356 DISEASES OP THE HORSE. 



The therapeutic treatment is also important. The edematous swell- 

 ing, when recognized by its external appearance and the existing 

 inflammation, should be treated without delay. Warm fomentations, 

 repeated several times daily, are then indicated, the degree of warmth 

 being as high as can be borne comfortably. They are easily applied 

 and often yield decided relief in a few hours. In some cases, how- 

 ever, astringents are used in preference, in the form of poultices or 

 pastes, which are made to cover the entire swelling and allowed to 

 remain, drying after a short time, it is true, and perhaps falling off, 

 but easily renewed and reapplied. An excellent astringent for these 

 cases is a putty made of powdered chalk and vinegar (acetate of 

 lime), and the whole swelling is then covered with a thick coating of 

 soft clay made into a mass with water. 



These simple remedies are often all that is required. Under their 

 use the swelling passes off by degrees and after a short interval the 

 animal is fit for work again; but not uncommonly instead of this a 

 swelling develops, puffy, not painful, and perhaps giving a sensation 

 of crepitation when pressure is applied with the finger. It is soft 

 and evidently contains a liquid, and when freely opened, with a good- 

 sized incision, discharges a certain amount of blood, partly liquid 

 and partly coagulated, and perhaps a little hemorrhage will follow. 

 The cavity should then be well washed out and a plug of oakum 

 introduced, leaving a small portion protruding through the cut to 

 prevent it from closing prematurely. It may be taken off the next 

 day, and a daily cleansing will then be all that is necessary. In 

 another case the tumor becomes very soft in its whole extent, with 

 evident fluctuation and a well-defined form. The discharge of the 

 fluid is then indicated, and a free incision will be followed by the 

 escape of a quantity of thin, yellowish liquid from a single sac. The 

 wound should be kept clean and dressed frequently in order to insure 

 prompt healing. But if the cavity is found to be subdivided in its 

 interior by numerous bands, and the cyst proves to be multilocular, 

 the partitions should be torn out with the fingers, and the cavity 

 then treated in the same manner as the unilocular sac. In still 

 another case the swelling may be warm and painful with indistinct 

 fluctuation, or fluctuation only at a certain point. This indicates an 

 abscess, and necessitates an incision to drain the pus, followed by the 

 careful cleansing and dressing of the wound. 



But cases occur in which all the treatment that has been described 

 fails to effect a full recovery, and instead a fibrous tumor begins to 

 develop. A change of treatment is, of course, then in order. The 

 inflammation being chronic will necessitate stimulating treatment of 

 the part in order to increase the process of absorption. We must 

 again draw upon the resources of experience in the form of blisters, 

 the fomentations, the iodine, and the mercurial ointments as hereto- 



