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Prevention of Communicable Disease: Treatment
Repetition of Treatment.-"The foregoing treatment is repeated once a week, preliminary treatment Saturday evening and thymol on Sunday morning, until the patient is discharged.
Duration of Treatment. - "To recognize whether the parasites are all expelled, and therefore to determine when to end the thymol treatment, either of two plans may be adopted, namely: "Microscopic examination: On Saturday morning make ten microscopic preparations of a fresh stool. If eggs are still present repeat the treatment; if eggs are not found, discontinue the thymol. It takes about forty to sixty minutes to make this examination of ten slides thoroughly. "Cheese-cloth method: A much easier way of recognizing the completion of the treatment, and for practical results nearly as satisfactory as the miscroscopic examination, is the following: Instruct the patient to wash all of his stools Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, through a cheese cloth and to keep the cheese cloth moist and bring it to the office PREVENTION OF COMMUNICABLE DISEASE 173 on Tuesday. While the fecal material will wash through, the worms will be retained in the cloth. Continue treatment as long as worms are found in the cheese cloth.
Other Treatment. - "If desired, iron may be administered on the days on which the thymol is not taken. It is a good plan, however, not to give iron during the first week, for it is quite important to convince the patient that the thymol treatment is the one which is really accomplishing the lasting good. If the drug is taken Sunday, the patient is likely to begin to feel some benefit by Wednesday or Thursday; his family is likely to notice it on Thursday or Friday. If iron is given during the first week, the conclusion may possibly be drawn by the patient that it is really the iron which is causing the improvement, and he may discontinue the thymol. Of the two, the thymol is, of course, the far more important, for it reaches the parasite, while the iron reaches only the patient."
The prevention of hookworm disease lies in proper sanitation to prevent soil pollution, and especially in the construction of sanitary privies.
State laws to this end, if properly enforced by an adequate system of local supervision, would undoubtedly put na end to the disease within comparatively few years. Those interested this subject should address letter or postal card to the Surgeon-General of the United States, Washington, D. C., requesting detailed information.