A Working Plan for Colored Antituberculosis Leagues

by Charles Poindexter Wertenbaker

Second. Cases in which it is necessary to stop work and remain quiet if they are to get well.

Third. Cases in which the disease has progressed so far that it is hopeless to attempt a cure, but for which much can be done to make the patients comfortable and prevent them from scattering the germs of the disease.

As stated above, what is necessary in each case will depend upon the condition of the patient and his surroundings. Much also depends upon the means the league has at its disposal to help the individual. Most church leagues find that they have very little money; therefore the help given must be limited. However, there are certain things that can be done even by the poorest leagues.

Information as to the way in which the disease is spread; the means to prevent it; what is necessary to get well if one has it, etc., is all printed on the certificate. When the member gets the certificate and has learned all that is printed on it, the first step has been taken in the education of the individual in regard to tuberculosis, so it should be the aim of the officers of the leagues to get the certificates in the hands of the members.

The officers of the league can see that the instructions on the certificate are understood and carried out. Many individuals are careless and must be constantly watched to see that they do not neglect important precautions. Probably the most difficult thing the league will have to do will be to induce its members to keep their windows open and let fresh air and sunlight into their rooms.

The officers and committees of the league should urge the members to keep the windows of their rooms open, especially at night, and to avoid overcrowding their sleeping rooms. Whenever a dark room or closed window which should be open is found, the danger should be pointed out, and the member urged to correct it.

The practice of sleeping with the head and face covered is so deeply rooted in the negro race that it seems almost hopeless to attempt to eradicate it in the present generation. It is a most pernicious habit. The dangers of the practice should be pointed out, and the members urged to abandon it. Children should not be allowed to contract the habit.

The careless spitting of consumptives in their homes is a practice dangerous to others. The careless at times spit on the floor, the walls, the hearth of the open fire, or on the stove if one is used. The sputum of the consumptive dries and is carried into the air as dust. This is drawn into the lungs when one breathes. The dangers of this should be emphasized, and the proper way to dispose of sputum shown. The consumptive should catch all of his sputum and burn it. There are cheap cups made of paper that can be had at small cost, and these should be used to spit in, and when they are full they should be burned. The better cups have covers to them, so that the flies can not get at the sputum. While consumption is a dangerous disease, the careful consumptive is not dangerous to live with. The careless consumptive, however, is dangerous to live with and a menace to those around him.