Meningitis] ! °° [Meningitis 



congested, and there are generally two, three, or 

 more degrees of fever. The patient is frequently 

 crying or whining, denoting evident signs of 

 pain. As a rule, in these cases the patient be- 

 comes greatly emaciated and very weak — in fact, 

 paralysed ; and often, as the inflammation extends 

 to the spinal cord, which it frequently does, 

 chorea or St. Vitis's dance sets in, which is 

 practically incurable. 



Treatment : When occurring in young puppies, 

 worm medicine should always be given ; and to 

 allay the pain and stop the convulsions, small 

 doses of bromide of potassium be given — from 

 two 1 to five grains in a little milk three or four 

 times a day. Ice may also be applied to the 

 head in a sheep's bladder. When the convul- 

 sions have quite stopped, small doses of cod-liver 

 oil do good. When meningitis follows distemper, 

 if the attack is a bad one, there is little hope 

 of recovery, and as a result the proper course 

 to pursue is to have the dog mercifully put out 

 of his misery. However, people seldom will 

 agree to this without, as they say, giving the 

 dog a chance, and when the case is not a bad 

 one recovery is not impossible, though the 

 chances are greatly against it, for usually it is 

 a progressive disease. If the bowels are not 

 operating (but there is generally diarrhoea) give 

 a dose of castor oil, and commence a course of 

 bromide of strontia at once. Give from two 1 to 

 ten grains, or even fifteen grains, if the dog is 

 a very big one, every three, four, or six hours, 

 1 According to the size of the dog. See p. 86. 



