l26 THEORY AND PRACTICE 



is best given in powder by the mouth. To prevent nervous 

 prostration, give a stimulant — zingiber or capsicum, or if the 

 case is serious, ammonium carbonate or alcohol. Strychnine is 

 contraindicated. The object is to tide nature over while the 

 other drugs get to work. In acute cases astringents are useless; 

 in chronic they are indispensable. In cases of bloody feces, 

 give an injection of starch gruel with laudanum. When the 

 bowels are running it is unsafe to stop them too quickly for you 

 are apt to get enteritis. For dogs, cats and people give sub- 

 nitrate bismuth (10 grains) and salol (5 grains) every four 

 hours. 



ACUTE DIARRHOEA IN THE HUMAN. 



Treatment. — This consists of antacids and antiseptics, the 

 antacids to neutralize the contents of the stomach and bowels 

 and the antiseptics to arrest the fermentation in them. 

 Prescription — 



Salol 5 grains 



Bismuth 10 grains 



Take every four hours. 

 Both these drugs are harmless and two or three doses usually 

 produce the desired result. This prescription is good for man 

 as well as for animals. In grown people diarrhcea does not al- 

 ways yield to the antacids and it is necessary to change to acids, 

 in which case use sulphuric acid. 



Usually excessive thirst is a symptom of diarrhoea; sulphuric 

 acid cures this and stimulates healthy secretions when the anta- 

 cids fail. 



CHRONIC DIARRHOEA. 



Chronic diarrhoea is exceedingly disagreeable. The horse 

 comes out of the barn in a normal condition so far as the bowels 

 are concerned, drives a mile or two, when he begins to empty 

 himself and keeps on getting looser as he travels. This is par- 

 ticularly true of driving horses. 



The cause of this trouble lies in over-heating the horse when 



