Читать книгу Special Report on Diseases of the Horse - Charles B. Michener - Страница 56

This condition consists in an inflammation of the stomach and intestines. Instead of being confined to the mucous, or lining, membrane, as in gastrointestinal catarrh, the inflammatory process extends deeper and may even involve the entire thickness of the wall of the organ.

This disease may be caused by irritant feed, hot drinks, sudden chilling, moldy or decayed feeds, foul water, parasites, or by chemical poisons. It may also complicate some general diseases, especially infectious diseases, as anthrax, influenza, rabies, or petechial fever. Long-continued obstruction of the bowels or displacement resulting in death are preceded by enteritis.

Symptoms.—The symptoms differ somewhat with the cause and depend also, to some extent, upon the chief location of the inflammation. In general the animal stops eating or eats but little; it shows colicky pain; fever develops; the pulse and respiration become rapid; the mucous membrane becomes red; the mouth is hot and dry. Pressure upon the abdomen may cause pain. Intestinal sounds can not be heard at the flank. There is constipation in the earlier stages that is, followed later by diarrhea. The extremities become cold. Sometimes the feces are coated with or contain shreds of fibrin, looking like scraps of dead membrane, and they have an evil, putrid odor. If the disease is caused by moldy or damaged feed there may be great muscular weakness, with partial paralysis of the throat, as shown by inability to swallow. If chemical poisons are the cause, this fact may be shown by the sudden onset of the disease, the history of the administration of a poison or the entire absence of known cause, the rapid development of threatening symptoms, the involvement of a series of animals in the absence of a contagious disease, and the special symptoms and alterations known to be produced by certain poisons. To make this chain of evidence complete, the poison may be discovered in the organs of the horse by chemical analysis. In nearly all cases of gastro-enteritis there is nervous depression.

The poisons that are most irritant to the digestive tract are arsenic, corrosive sublimate, sugar of lead, sulphate of copper, sulphate or chlorid of zinc, lye, or other strong alkalies, mineral acids, and, among the vegetable poisons, tobacco, lobelia, and water hemlock.

Treatment.—The treatment will depend upon the cause, but if this can not be detected, certain general indications may be observed. In all cases feed should be given in small amounts and should be of the most soothing description, as oatmeal gruel, flaxseed tea, hay tea, fresh grass, or rice water. The skin should be well rubbed with alcohol and wisps of straw, to equalize the distribution of the blood; the legs, after being rubbed until warm, should be bandaged in raw cotton or with woolen bandages. The horse should be warmly blanketed. It is well to apply to the abdomen blankets wrung out of hot water and frequently changed; or mustard paste may be rubbed on the skin of the belly. Internally, opium is of service to allay pain, check secretion, and soothe the inflamed membrane. The dose is from 1 to 2 drams, given every three of four hours. If there is constipation, the opium should be mixed with 30 grains of calomel. Subnitrate of bismuth may be given with the opium or separately in 2-dram doses. Stimulants, such as alcohol, aromatic spirits of ammonia, or camphor may be given in 2-ounce doses, mixed with warm water to make a drench.

If putrid feed has been consumed, creolin may be administered in doses of 2 drams, mixed with 1 pint of warm water or milk. If there is obstinate constipation and if a laxative must be employed, it should be sweet or castor oil, from 1 pint to 1 quart.

Antidotes for poisons.—For the various poisons the remedies are as follows:

Arsenic: Oxyhydrate of iron solution, 1 pint to 1 quart; or calcined magnesia, one-half ounce in 1 pint of water.

Corrosive sublimate (bichlorid of mercury): The whites of a dozen eggs, or 2 ounces of flowers of sulphur.

Sugar of lead: Glauber's salt, 1 pound in 1 quart of warm water; to be followed with iodid of potash, 3 drams at a dose, in water, three times daily for five days.

Sulphate of copper: Milk, the whites of eggs, or reduced iron.

Sulphate or chlorid of zinc: Milk, the whites of eggs, or calcined magnesia.

Lye or alkalies, as caustic potash or soda: Vinegar, dilute sulphuric acid, and linseed tea, with opium, 3 drams.

Mineral acids: Chalk, or calcined magnesia, or baking soda; later give linseed tea and opium.