Special report on diseases of the horse / by Drs. Pearson [and others].

Date:
1903
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Special report on diseases of the horse / by Drs. Pearson [and others]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    52/690 (page 46)
    irritated, but no longer ; chlorate of potash may be given in quantities of 2 drams four times daily, mixed with flaxseed meal or liquorice- root powder and honey, as an electuary. Soft foods should be given, and fresh water should be constantly before the horse. Paralysis of the pharynx, or, as it is commonly called, u paralysis of the throat,” is a rare but very serious disease. The symptoms are as follows: The horse will constantly try to eat or drink, but will be unable to do so; if water be offered him from a pail he will apparently drink with avidity, but the quantity of water in the pail will remain about the same; he will continue trying to drink by the hour; if he can succeed in getting any fluid into the back part of the mouth it will come out at once through the nose. Foods also return through the nose, or are dropped from the mouth, quidded. An examination of the mouth by inserting the hand fails to find any obstruction or any abnormal condition. These cases go on from bad to worse; the horse constantly and rapidly loses in condition, becomes very much emaciated, the eyes are hollow and lusterless, and death occurs from inanition. Treatment is very unsatisfactory. A severe blister should be applied behind and under the jaw; the mouth is to be frequentty swabbed out with alum or chlorate of potash, 1 ounce to a pint of water, by means of a sponge fastened to the end of a stick. Strychnia may be given in 1-grain doses two or three times a daju This disease may be mistaken at times for foreign bodies in the mouth or for the so-called cerebro-spinal meningitis. It is to be dis- tinguished from the former, upon a careful examination of the mouth, by the absence of any offending body and by the flabby feel of the mouth; and from the latter by the animal appearing in perfect health in every particular except this inability to eat or drink. Abscesses.—Abscesses sometimes form back of the pharynx and give rise to symptoms resembling those of laryngitis or distemper. Interference with breathing that is of recent origin and progression, without any observable swelling or soreness about the throat, will make one suspect the formation of an abscess in this location. But little can be done by the owner in the waj^ of treatment, save to hurry the ripening of the abscess and its discharge, by steaming with hops, hay, or similar substances and by poulticing the throat. The operation for opening an abscess in this region necessitates an intimate knowledge of the complex anatomy of the throat region. DISEASES OF THE ESOPHAGUS, OR GULLET. It is rare to find diseases of this organ, except as a result of the introduction of foreign bodies too large to pass or to the exhibition of irritating medicines. Great care should be taken in the administration of irritant or caustic medicines that they be thoroughly diluted. If this is not done erosions and ulcerations of the throat ensue, and this