82 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 



when he is called to a case of this kind later; he finds 

 now what could have been avoided by prompt and 

 appropriate treatment. Dropsical swellings of vary- 

 ing proportions are now present, located first along 

 the front of the trachea and later gravitating down 

 between the forelegs. Constipation and later a diar- 

 rhea appears, and the cow now has a haggard, 

 "anxious" countenance. She appears somewhat stiff 

 and does not care to move about much. The tem- 

 perature is normal or very close to normal. 



The treatment in the early stages of this disease is 

 simple and promptly satisfactory. It begins vrith a 

 prolonged flushing of the genital tract with very warm 

 antiseptic solution. Every veterinarian has his ow'n 

 favorite antiseptic for such purposes and any one 

 which is non-irritating will do. One such douche, i? 

 thoroughly carried out, is all that is necessary in the 

 early stages of this condition. To complete the han- 

 dling of the case, we usually leave a few doses of 

 nux vomica. 



When the cow has been allowed to develop the more 

 severe form of this condition, either through the own- 

 er's procrastination or the veterinarian's treatment, 

 we have on our hands a very grave case, and one very 

 unsatisfactory to treat. 



The heart muscle has suffered from the effects of 

 the toxin which has been elaborated and slowly ab- 

 sorbed. We are assuming that we have to deal in 

 this condition with a slow, saprophitic infection. We 

 are led to this assumption chiefly because of the pe- 

 culiar progress of the symptoms — namely: the drop- 

 sical swellings in the absence of pyrexia and the 

 almost rheumatic stiffness. 



We begin the treatment in this form as in the 

 milder stages, with very warm antiseptic douches. 



