NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES 241 



three times daily. Once the lens of the eye loses its transparency 

 nothing can be done to restore the sight. 



POISONING 



Poisoning is rare except from accidental causes, and then 

 almost always occurs from the ingestion of poisonous plants. 

 Malicious poisoning is usually attempted with either arsenic or 

 strychnin. When poisoning is suspected all other possible causes 

 should be looked for, as in many cases a careful search will show 

 that something else is actually responsible for the sickness. 



To diagnose a fatal case accurately requires a careful postmor- 

 tem examination and a chemical analysis of the stomach contents. 

 The latter is quite expensive. When a poison is actually found in 

 the food there is no longer any doubt about the cause of death. 



Loco-weed poisoning is due to eating freely of two leguminous 

 plants. Astragalus mollissimus and Aragallus lambertii. These 

 plants grow in all our Western States, from sea level to the summits 

 of the highest mountains. The poisonous principle is not known. 

 Animals do not at first readily eat the weed or do so only when food 

 becomes scarce. A taste is soon formed for it, so that addicted 

 animals will leave good food and go without water to search for 

 loco-weeds. 



The most prominent symptom of locoism is a staggering and 

 uncertain gait, caused by derangement of the nervous system. 

 Horses shy and jump at imaginary objects. The animals gradually 

 lose flesh and sooner or later die of starvation. Death occurs in a 

 comparatively short time in some cases. 



There is no specific antidote known for loco-poisoning. Reme- 

 dies to relieve constipation and Fowler's solution of arsenic in 

 ■|-ounce doses once each day have given the best results experi- 

 mentally. Most locoed animals with the above treatment will 

 recover, provided the weed is taken from them and they are fed well. 



Poisoning from horse-tail, Equisetum, has been reported in a 

 number of states. The symptoms are loss in condition, a stagger- 

 ing gait, and increasing weakness. A fatal end rarely occurs if the 

 feed is changed and purgatives are given to rid the system of the 

 poison. A valuable antidote for this and other plant poisons is 

 permanganate of potash; 20 grains dissolved in a pint of water 

 with an equal amount of sulphate of aluminum to increase the 

 acidity of the stomach contents gives best results. 



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