42 6 FEVERS, AND THEIR TREATMENT. 



be described as passing through four stages or periods: ist, 

 That in which the poison is spreading through the system, called 

 the period of incubation; 2nd, That in which nature rouses 

 her powers to expel it, called the period of reaction; 3rd, The 

 period of prostration, during which the powers of nature are ex- 

 hausted, or nearly so, by the efforts which have been made : and 

 4th, The period of convalescence. On the average, each of these 

 will occupy a week or ten days, varying with the mildness or 

 severity of the attack. 



When the head is attacked, there may or may not be a running 

 from the nose and eye.s ; but more usually there is some evidence 

 of congestion in these organs, the eyes being weak and glued up 

 with the mucus, and the nose running more or less. A fit is, 

 however, the clearest evidence of brain affection, and, to a common 

 observer, the only reliable one. Sometimes there is stupor without 

 a fit, gradually increasing till the dog becomes insensible and dies. 

 At others, a raving delirium comes on, easily mistaken for hydro- 

 phobia, but distinguished from it by the presence of the premoni- 

 tory symptoms peculiar to distemper. This is the most fatal com- 

 plication of all, and, if the dog recovers, he is often a victim to 

 palsy or chorea for the rest of his life. 



If the lungs are attacked, there is very rapid breathing, with 

 cough, and almost always a considerable running from the eyes 

 and nose, and expectoration of thick frothy mucus. If inflamma- 

 tion of the lungs is established, the danger is as great as when 

 the head is the seat of the seizure. 



The bowels may be known to be seized when there is a violent 

 purging of black offensive matter, often tinged with blood, and 

 sometimes mixed with patches or shreds of a white leathery sub- 

 stance, which is coagulable lymph. The discharge of blood is in 

 some cases excessive, and rapidly carries off the dog. 



