s
likely to develop trouble with the heart, blood vessels, or nervous
system than are those with acquired syphilis.

+Eye Trouble--Interstitial Keratitis.+--Two manifestations of
hereditary syphilis are of obvious social importance. One of these is
the peculiar form of eye trouble which such children may develop. It is
known as interstitial keratitis, and takes the form of a gradual, slow
clouding of the clear, transparent convex surface of the eyeball, the
cornea, through which the light passes to reach the lens. While the
process is active, the child is made miserable by an extreme
sensitiveness to light, the eye is reddened, and there is pain and a
burning sensation. When the condition passes off, the child may scarcely
be able to distinguish light from dark, to say nothing of reading,
finding its way about, or doing fine work. A certain amount of the
damage, once done, cannot be repaired, although cases improve
surprisingly if the process is still active and is properly treated. The
course is slow, often a matter of years, and only too many patients do
very poorly on the sort of care they can get at home. One eye case in
every 180 has interstitial keratitis, according to reliable figures.[9]
Of 152 with this trouble, only 60 per cent recovered useful eye-sight
and the remaining 40 per cent were disabled partly or completely.
Forty-three out of 71 persons lost more or less of their capacity for
earning a living. In practically all cases it means the loss of months
or years of school between the ages of five and ten and a permanent
handicap in later life. These patients would belong in school-hospitals,
if such things existed, where they could get the elaborate treatment
that might save their eyes, and at the same time not come to a
stand-still mentally. Any chronic inflammatory eye disease in children
urgently needs early medical attention, and those who know of such cases
should do what they can to secure it for them.

[9] Iglesheimer, quoted by Derby.

Blindness in hereditary syphilis may, of course, take the same form that
it does in the acquired disease, resulting from changes in the nerve of
sight (optic nerve). This form is entirely beyond help by treatment.

+Ear Trouble--Nerve Deafness.+--The second important complication of
hereditary syphilis is deafness. This occurs from changes in the nerve
of hearing and may be present at birth or may come on many years later.
The deaf infant is usually recognize