GENERAL DISEASES. 303 



far I have observed no after evil from its use. I should not 

 advise its adoption when distemper also existed. Quietude, 

 except when the patient is necessarily disturbed, is very essen- 

 tial ;• and attention to the bed being dry, and the excretions 

 regular, are also matters of importance in chorea and paralytic 

 affections. 



When abatement of the twitchings, with returning strength, 

 is observed, a favorable issue may be expected ; but it is 

 advisable not to discontinue the medicine so long as any 

 nervous complication remains ; afterwards it should be grad- 

 ually, not suddenly, suspended. 



As soon as the patient is able to walk, a short exercise 

 each day may be given with benefit. The fresh air acts as a 

 tonic, new scenery and objects divert the mind, while exer- 

 cise encourages the natural habits and functions of the ani- 

 mal. 



Tincture of iron and cod-liver oil are advisable after the 

 disuse of the strychnia, until recovery is complete. The 

 diet throughout should be nourishing and digestible, and 

 forcibly administered if the patient refuses to take it. Con- 

 stipation, which is frequently present in chorea and paralysis, 

 is best relieved by enemas. 



With regard to preventive measures for distemper, I have 

 only to observe that due attention to hygienics is the only and 

 best preventive. Vaccination has been extolled and con- 

 demned — condemned justly, inasmuch as there is not a shadow 

 of analogy between canine distemper and small-pox. The 

 introduction of equine lymph has also been tried, and in like 

 manner extolled, but where again is the resemblance between 

 the disease known as "grease " in the horse, from which the 

 lymph is supplied, and canine distemper? There is not the 

 least similarity in the character of one and the other. Good 

 management, the dog not being brought in contact with the 

 infective agents, or it may possibly be from possessing a 

 degree of insusceptibility that the malady is not easily con- 

 tracted — has far more to do with immunity from distemper 



