DISEASES OF THE BOWELS. 717 



rally, in addition to the irritating effects of the tuber itself upon 

 the intestinal canal. 



The treatment of inflammatory or acute diarrhoea when arising 

 from these causes becomes a matter of extreme delicacy. For, 

 in the first place, the retention of the irritating material in the 

 intestinal canal is a source of danger in itself; and, secondly, 

 the extreme purgation which it induces is no less a cause of 

 fatal termination. It therefore follows that the practitioner, on 

 the one hand, must take care not to check the efforts of nature 

 to expel the offending materials from the body too suddenly by 

 the administration of powerful astringent remedies ; and, on the 

 other hand, that he should endeavour to modify the violent pur- 

 gative and irritating effects by the administration of demulcents, 

 calmatives, such as opium, and antacids, such as the bicarbonate 

 of soda; and to support the animal's strength by diffusible 

 stimulants, such as the ethers, wine, and alcoholic stimulants, 

 in moderate and oft-repeated quantities; fomentations to the 

 abdomen, and other means calculated to allay irritation and 

 febrile disturbance, being by no means neglected, and to modify 

 fermentation the hyposul23hite of soda might be advantageously 

 administered. 



