M 38
111. The masses in Hong Kong live a hand-to-mouth existence. There is little to spare in the ordinary family and all who can must work. The well and strong can earn sufficient for their daily food but the weak and ailing find great difficulty in doing so. The individual, therefore, in whom the tubercle bacillus has gained the upper hand struggles against odds under conditions which leave little hope for recovery.
112. Tuberculosis of the lungs is a hidden disease the extent of which is only discovered through careful examination by a competent physician. There is a tendency for the patient to imagine himself better than he is and it is often impossible to make the ordinary Chinese working man or woman understand the nature of his or her case and the necessity for care for himself and precautions against being a danger to others.
113. There is at present no drug known which in non-poisonous doses has any action on the tubercle bacilli growing in the tissues. The cure of the disease is brought about by the body itself and medicines only help in the process. The aim of the physician is to tone up the body to a pitch at which it can overcome the influence of the bacillus and keep it at that pitch until all bacilli have been destroyed and full repair established.
114. By the time tuberculosis has become manifest the disease has made considerable progress and time, measured sometimes in months, sometimes in years, is required to bring about a cure.
115. A proportion of the cases require hospital treatment but a much larger proportion can be treated just as well at dispensaries if the home conditions are favourable.
116. It is well known that the average self-respecting Chinese working man or woman will not remain in hospital if he or she feels able to work and it is useless to expect a stay sufficiently long to bring about complete arrest of the progress of a tuberculous infection.
117. Such being the case the establishment of a tuberculous sanatorium for the working classes would be an uneconomic proposition. The best results will be obtained through outpatient treatment at dispensaries, and the provision of beds in the general hospital for those recommended by the dispensary doctors.
LEPROSY.
118. Though leprosy is a notifiable disease very few cases are notified. The number of lepers in the Colony is not known but assuming that the incidence rate is the same as that of the neighbouring countries the total number cannot be less than 500 and it is probable that it is nearer 1,000. To many, these figures will appear to be exaggerations, nevertheless they are accepted by all who are authorities on the subject and have taken the trouble to make the necessary enquiries.
M 38
111. The masses in Hong Kong live a hand to mouth exist- ence. There is little to spare in the ordinary family and all who can must work. The well and strong can earn sufficient for their daily food but the weak and ailing find great difficulty in doing so. The individual, therefore, in whom the tubercle bacillus has gained the upper hand struggles against odds under conditions which leave little hope for recovery.
112. Tuberculosis of the lungs is a hidden disease the extent of which is only discovered through careful examination by a competent physician. There is a tendency for the patient to imagine himself better than he is and it is often impossible to make the ordinary Chinese working man or woman understand the nature of his or her case and the necessity for care for himself and precautions against being a danger to others.
113. There is at present no drug known which in non-poison- ous doses has any action on the tubercle bacilli growing in the tissues. The cure of the disease is brought about by the body itself and medicines only help in the process. The aim of the physician is to tone up the body to a pitch at which it can over- come the influence of the bacillus and keep it at that pitch until all bacilli have been destroyed and full repair established.
114. By the time tuberculosis has become manifest the dis- ease has made considerable progress and time, measured some- times in months, sometimes in years, is required to bring about.
a cure.
115. A proportion of the cases require hospital treatment bui a much larger proportion can be treated just as well at dispensaries if the home conditions are favourable.
116. It is well known that the average self-respecting Chinese working man or woman will not remain in hospital if he or she feels able to work and it is useless to expect a stay sufficiently long to bring about complete arrest of the progress of a tuber- culous infection.
117. Such being the case the establishment of a tuberculous sanatorium for the working classes would be an meronomic pro- position. The best results will be obtained through outpatient treatment at dispensaries, and the provision of beds in the general hospital for those recommended by the dispensary doctors.
LEPROSY.
118. Though leprosy is a notifiable disease very few cases are notified. The number of lepers in the Colony is not known but assuming that the incidence rate is the same as that of the neigh- bouring countries the total number cannot be less than 500 and it is probable that it is nearer 1,000. To many, these figures will appear to be exaggerations, nevertheless they are accepted by all who are authorities on the subject and have taken the trouble to make the necessary enquiries.
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