vention of this disease is to prevent the sputum from the sick
being taken into the system of well persons. Children with measles should
be provided with a quantity of soft paper napkins, and as soon as the
napkins become soiled they should be burned. Children should be taught
that they must always hold a handkerchief in front of the mouth while
coughing. This is a measure which tends to control the spread of a good
many diseases besides measles, because during coughing and sneezing sputum
may be thrown several feet. Everything which has come in contact with
measles patients should be sterilized before it is allowed to come in
contact with other people or other things which may be handled or used by
other people. Bedclothes, napkins, table linen, towels, and the like may
be sterilized by boiling.

When it is known that measles exists in a community, no child having a bad
cough should be allowed to come in contact with other children during the
first three or four days of the cough.

It is little less than criminal to permit children known to have measles
to come in contact with well children. In this connection it may be
remarked that while it is generally considered that one attack of measles
confers immunity, there are many cases on record of second and third
attacks. It is true that the second attacks are usually very mild, but too
great reliance should not be placed on this immunity.

Children should be discouraged as far as possible from playing games which
will permit of an interchange of nasal or mouth secretions. It is the duty
of every parent having measles in the home to see to it that it is
reported to the public-health authorities. It is equally the duty of
parents to see to it that their children do not come in contact with well
children during the time when the infection may be transmitted. Measles
kills more people in the United States every year than smallpox. You can't
kill a child any deader with smallpox than you can with measles. It is the
duty of private citizens and municipalities to take every known measure
for the prevention of the spread of this disease.

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEASLES***

CREDITS

November 29, 2006

Project Gutenberg Edition
Bryan Ness
Joshua Hutchinson
Online Distributed Proofreading Team

A WORD FROM PROJECT GUTENBERG

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