Diseases in Soiled Dishes by MARY ALICE HARE LOPER, M. S.

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · May 26, 1914

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 41, No. 20.

Diseases in Soiled Dishes

By MARY ALICE HARE LOPER, M. S.

The Lurking Germ May Spread Tuberculosis, Diphtheria, Tonsillitis, and Similar Ailments — Dishes May Be Readily Cleansed Scientifically

By MARY ALICE HARE LOPER, M. S.

THERE may still be a few people in the world who scoff at the idea that any disease is contagious. But accurate scientific experiments, as well as long years of careful observation, prove conclusively that many diseases are contracted as the direct result of coming in contact with certain specific germs which produce those diseases. Surely there is no reason why one should doubt this statement in regard to diphtheria, scarlet fever, smallpox, etc.

IN THE DAYS OF IGNORANCE

The time was when tuberculosis was not regarded as a contagious or infectious disease, but was often considered hereditary, the children of certain families dying of the disease one after another, perhaps as they reached maturity.

Fumigation and other sanitary precautions, even after a death from a contagious disease, were practically unknown to the general public until within recent years. The germs were allowed to live on; and as a result, they attacked new victims. But the world has come to recognize the fact that when a person has been stricken with a contagious disease, certain very effectual precautions may be taken to safeguard others from suffering a like infection.

A COMMON MENACE

As a result of this awakening, we see the ban put upon the public towel, the public free drinking cup, etc. May the day hasten when the public pay drinking cup, fork, spoon, and all other tableware of hotels, cafeterias, ice-cream parlors — every public eating and drinking place — shall cease to be a menace to life and health as they are today, while the white plague, and the loathsome leprosy of vice, and the long list of other contagious diseases, are abroad in every direction.

Even in the home, infected dishes may be a common source of disease. It is all right to wash dishes by rule — first the glassware, then the silverware, then the china, etc., ad finem. But simple routine in the ordinary way is not sufficient always to protect health. Dishes may sparkle in the china closet, and yet be infected with deadly germs.

DON'T LET IT SPREAD

When a member of the family has a slightly sore throat, an attack of la grippe, or even what may appear to be but a common cold, let precautions be taken, so that no one may suffer because of neglect, should the case prove to be tonsillitis, diphtheria, scarlet fever, or any other form of contagion.

Dishes used by the patient should not be used by others, nor be placed with other dishes, until they are disinfected. Food left by patients should be burned. Sometimes a cold, influenza, or some similar ailment, will eventually affect an entire family, when simple precautions would have limited the trouble to the first patient.

When even a suspicion exists that dishes are contaminated with disease germs, they should be placed in a suitable receptacle and boiled for twenty minutes before they are washed. Glassware may be boiled by placing it in cool water and allowing it to heat gradually.

WHEN THE STRANGER COMES

Dishes used by strangers should be thoroughly boiled, without exception, or cleansed with a disinfectant solution, before they are washed. One never knows to what disease he may be subjected by using dishes that have been used by those of whose physical condition he knows little or nothing. And here comes in the hotel, public eating-house, and boarding-school problem in its enormity.

PET ANIMALS AND THE DISHES

If it ever was safe to permit pet animals to eat or drink from family dishes, surely that time has gone by, unless such dishes are put through a thorough course of disinfection before they are washed and reinstated in the family cupboard. Boiling for twenty minutes will be effectual. Persons who ignore this necessary precaution do so at the risk, and it may be at the expense, of life itself.

APPEARANCE MAY DECEIVE

Many seemingly think that appearance is all there is to dish-washing. But one can not tell, on seeing a dish that appears clean, whether that appearance is deceitful or genuine. Let us observe a little, and see if we do not discover dish-washers who do not hesitate to use the same cloth to wash the glassware, the silverware, the china, the cooking utensils, and the kitchen sink.

They would not think it proper to reverse the process, beginning with the sink. O, no!

But why not, when the same cloth goes through the same process day after day, perhaps, until it is worn out? "But it is always washed in soap and water before it is hung up to dry." We hope so; but if we only knew that it was also subjected sufficiently to the blessed boiling process, our relief would be complete; for if the soap used has no more disinfecting properties than soap usually has, disease germs from the sink may still survive, and get to work when least expected, while no one may be able to explain the mystery of their origin.

A GOOD PLAN TO FOLLOW

A good rule to establish while the members of the household are seemingly well, is, to wash dishes with a clean cloth, using plenty of soap and warm water, and then rinse them in boiling water and wipe with a clean towel. This may prevent many cases

of illness that otherwise would develop from the obscure cause of infected dishes.

"O, but," says one, "it is so much trouble to be so careful!" It may seem so to one who has cultivated the habit of being careless in regard to household sanitation; but to enjoy health and take precautions against disease, is infinitely better than to suffer or to cause some one else to suffer because of neglect. Besides, the expense of one case of illness may far exceed all the financial outlay for preventive measures for an indefinite length of time.

NOT THE ONLY PRECAUTION

The object of dish-washing should be to render the dishes fit for use, without which the most orderly and elaborate process is a failure. Good dish-washing is not the only precaution to be taken to prevent disease from crossing the family threshold, but it is one which the guardian of the home can not afford to overlook. Surely in the dish-washing line, "whatever is worth doing, is worth doing well."