236 VETERINARY STUDIES 



suggested here because cases for the stockman however fre- 

 quently occur where it is not possible to obtain professional 

 assistance. 



The patient must not be allowed to lie flat on the side on 

 account of danger from hoven, but should be propped up by 

 means of bags of sand, bran, or hay, so that she lies on the 

 sternum. If the head is thrown around violently, it should be 

 supported by means of a rope tied to some overhead support. 

 The cow must also be kept quiet and thoroughly warm and dry. 

 Severe cases may require stimulants, like strychnin or camphor 

 oil (1:4) hypodermically injected. Retain heat in cold weather 

 by a covering of four or five blankets. Draw urine twice daily 

 and use large quantities of slightly irritating rectal injections 

 repeated several times, if necessary. Give no medicine or liquid 

 food by the mouth, except as directed by a competent veteri- 

 narian, bcause of difficult swallowing and the danger of pro- 

 ducing fatal pneumonia in a case that should have recovered. 



Air treatment. — The injection treatment for milk fever has 

 passed gradually through several stages from iodid of potash 

 solution (Schmidt treatment) to various other solutions, then 

 to oxygen gas, and finally to simple, clean air. This air-injection 

 treatment is the one now in most common use. Apparently full 

 distention of the udder is the essential thing, and it matters 

 little what is used for the purpose providing it be clean and not 

 irritating. Great care in cleanliness is necessary to avoid in- 

 fection of the interior of teat and udder with germs which might 

 cause garget or septicemia (blood poisoning). 



The udder and teats should be well brushed, then placed on a 

 clean towel or piece of oilcloth and disinfected with 1 to 1000 

 corrosive sublimate in water, or 3 per cent lysol or creolin, or 5 

 per cent carbolic acid. The hands of the operator, the teat tube, 

 the rubber tubing, etc., should all be disinfected, the two latter 

 by boiling. After the teat tube is disinfected, it should not be 

 carelessly handled or be allowed in contact with anything that 

 can contaminate it. Bacterial cleanliness is of the utmost im- 

 portance. Air is injected by a special syringe in which it is 

 filtered through cotton before entering the udder. The utmost 

 care must be taken as to clean handling and the injection of 

 clean air. Tlie quarters are milked out and pumped full of the 

 filtered air; it is well to give the udder massage treatment in 

 order to disseminate the air through the milk ducts during the 



