490 DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT. 



Powdered opium J oz. 



Muriate ammonia ' 1} oz. 



Powdered chincona bark 8 oz. 



Mix and make into six balls. 



Give the animal anything he will eat or drink. If the horse is taken during the 

 early stages, this will cut it short in from 48 to 60 hours. 



If in an after stage swelling begins to show itself below the chest walls, that is, 

 between the fore legs, and- extending backward, shows the least symptom of the 

 trouble known as hydrothorax, give the following remedy : Fluid extract digitalis, 

 from twenty to twenty-five drops, more or less according to the size of the horse, 

 every four hours, and continue until the swelling begins to lessen, then the intervals 

 of giving the drops should be lengthened to eight hours! If the swelling is very 

 large, the skin should be punctured in from twenty to thirty places, and the parts 

 bathed with hot water three or four times a day. 



Hydrothorax, or Water in the Chest. 



This is a sequel of pleurisy when neglected or not treated 

 properly, and which can scarcely be said to be curable. When 

 pleurisy is running into this difficulty, there may be some appear- 

 ance of recovery ; the breathing and fever ; are not so intense ; the 

 horse will perhaps eat, a little ; the skin looks sleek and glossy ; 

 these signs of improvement may continue for several days, but if the 

 pulse is gradually increasing in frequency, and its strength diminish- 

 ing, there is s undoubtedly water forming in the chest. 



When this has taken place to any great extent, there is diffi- 

 culty in breathing, and a flapping of the nostrils ; the eyes are clear 

 and unnaturally prominent ; the intercostal spaces bulge out, and 

 the ear applied to the chest can only detect the respiratory mur- 

 mur above the surface of the fluid ; the legs and breast will swell ; 

 the circulation becomes more and more impaired, the pulse getting 

 weak and indistinct. 



Prof. Williams states, in relation to the cause of hydrothorax : 

 "Of the termination of pleuro-pneumonia in hydrothorax, I have 

 only to say that since I have abandoned the heroic or counter-irri- 

 tating treatment [he advises hot fomentations to the chest ; discards 

 all blisters and irritants], hydrothorax has been almost unknown to 

 me. For this the principle of treatment is stimulants, tonics, and 

 diuretics." I give the treatment of a leading authority, who advises 

 as follows: — 



Give a pint of warm ale combined with one ounce of nitrous ether three times 

 a day; blisters applied to the sides, and iodide of potassium in 1 drachm doses twice 

 a day; feed the animal on nutritious and easily digested food. 



When a large accumulation of fluid takes place, it must be removed by tapping. 

 The puncture is usually made in the intercostal space between the seventh and elev- 

 enth ribs, near the junction with the cartilages. The space between the eighth and 



