But suppose the person has to work for a living; will this keep him from getting well?

A. He may get well, but he should do as little work as possible and should stay in the open air all the time.

Q. Are there any other things that help a person get well of consumption?

A. Yes, good food is necessary.

Q. Do you mean a person must eat a great deal?

A. Yes, he must eat all he can digest of substantial food.

Q. What is the best food for the person who has consumption?

A. Milk and eggs, but any nourishing food will help.

Q. What else must a person do to be cured of consumption?

A. He must try not to worry about himself.

Q. You have named five things that help cure consumption.

Repeat them so that you will remember them.

A. The five things that cure consumption are, fresh air, rest, good food, exercise and cheerfulness.

Q. Do medicines help?

« PreviousContinue »