504 Veterinary Medicine. 



but is rarely encrusted to any degree. Spontaneous recovery may 

 take place under a change of diet (restricted or vegetable), or an 

 outdoor life in summer with liberal exercise, or the disease may 

 last indefinitely so long as the etiological conditions a.re un- 

 changed. 



Diagnosis. The affection is easily distinguished from demo- 

 dectic acariasis which attacks a different part of the body, namely, 

 thehead, the eyelids, the feet, and the back, whereas, this form, 

 of eczema confines itself to the ventral aspect of the trunk. From 

 the eruption of distemper it is diagnosed by the absence of the 

 hyperthermia and catarrhal symptoms of that disease, and by the 

 very small size of the vesicles ; those of distemper are broad, flat- 

 tened and often have dark colored contents. From acariasis it is 

 differentiated by its confinement to the ventral aspect, in place of 

 attacking the head, ears, neck and back, by the less severe and 

 incessant itching, and above all by the absence of the acarus, and 

 the element of contagion. 



Treatment. A change of diet is a prime consideration. It may 

 be in the direction of simple restriction, but usually also in the 

 avoidance of meats that are highly peppered or spiced. A change 

 to vegetable food, — biscuit or mush and milk, is of great import- 

 ance, but in some animals a little fresh plainly cooked steak or 

 raw lean meat may be essential. In other cases a little beef 

 juice or gravy well skimmed of fat may tempt the patient to eat 

 mush. In the same way it may be necessary to temporize in the 

 matter of meals. Some dogs can.be safely put on one meal a day, 

 while for others accustomed to frequent feeding it may be needful 

 to give two and restrict the amount. For the overfed or dyspeptic 

 animal a laxative, at the outset, serves to remove irritating and 

 fermenting ingesta, and to place the stomach and liver, and in- 

 directly, the skin in a better condition for recovery. Any per- 

 sistent indigestion should be treated in the ordinary way. 



Locally it may be requisite to first clean the surface by spong- 

 ing with tepid water, to be followed by soothing and antipruritic 

 agents, due care being taken to avoid such as when licked will 

 poison the patient. Starch powder, magnesium carbonate, and 

 bismuth oxide may be used without apprehension. The same is 

 true of limewater and to some extent of zinc oxide. When we 

 advance to others we must take the precaution to use a close wire 



