140 CANINE MEDICINE AND SURGERY 



Parasitic Dermatitis 



The dog flea, Pulex serraticeps; the dog louse, 

 Trichodectes latus; ticks, Ixodes, and harvest bugs, 

 Trombidii, often extensively infest our patients and 

 are the cause of much irritation and a mild form of 

 dermatitis, which is augmented by the patient's 

 efforts to relieve the itching by scratching. If the 

 superficial abrasions caused by the animal's claw 

 become infected, very troublesome and sometimes 

 extensive sores are produced. Both fleas and lice 

 should be eliminated as quickly as possible, since 

 they are not only a drain on the patient's constitu- 

 tion but may be the intermediate hosts of the Taenia 

 canina. 



Fleas are fairly easily gotten rid of by a thorough 

 washing in a creolin solution. It must be remem- 

 bered, however, that the female flea does not lay 

 her eggs on the animal, but in cracks and crevices 

 of the floor and sides of the kennel, and in bedding, 

 dust, and filth, so that in addition to the treatment 

 of the patient, his bedding, kennel, or sleeping place 

 must also be thoroughly cleaned either with boiling 

 water or a strong solution of creolin in order to 

 destroy the eggs and larvas. If this latter precaution 

 is omitted the patient will be reinfested in a very 

 short time. 



Lice are much harder to eradicate than fleas, for 

 although the adults are easily enough disposed of 

 by bathing in creolin water or by applications of 

 tincture of larkspur, yet the "nits," or eggs, which 

 are attached to the hairs, are extremely resistant to 

 the action of parasiticides on account of their kerati- 

 nous covering. The patient should first of all be 

 washed in a strong solution of sodium bicarbonate, 

 which softens the nits, allowing the subsequent ap- 

 plication of the chosen parasiticide to destroy the 



