Chapter XXVIII: Measles and Whooping Cough Dangerous Diseases

Measles is a disease in the same class as scarlet fever. We do not know the cause, but we do know that it is communicable.

[Sidenote: Why measles should be avoided]

Measles is usually not a severe disease; that is, it does not kill as many persons in proportion to the number of cases as does scarlet fever. It does, however, kill more people than most of us think; a great many little babies die of it. How often we hear mothers say, "I wish my children would have measles and be done with it." It would be very convenient if they could have measles in a mild way and "be done with it." The trouble is, that we cannot tell whether it will take a mild form, and, worse than this, we do not know when they will be done with it.

If you should go into the children's wards of a large hospital, you would know why measles should be avoided. There you would hear the doctors questioning the mothers about the previous diseases of the little ones. You would be surprised at the number who replied, "He has not had anything but measles." Then you would hear the question, "How long since he had the measles?" "He was just over it when he was taken sick with this trouble." What is "this trouble"? Follow the doctor along from bed to bed and see the cases of pneumonia that started when the child "was just over measles"; see how many cases of empyema (abscess in the chest) began just after the measles ended; how many cases of abscess in the bone, how many cases of disease of the kidneys appeared after the child recovered from the measles. Then go down into the eye and ear wards and see how many diseased eyes and ears have followed an attack of the measles. The children would not have had these troubles had they not first had measles.

[Sidenote: Necessity of care in measles]

If you have measles, do not let others come near you, and do not think that, because you do not feel very sick, you can run about as usual. If you do not take good care of yourself, you may have some of the diseases that so often begin when children are getting over measles. Measles causes more deaths than is commonly supposed, especially among young children and very old people; and a great many children die of diseases which they never would have had if they had not first had the measles. Avoid people who have measles, and if you should get the disease, do not treat it as a slight thing, but consult your doctor at once.

_Whooping Cough_ _Scarlet Fever_ _Measles_ _Smallpox_
_4,856_ _4,309_ _4,302_ _74_

FIG. 61. Deaths in 1907 from four common communicable diseases reported to the United States Census Bureau.]

[Sidenote: Evil effects of whooping cough]

Whooping cough is much the same as measles in this respect. It kills many children, and, in cases where it does not kill them, their bodies become so weakened that they are liable to contract some other disease that may prove fatal. Avoid people who have whooping cough.

=Questions.= 1. Why should people avoid measles? 2. Why should
one take care of himself when he has measles? 3. Why is whooping
cough to be avoided?

=Remember.= 1. Measles is more fatal, especially among babies,
than people realize. 2. Measles causes more diseases of the
bones, ears, and eyes than any other communicable disease.
3. Measles is not dangerous if properly cared for, but when
neglected, it causes much suffering and many deaths. 4. Whooping
cough causes almost as many deaths as does measles.