PREVENTION, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT 63 



two ounces of castor oil should be given and, if there are dry, hard, 

 impacted feces in the lower bowel, the use of injections of sweet 

 oil (Sviii) and followed by warm water should be persisted in. 

 Often, with dried fecal masses, the only successful measure con- 

 sists in external massage and the mechanical removal of dry and 

 bony masses from the rectum with finger or blunt curette. The 

 animal should be starved until well rid of his trouble or fed on 

 food giving rise to little residue in the digestive tract, as broth, 

 lean cooked meat with salt, and milk. To avoid future constipa- 

 tion, exercise and the occasional use of liver and dog biscuit are 

 useful with a mixed diet. When a tendency to chronic constipation 

 exists, V 2 to 1 teaspoonful of the aromatic fluidextract of cascara 

 sagrada, or a pill containing the solid extract of rhamnus purshiana 

 (gr. ii-iv), with extract of hyoscyamus (gr. Y\), may be given 

 once daily. 



Convulsions — Epilepsy — Eclampsia. 



Epilepsy and eclampsia (or convulsions) are not synonymous, 

 but they will be considered here because the treatment of both is 

 similar. Epilepsy is a chronic nervous disease characterized by pe- 

 riodic attacks of unconsciousness with tonic and clonic spasms. It is 

 rare, but affects all domestic animals and more often dogs. Eclamp- 

 sia (or convulsions) is usually symptomatic of some irritation of 

 the nervous system, central or peripheral. We distinguish con- 

 vulsions or eclampsia from epilepsy in that, while the symptoms 

 are alike in both, eclampsia is transient or occasional, but epilepsy 

 is periodic, chronic and usually incurable. 



Symptoms. — In an attack of epilepsy the animal stands still, 

 stares, trembles, cries (dogs and pigs), staggers and falls uncon- 

 scious with rigidity, followed by convulsive movements of the 

 whole body. There is frothing at the mouth ; the eyeballs are fixed, 

 rolling or squinting. Breathing is noisy or labored and the pulse 

 is slow and hard. Attacks last a few minutes to half an hour and 



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