Citation

Geften MW. Br. Med. J. BMJ 1923; 1(3251): 680.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1923, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In view of the great vogue of amateur "wireless" building and entertaining, the following case may be interesting. So far I have not seen any reports of cases due to work on making "wireless" receiving sets, though it would seem that such cases may shortly become more numerous. The disease referred to is simnple ebonite poisoning, and occurred in one of, my panel patients a short time ago.

The patient is employed in the room of a factory where the ebonite plates are cut, ground, and bored for hiolding the parts of amnateurs' receiving sets. After a week's work in this room, although be did very little ebonite grinding himself, symptoms of an irritant enteritis occurred-namely, nausea, vomiting, giddiness, headache, diarrhoea, and abdominal cramps. The attack was not very severe and once the patient left work yielded in a few days to treatnment by copious drinks of lemonade, milk, or barley-water, stimulants in moderation, and light (milk) diet, with saline aperient thrice daily.

My patient stated that three other men employed in the same room had had similar, but more severe, symptoms, and had had to be absent from work a few days before he himself was attacked. His employers appear to have agreed that the source of the trouble was ebonite dust, as he understood that they had already made arrangements for hoods and suction-ventilating fans to be fixed on the grinding benches. The workers are also encouraged to drink large quantities of milk, and to be scrupulous in washing their hands. These measures, and prevention of eating in workrooms, should prove sufficient to prevent further trouble in these factories.

Language: en