| Illness and disease |
Glossary
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The Victorian period was a time of
limited diet and fairly basic sanitary
conditions for the poorer families. In these conditions the
health of the children was often under threat from diseases and infections.
Like diphtheria and scarlet fever, measles is easily treated by modern drugs today, but in Victorian times they were all serious illnesses and children could even die from them. |
Sanitary
conditions -
the effect of dirt and infections on the health. |
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The above entry from the school's
records at that time reads: The
teachers knew that children coming to school from outlying areas could
come into contact with the disease through school and spread it in that
way. This is why schools were closed during major outbreaks. Most schools
at this time were closed for part of each year because of illness. More about illness in the area...
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