46 HEALTH AND DISEASE 



allayed by the directly opposite effect upon the spinal cord which the two 

 last-named drugs are so well known to produce. 



The veterinarian is at a disadvantage throughout the treatment of 

 poisoning, as he cannot evacuate the stomach of the horse at first, as has 

 been already mentioned, and is further unable to get rid of any new 

 compounds formed by the administration of antidotes; they must pass 

 through the intestinal canal. He cannot provoke vomition, and repeated 

 washings of the stomach are scarcely practicable, except in a few instances 

 and under specially favourable circumstances. 



In addition to the use of antidotes there are other aids to restoration 

 from the shock and particular symptoms resulting from poisoning: suit- 

 able hygienic conditions, fresh air, cold douches, friction to the skin, 

 bandaging and clothing, bedding and protection of the patient from his 

 own violence by bolsters of straw, and the usual methods of restraint. In 

 a case of narcotic poison it may be necessary to rouse the animal to 

 muscular effort and compel him to walk about. 



Suitable treatment in cases of poisoning by each of the chief toxic 

 agents known to affect horses will be found briefly stated farther on in this 

 chapter. 



Poisonous Food and Water. — On the question of ptomaine poison- 

 ing in horses we have no experience as yet, but disease and death from the 

 ingestion of food and water in certain unwholesome conditions are by no 

 means rare events. 



CORROSIVE OR IRRITANT POISONS 



To this group belong many symptoms in common, and it is therefore 

 convenient to consider them together. The following list comprises all of 

 the class of substances whose compounds are likely to be the cause of 

 poisoning in horses: — 



Symptoms common to this class of poisons are the result of their 

 irritating or caustic action ujjon the membranes of the digestive tract, in 

 some cases beginning with the lips, and in the majority affecting the 

 stomach and intestines. The mouth and gullet, although first (after the 

 lips) to have contact with the irritant, are frequently less affected, as it will 

 be remembered that some parts of the digestive tract are provided with 



