All these diseases are affections of the whole body, caused by poisons generated by germs, for which so far scientists have found no antidote. The reason is plain. The germ itself is not known, and no animal has been discovered on which scientists can experiment. If we could only produce measles in a rabbit, for instance, we could very soon detect the germ and would no doubt be able to procure an antidote to the measles poison. But this has not been done, and therefore in measles and in the other diseases mentioned we can only hope that the sick person will be able to generate in his own body sufficient antidote to secure his own recovery. Physicians therefore are almost helpless in treating these diseases. They keep the patient in bed in order that all his strength may be kept for fighting the disease. They insist on ventilation in abundance, so that oxygen may be applied to the lungs in large quantities in order to neutralize the poison. They advise sponge baths in cold water and alcohol to allay the fever, and they prescribe nourishing, easily digested food, such as milk, eggs, fruit, and plenty of water to drink. In the hope of diminishing the chances of infection, particularly in measles and scarlet fever, they recommend antiseptic sprays for the nose and throat and antiseptic ointments, such as carbolized vaseline for the skin when peeling or desquamation is going on. _Quarantine for scarlet fever._ Scarlet fever, while the most violent, is also the shortest lived, in the majority of cases not more than three or four days, although the full period of recovery is much longer. The peculiarity of this disease lies in the abundant peeling which takes place usually from the entire body and particularly from the hands and feet; in fact, in a number of cases where the disease is light, the peeling from the hands and feet is the only positive proof that the malady has been scarlet fever. During this process of peeling contagion seems most active; therefore, although recovery seems entire so far as the fever is concerned, the patient should remain strictly isolated during this time. It is a slow process, lasting from two to five weeks, and is very tiresome for the child who feels perfectly well; yet, in the interests of other children, the child must be kept strictly at home until at least a week after the last sign has disappeared. It is also for the child's own sake very desirable to observe this quarantine, since it is during this period of recovery that most of the complications of scarlet fever occur, and if the patient is kept under observation, either in his sick room or on some porch where atmospheric exposure is not too great and where the child is certain to eat nothing harmful, the chances for avoiding lung troubles and digestive disturbances are minimized.