FLATULENT COLIC ,281 



In an emergency, where, as sometimes happens, drugs are not to be 

 obtained, gin or whisky with a little ginger form a useful draught with 

 warm or cold water. Like the other diffusible stimulants referred to, they 

 serve to distribute the nerve force, which for the time is acting prejudicially 

 on a portion of the bowel, producing spasmodic contraction. An early 

 opportunity should be taken in these cases to empty the posterior bowel of 

 its faecal contents by passing the hand up the rectum. This should be 

 followed by the introduction of clysters, composed of water at about the 

 temperature of the body in which a little soap has been dissolved. A 

 considerable amount of relief may be afforded by repeating the injections at 



Fig. 102.— Spasmodic Colic (3). (Horse rolling in pain.) 



intervals of an hour or two, in course of which the action of the bowels may 

 be materially expedited if a little sulphate of magnesia or linseed-oil be 

 added to the soap solution. Stimulation of the abdomen from the outside 

 by means of friction, with wisps of straw or liniments, or rugs dipped in 

 hot water, should not be overlooked. Violent rolling is to be guarded 

 against as much as possible, and some advantage may be derived from 

 short spells of walking exercise, which will assist in promoting the action 

 of the bowels. 



FLATULENT COLIC 



Definition. — This is a condition in which the large bowels are dis- 

 tended with gas brought about as a result of decomposition of the food 

 contained in them. It may follow upon spasmodic colic, or result from 

 some other condition by which the passage of food along the bowel is 

 retarded or arrested. 



