278 



bathed with clean cold water, night and morning, and then well 

 covered with Fuller's-earth. Should the skin be much damaged, 

 dressing with the zinc and lead lotion (par. 666) will have a good effect. 



668. Scratches and Pricks from thorns and barbed wire, are very 

 common. When present, the thorns must be carefully removed, great 

 care being taken not to break them in under the skin, as they very 

 frequently cause a great deal of fever and pain, more particularly when 

 in the neighbourhood of a joint (par. 134). When the parts are much 

 swollen and painful, bandages should be applied when practicable, that 

 have been wrung out of cold water, and they should be kept constantly 

 wet till the pain and inflammation has abated, after which dressing the 

 parts with the zinc and lead lotion is all that is required. 



669. Burns and Scalds may be very shght or very severe ; in 

 many cases they cause death, from the extreme exhaustive nerve- 

 irritation, or shock. The great point to be observed in the treatment, 

 is to exclude all air from the affected surface with any suitable medium 

 which IS at hand. For this purpose, nothing is handier, nor better, 

 than a thick coating of treacle, over which a quantity of cotton wool, 

 tow, or sheep's wool, should be placed, and secured with bandages. 

 If treacle is not available, a pailful of good thick clay and water may 

 be mixed and applied over the damaged surface with a whitewash 

 brush, repeating the application when necessary ; this, when it has 

 dried on, gives a great protection from the air. Any febrile symptoms 

 which may arise, must be treated by means of cooling and soothing 

 medicines, but on no account must purgatives be used. Should the 

 bowels be irregular, small doses (say five to eight ounces) of hnseed 

 oil, repeated every eight or ten hours will be found to be very 

 serviceable. Food of a light and digestible nature ought also to be 

 given. When the fever and acute symptoms abate, the raw surfaces 

 of the wounds should be dressed with the zinc and lead lotion 

 (see Appendix). Two very severe cases in the horse have occurred in 

 my practice, both of which seemed to go on well for 15 or 20 days, 

 when unfavourable symptoms suddenly set in, and the animals died. 

 In both cases, post-mortem examination revealed ulceration of the 

 stomach at the pyloric opening into the intestines. 



