PREVENTION OF BLINDNESS IN INFANCY.
The Manchester and Salford Sanitary Association recently issued a paper, based upon the directions of the Society for the Prevention of Blindness. From it we learn that one of the most frequent causes of blindness is the inflammation of the eyes of new-born babies. Yet this is a disease which can be entirely prevented by cleanliness, and always cured if taken in time. The essential precautions against the disease are: (1) Immediately after the birth of the baby, and before anything else is done, wipe the eyelids and all parts surrounding the eyes with a soft dry linen rag; soon afterwards wash these parts with tepid water before any other part is touched. (2) Avoid exposing the baby to cold air; do not take it into the open air in cold weather; dress the infant warmly, and cover its head, because cold is also one of the causes of this eye-disease. When the disease appears, it is easily and at once recognised by the redness, swelling, and heat of the eyelids, and by the discharge of yellowish white matter from the eye. Immediately on the appearance of these signs, seek the advice of a medical man; but in the meantime, proceed at once to keep the eyes as clean as possible by very frequently cleansing away the discharge. It is the discharge which does the mischief. The cleansing of the eye is best done in this way: (1) Separate the eyelids with the finger and thumb, and wash out the matter by allowing a gentle stream of lukewarm water to run between them from a piece of rag or cotton-wool held two or three inches above the eyes. (2) Then move the eyelids up and down and from side to side in a gentle rubbing way, to bring out the matter from below them; then wipe it or wash it off in the same manner. This cleansing will take three or four minutes, and it is to be repeated regularly every half-hour at first, and later, if there is less discharge, every hour. (3) The saving of the sight depends entirely on the greatest care and attention to cleanliness. Small pieces of clean rag are better than a sponge, as each rag is to be used once only, and then burnt immediately; sponges should never be used, except they are burnt after each washing. (4) A little washed lard should be smeared along the edges of the eyelids occasionally, to prevent them from sticking. Of all the mistaken practices which ignorance is apt to resort to, none is more ruinous than the use of poultices. Let them be dreaded and shunned as the destroyers of a new-born baby’s sight. Tea-leaves and sugar-of-lead lotion are equally conducive to terrible mischief, stopping the way, as they do, to the only right and proper course to be taken.