133 PLEURISY. 
The treatment must be active, as it is likely to be short. At the first 
outbreak, abstract enough blood to ease the horse, but take no more; 
place the sufferer in a cool, loose box; put woolen bandages upon all 
the legs, but leave the body unclothed; give, every quarter of an hour, 
a scruple of tincture of aconite in a wineglass of warm water. Feel the 
pulse before each dose; when that has softened, discontinue the aconite ; 
every second hour then administer one ounce of sulphuric ether and of 
tincture of opium in a tumbler of cold water, to dispel any congestion 
that may lurk about the pleura, and also to lend smoothness or fullness 
to the pulse. 
Pursue these measures for the first day and night. On no account be 
tempted to bleed asecond time, for fear of that weakness which generates 
hydrothorax. When the pulse and pain are amended, should the cough 
remain, introduce the steaming apparatus twice described under the 
headings of the two previous articles. The bowels are generally cos- 
tive; be not alarmed; with the departure of the disorder they will relax. 
Place lukewarm water within the easy reach of the horse; but before 
the symptoms abate, introduce nothing of a more stimulating nature. 
When the disorder lessens, hay-tea may be allowed; as improvement 
increases, the diet may be gradually augmented after the manner de- 
scribed, when considering the treatment of pneumonia. Such care is 
essential, because any violent disorder in a confined part of the body has 
a tendency to involve other structures, and the danger of this increases 
as the inflammation is removed from the surface. 
The tranquilizing of the respiraticn, the softness of the pulse and the 
return of the appetite will announce the departure of pleurisy. Wher 
these longed-for indications are remarked, blister the throat and chest; 
should any seeds of the malady appear to be not entirely removed, repeat 
the blister to the throat and chest. Should the bowels not be relieved, 
throw up copious enemas of blood-warm gruel; nothing more must be 
attempted. Aloes or salts are poisons during pleurisy ; wait patiently, 
and in time the establishment of health will restore all the natural functions, 
or if they are very confined, a bundle or two of cut grass may be presented 
with the usual food. 
A yellow, transparent discharge from the nostrils, occasionally streaked 
with blood, and more or less otherwise discolored; a horrible anxiety 
of countenance, which seems to appeal mutely to every human being the 
saddened eye rests upon; quickened breathing, a more rapid but a sink- 
ing pulse, and a leaden state of the nasal membranes declare the proba- 
bility of a fatal termination. Pleurisy, however, mostly ends in hydro- 
thorax, for the character of which the reader is referred to the succeeding 
pages. 
