SYMPTOMS.- The udder is swollen, hot, tense, and hard; and sometimes the central portion of the udder becomes gradually soft, and an abscess forms, which either breaks spontaneously, or else has to be opened with a knife, after which pus and blood are discharged. The natural swelling of the udder and of the milk veins, just before giving birth, which is particularly striking in mares, should not be confounded with this affection.
CAUSES.- Congestion of the lactiferous ducts, in consequences of a cold; if the milk is not speedily drawn out, irritation and inflammation will set in. Injuries of the udder may likewise cause it.
TREATMENT.- A few doses of Aconitum, and afterwards Bryonia, will generally and quickly remove inflammation; Arnica, if the swelling and inflammation have been caused by injuries; if the injuries have been considerable, a few doses of Aconitum, should precede the administration of Arnica. If matter begins to form, and the swelling has to be brought to a head, a few doses of Hepar Sulphur will facilitate the suppurative process. When the swelling has broken; Silicea must be substituted for Hepar Sulphur; This remedy will gradually heal the sores.
The appropriate medicine should be administered thrice daily.
ACCESSORY TREATMENT.- When there is evidence of suppuration, the udder should be fomented with hot water every three or four hours for above ten minutes at a time.
2nd.- DEFICIENT MILK.- In this case, the udder remains small and shriveled.
CAUSES.- Constitutional debility, impoverished food, colds, inflammations, etc.
TREATMENT.- When the result of debility, give China, thrice daily for a week or ten days; and afterwards Sulphur, night and morning for a week. If caused by a cold, Chamomilla and Dulcamara, every three hours, first one, and then the other.
3rd.- BLOODY MILK.- Give first a few doses of Aconitum, and afterwards Ipecacuanha. The latter remedy will generally cure the complaint, unless it has been caused by injury of the udder, when Arnica should be used both internally and externally.
4th.- IMPURE MILK.- Sulphur, administered night and morning, will often restore the milk to its natural character.
5th.- SPONTANEOUS FLOW OF MILK AND SWELLING OF THE UDDER.- These symptoms will generally yield to Belladonna, administered night and morning.
ACCESSORY MEANS.- If, as is often the case, the food has anything to do with the quality or quantity of milk, only such food must be given as will tend to form the secretion of good milk in due quantities. Urination, Difficult.
This complaint occurs among horses, oxen, and dogs. The animal puts himself into the attitude for urinating; but, although the urgings are repeated and painful, the water is entirely arrested, or passed in drops. In the retention of urine an animal makes similar movements as when under an attack of colic; and if there is any doubt as to the precise nature of the disease, the hand may be introduced into the rectum, when the bladder will be felt distended with water under this organ.
CAUSES.- Holding the urine too long; driving the animal too far when the bladder is distended with water; drinking cold water while overheated; stone or gravel in the bladder; spasmodic contraction of the neck of the bladder; severe labour; indigestion; and purgative and diuretic (staling) medicines.
TREATMENT.- It will generally be best first to administer a dose of Camphor every five or ten minutes for four times. If this fail to afford relief, give Cantharis every thirty minutes, for several times. If but little benefit result from this treatment, Nux Vomica may be had recourse to which will often effect the necessary change. If may be given every half-hour till improvement follows, when it will be required less frequently.
If there is reason to suppose that the difficulty is caused by the presence of a stone in the opening of the bladder, through which the water passes, mechanical means must be employed with the view of removing it. In large animals, the expulsion of a stone is facilitated by passing the hand into the rectum, and gently pressing the bladder forward. In some cases an operation is necessary, which can only be performed by a skilful veterinary surgeon; but as operations in this disease are often unsuccessful, it is generally better, when the animal’s flesh can be used, to slaughter it.
PRECAUTIONARY REMARKS.- It is important that a diminished secretion of urine, consequent on profuse and prolonged perspiration, should not be treated as “Difficult Urination.” During the summer an animal which labours severely, perspires 1. “The skin is an extensively secreting organ; of this the reader may judge when I inform him upon the authority of our most eminent physiologist, that the quantity of invisible perspiration which daily arises from its extensive surface is equal in weight to the solid and fluid substances excreted by the bowels and the kidneys in a similar period of time”. Haycock. more copiously than in winter, or when not so actively engaged; and as a natural consequence, the kidneys secrete a less amount of fluid; this simple fact is often overlooked, and a natural condition regarded as a disease; to remove which, “staling medicines” are frequently administered. The kidneys of an animal living on dry food will necessarily secrete less urine than those of another living upon the juicy food; yet in this instance, too, ignorant people not unfrequently have recourse to strong drugs to remedy what they consider a defect. The consequence of such unscientific treatment is, the drainage of the blood to an improper extent of its watery constituents; and the indirect injury of the entire organism.
Vesicular Epizootic – Foot and Mouth Disease.
DEFINITION.- An acute, contagious disease, characterised by the formation of vesicles and ulcers, chiefly about the mouth and hoofs. It occurs mostly among cattle and sheep, but under favouring circumstances also attacks other domestic quadrupeds.
CAUSES.- This disease is principally communicated by means of a contagious miasma; and circumstance unfriendly to the health of animals, such as impoverished or scanty food; prolonged exposure to cold; defective management of housing may also produce the disease.
SYMPTOMS.- The first symptoms are – dulness, fever, indolent gait, red eyes, cough, restlessness, shaking of the head, stamping with the feet, grinding the teeth, constant moving of the tail. Cows in poor condition are duller than strong cones; the latter often act as if enraged. Vesicles and sores break out on the palate and gums; the appetite and secretion of milk fall off, and soon disappear entirely; the udder is swollen, hot, and painful when touched; the back is arched; the legs seem uneasy under her, and she is indisposed to move.
“This attracts attention to the feet, and they are found hot and painful; the hoof at the top is swollen, and a discharge runs from the heels; tears run from the eyes, which look dim; the inside of the nose and the white of the eyes are red; the mouth is dry and the membrane which covers it has little red spots upon it, which soon rise into blisters over the whole of the mouth; they contain a fluid, and increase gradually in size; the blister bursts, and a sore is left which becomes a deep and ragged ulcer. These blisters are formed upon the bag, and about the hoofs especially of the hind legs; the hoof may fall off, the bones may become diseased, and other mischief of a serious character ensue. The appetite is then much impaired; there is great weakness, wasting, discharge of stringy, bloody fluid from the mouth; offensive, mattery running from the nostrils; swollen face; bad breath; quick pulse; dropsy of the belly and legs; purging and death.” – Veterinary Homoeopathy.
TREATMENT.- The principal remedies are – Arsenicum, Belladonna, and Mercurius.
Arsenicum.- As soon as the symptoms of dulness, impaired appetite, and unthrifty appearance of the skin are perceived, give ten drops in a few spoonfuls of water, or two grains, every three hours. If administered early, this remedy may alone effect a cure.
Belladonna.- If the eyes are dim and watery, the udder painful, hot and swollen, and the hoofs burning and sensitive to the touch, give this remedy the same as directed under Arsenicum.
Mercurius.- If the disease has attained a more advanced stage, and is marked by the extreme symptoms before described, such as bursting of the blisters, the formation of deep and ragged ulcers, swollen face, etc., give two-grain doses of the trituration every four hours.
ACCESSORY MEASURES.- The animal should be kept housed in a quiet stall, with plenty of fresh air of a moderate temperature, abundance of soft straw, as much water as it wants, and sufficient soft food, such as milk, meal and water, boiled grain, mash or bran. The feet and hoofs should be occasionally bathed with warm water. When the udder is affected it should be frequently stripped of its contents.
PREVENTIVE TREATMENT.- In all cases, an affected animal must be completely separated from all others, and if the disease has far advanced before treatment is commenced, it is often better to kill it at once, and to bury the carcass deep in the earth. Schaffer states, that in the north of Germany, the matter which flows from the nose of a moderately infected animal has been used for the purpose of inoculating healthy animals, by which means the disease is said either to have been moderated or prevented.
Worms.
There are several species of worms that inhabit the intestines of domestic animals, the chief of which are the following : 1. The Round Worm, a long white parasite, resembling the common earth worm, from six to twelve inches long, which inhabits the small intestines. 2. The long Thread Worm, a slender parasite, measuring from five to six inches in length, inhabiting the large intestines. 3. The Maw. or Thread Worm, a small, lively parasite like a needle, found in great numbers in the large intestines and rectum. It is about half and inch long. 4. The Tape-Worm, found in the large and small intestines. It is white and tape-like in shape, and divided at regular intervals into articulations.
LICENTIATE OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS; MEMBER OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS; LICENTIATE IN MIDWIFERY, LONDON AND EDINBURGH, ETC. PHYSICIAN TO THE READING AND BERKSHIRE HOMOEOPATHIC DISPENSARY.
Author of "The Stepping Stone to Homeopathy and Health,"
"Manual of Homoeopathic Treatment". Editor of "The Homoeopathic World."