CAUSE, PREVENTION OF COLDS
Abbott, Grace
Cause, Prevention of Col A -By GRACE ABBOTT[Chief of Children's Bureau, WashinfrtV Grace Abbott, Chief of the Children's bureau, is glvir^H a series of radio talks relating to Child Welfare....
...There were at that time two suc^H schools In Washington, one for colored and ona for whr^lB children...
...The specialists all vote against grandmother's plea for warmer clothes and more clothes...
...Tuberculosis patients who i live in open air rooms in localities where the weather gets very cold, do not have colds...
...fall victims of them...
...They are also agreed that we do not "catch" all our colds from other people but that bacteria which are normally found upon the mucous membranes of our noses, mouths, and throats may, under circumstances favorable to their development, cause colds...
...The physician now frequently advises rest in bed as the quickest and surest method of treatment of a cold...
...They are agreed the condition which we call a cold is caused by a living J| parasitic agent, and that it is contagious, that is, it can be transmitted from one person to another...
...I have been a constant readH 1 of the magazine from its fust number.—Ejus Uoyd Jonefl...
...What they wear outdoors should be adapted to the weather...
...But the very interesting thing in connection wfll^B this study was the showing made by the children i^H the open air schooLs...
...Fresh air in the home and fresh air in the school and plenty of outdoor play...
...the best possible working condition...
...Of course not every exposure to a contagious cold, reaulte in a cold...
...COLDS ARE IMPORTANT COLDS in children should not be considered unimportant...
...Scientists have not yet agreed upon the exact causative agent...
...While the treatment may be left to the specialist, the prevention is the parent's and the teacher's Job...
...Louise Taylo: Jones, a pediatrician here in Wash ington, made a study for the publii school association of the causes of ab sences in one grade, of fifteen of thi Washington public schools...
...TheseM talks are based on Investigations made by the Bureau and^ are the highest available authority on the wide range ^ of subjects discussed...
...What follows is a con* ' densed report on the cause and prevention of cold*.— j B. C. L. / While you and I speak as though we knew exactly/^' what the word "cold" means, the doctors find it difficult ¦ of definition because it is used to cover a number «ft» kinds of acute infections of the...
...This is per* haps because colds appear more oftei in the autumn when the thermomete: falls and they are a recurring affile Hon during the winter and spring...
...It Is not the fireman or the engineer, although exposed to draughts, who take cold...
...Children should not wear a heavy overcoat and leggins on a warm day in December any more than in May...
...These we are told may be admitted directly from the droplets expelled into the air by the coughing and sneezing of persons suffering from colds, by handling articles upon which such droplets have fallen, or by direct contact with handkerchiefs or other objects used by persons who have colds...
...I am glad that it eomj I weekly, I get more out of it...
...It is helpful if the custom is established in the home of sanitary disposal of the nasal secretions...
...What about clothing the critic of modern dress will ask...
...When they go from a warm room outdoors they need to put on warm outdoor garments and these should, of course, be removed at once when they return to the Indoor warmth...
...The soft paper handkerchiefs or other material which may be burned are very much more sanitary...
...6]—Enclosed you will find ch«fl for $1.50 for The Progressive...
...If they are so fortunate as to attend an open air school they will, of course, have to wear more clothing...
...A little below 70 degrees seems to be the temperature at which the body does its best work...
...Children are Imitators...
...And the evidence all seems to be on the side of fresh air as a most important factor in prevention...
...Thank God for The Progressive, for La Follette, ftr-- Norris, for Walsh, Caraway, and numerous other brave I men who have the courage of their convictions, and the I will to fight for what they know Js Tight.—Mrs...
...Some years ago...
...Obviously the same amount of covering will not be needed every night...
...Bed clothing should be sufficient to preserve the body heat without causing per- . spiration and the air of the sleeping room should be fresh from an open window, or window so adjusted that the child's bed is not In a draft...
...If the living rooms and schoolrooms in which children spend most of their waking hours indoors are kept at this temperature, their indoor winter clothing needs to be but-little heavier than that they wear in the summer...
...The second step in prevention is keeping the parasitic organisms which cause colds out of the system...
...Nearly 4' per cent of all absences were due V colds and other respiratory disturb ances and undoubtedly colds were not as common a cause of absence from school as they should have been, because the habit of staying at home, at least while the i cold is In an Infect loas stage, is not as common as it ought J to be...
...Our linen pocket handkerchiefs are quite uncivilized...
...The first step in prevention is to keep the body in...
...The principal lessons that we can learn from science about the prevention of colds are tit to make sure that when we have colds ourselves we do not expose others to the cold: t2> that the children be kept in good phy« sical condition so that even if exposed to colds they wiU ! not...
...A large percentage lead to infection of the ear, the mastoid cells, the sinuses or the lower respiratory tract...
...Bu our mode of living changes when thi cold weather comes so that there an many other possible factors to be con flidered besides the fact that the tern perature Is lower...
...They are usually pale, undernou^JH Ished children but not tuberculosis children, and ger^H erally, the survey showed, they are absent from school ^J^H other causes quite as much as children in other schooi^U But, these children who spent, their school days in rooms ^ where the windows were always kept wide open were almost entirely free from colds...
...Individuals vary in the degree of their resist->^ ance and immunity and each individual varies in this particular with his varying conditions of health...
...Wholesome food taken I regularly and in proper amount, plenty of sleep, good I elimination of body wastes, regular exercise, bodily cleanliness, plenty of fresh air in the living ancTsleeping room*T the avoidance of sudden changes of temperature are all helpful measures...
...THE UNCOVERED SNEEZE IN the matter of the uncovered cough or sneere, many people are still offenders...
...it is in the passenger coach, where it Is warm and close these days, that the people take cold when there is the slightest draft...
...3>—Enclosed find P. O. order jqlr : $1.50 to pay my subscription in advance for one year to > The Progressive...
...The name suggests that it 1«'¦•','¦• caused by cold: that Is, exposure to cold...
...At the time of year when colds are apt to be prevalent, it is especially important that children wash their hands thoroughly before eating, and that fingers be kept away from nose and mouth...
...Anti-tuberculosis campaigns and school health teaching have undoubtedly had their effect, but the heedless and careless are still with us, spreading infection which might be rendered harmless by a little care...
...It is surprisinf with the amount of evidence that is piling up in favor j of fresh air that we so on living as we do—that, for example, the open school is still so little used and so little ! of the school recreation is out-of-doors...
...PRAISES MEN WHO HAVE CONVICTIONS / i (Portland, Ore., Jan...
...The thoroughly healthy body can and will dispose of infecting organisms, and be none the worse for their attacks...
...O. W. DeanJ ! FROM OLD FRIEND M [Lake Bluff, III...
...What does cause colds then...
...Could each individual be framed to guard all discharges so that no disease bearing organism could travel from him to those about him the incidence •' of the common cold could be marvelously reduced...
...The children are placed In these schools becau«iB of physical handicap...
...The advice we are given by specialists is so full of good common sense that many people will find it hard to believe that it is the advice of a specialist, yet here Is what they say...
...mucous membrane of th#* nose and throat and sometimes of the larynx or tto.y* larger bronchial tubes...
...The old rule that the children should be put in their winter clothes by the calendar instead of the thermometer has also been discarded...
...Our readers will be gratified to know that the gist, of this valuable series will appear regularly in The Progressive...
...The advice is to avoid sudden changes of temperature rather than to bundle up...
Vol. 1 • January 1930 • No. 8
