148 VETERINARY HOMCEOPATHY. 



Treatment. — Hamamelis 0. This is the one and only remedy 

 we shall suggest for use under such conditions ; if the affected 

 locality admits of topical treatment, compresses of this drug made 

 by mixing one part thereof with four of water should be applied 

 in addition to administering five-drop doses internally three times 

 a day. 



HICCOUGH— SPASM OF DIAPHRAGM. 



In the first place it is necessary to explain that the diaphragm, 

 which consists partly of muscle and partly of fibrous tissue, serves 

 to divide the thorax from the abdomen ; it is attached at its upper 

 part to a ligament belonging to the vertebrae or spinal column, 

 and each side of the margins of the ribs; at all events this roughly 

 explains its situation and its object; under certain conditions this 

 fibro-muscular membrane becomes cramped; horses that have been 

 required to do fast work, in a long journey on an empty stomach 

 are generally the srubject of the spasm; it has been frequently 

 mistaken for palpitation of the heart, but it may always be distin- 

 guished from this by the fact that in spasm of the diaphragm the 

 horse always suffers from hiccough, a condition which calls for no 

 explanation; it is a marked and constant symptom. 



Treatment. — The late Mr. James Moore, one of the pioneers 

 of Veterinary Homoeopathy in London, used to advise the admin- 

 istration o{ Stannum 6x for hiccough, and when one bears in mind 

 the powerful influence this drug exercises over the nervous sys- 

 tem, the explanation of this gentleman's success with this agent 

 is not far to .seek. 



Niix moschata 3X is what we have been accustomed to rely upon 

 for spasm of the diaphragm, but the cases that have come under 

 our care have all had a marked bloated condition of the abdomen, 

 as is observed in flatulent colic, a symptom that speciall}' indicates 

 this remedy, by reason of which the action of the heart and the 

 breathing is rendered very oppressive. 



Accessory measures. — To avoid a possible recurrence of this 

 malady, it is most desirable to give the horse a few days' rest; 

 keep up the condition with good, but easily digestible food, avoid- 

 ing bulky material, and bring the animal to its work again by de- 

 grees. 



