ACUTE INDIGESTION, ETC. 
373 
selves, I will, in order to guard against misapprehension, state 
that I am in favor of judicious medical treatment in at least all 
severe cases. 
If the conditions that exist in flatulent colic were known to 
the owners of animals afflicted with it, and if they were further 
aware of the knowledge that is required to apply proper remedies 
to meet these conditions, they woidd pause and deliberate well 
before calling to their aid a practitioner of doubtful competency; 
and further, they would peremptorily refuse the services of the 
ignorant and illiterate in the treatment of it. 
When called upon to treat a case, consideration should be 
given to the deranged functions, and to the chemical changes 
that are taking, or have taken, place in the constituents of the 
food, and apply remedies, if possible, to meet these conditions, a,nd 
thus assist Nature in her efforts to remove the deranged, and 
restore the normal, functions of the digestive organs. 
At this point we will venture to suggest the medical treatment 
we deem proper in such cases. 
We first ascertain, if possible, the history of the case, par¬ 
ticularly in reference to the kind of food the subject has re¬ 
ceived, so as to decide whether the nitrogenized or starchy 
constituents are in excess; also, to ascertain whether a short 
time previous to the illness a free supply of water had been 
given. Should we find that food had been given in which the 
starchy constituents were in excess, and that water had tilso been 
freely allowed, and the attack recent, we would conclude the gas 
eliminated to be principally carbonic acid gas. 
yWe would then decide whether Ave would administer an anti¬ 
septic, such as the sulphites of soda, with a view T of arresting the 
fermentation, or whether w^e would give an alkali, for the purpose 
of neutralizing a free acid or condensing carbonic acid by effecting 
a combination with the alkali. With either of the above we 
would combine three to five drachms of aloes and a half drachm 
of fluid extract of nux vomica for the purpose of increasing 
functional activity of the stomach and bowels. 
At this point I wish to put in an objection against the use 
of the carbonated alkalies in all cases where it is probable 
