THE ar:\iy horse. 63 



suits are often obtained by alternatino- this with a dressing of 

 olive oil 3 parts and creolin '2 parts. Should proud flesh ap- 

 pear, the three sulphates (iron, copper, and zinc) ma}' be used, 

 or powdered copper sulphate alone. Use until the granules 

 disappear. When the wound begins to heal nicely, it is better 

 to dispense with the pad and bandage. 



ABSCESSES. 



An abscess is an unnatural collection, in the tissues, of fluids, 

 such as pus or serum. It is the result of inflammation caused 

 by an injury or by the infection of pus germs. The swelling 

 usually softens at some point, unless it be filled with serum, in 

 which case it is soft and fluctuates at all .points and lies directly 

 beneath the skin. 



Soft, puffy swellings in the neighborhood of joints and' 

 tendons should not be mistaken for abscesses, as the}^ are 

 usually bursal enlargements, filled- with synovia and requiring 

 different treatment. (See '"General treatment of sprains.") 



Treatment. — A pus abscess, if slow in development, should be 

 poulticed until it softens at some part, where it can be opened 

 by cutting through the skin; then insert a blunt instrument 

 through the wall into the pus cavity, thus avoiding any danger 

 of injury to blood vessels or other structures. "\^lien freely 

 opened, the cavity should be flushed out twice daih' with some 

 antiseptic solution, care being exercised to prevent the external 

 wound from healing before the formation of pus has ceased. 

 In every case provision must be made for free drainage at the 

 lowest point. 



A serous abscess (one in which we find the yellowish, jratery, 

 and often bloody serum) is treated as follows: Clip the hair 

 away and wash the skin with an antiseptic; with an instru- 

 ment that has been thoroughly disinfected make a small open- 

 ing; after all fluid has escaped apph' a blister of biniodide of 

 mercury, 1 to 6, over the outside of the area occupied by the 

 original swelling. If it fills again, rex)eat the treatment. 



