CHAPTER IX

Diagnosis and Treatment of Disease

Some diseases are not difficult to diagnose. Those resulting from wounds or knocks are easily located, and their treatment readily outlined. Others, however, are not so easy. Something is observed as wrong, the animal acts strangely, does not take to its food, is fretful, stands or walks unnatural--what is the matter? The stockman must ascertain the trouble, and the quicker the better.

A review of the past few days is desirable. Where has the animal been? What kind of food has it had? With what strange fellows has it associated? Has it been put to excessive work or exposed to unusual weather or conditions? What infectious diseases are prevalent in the community? These and other questions will occur; in some instances the answer will be at hand.

MAKE A PHYSICAL EXAMINATION

The stockman should at least know the fundamental principles of health and of any departure from them that indicate disease. Hence a superficial examination of the animal, as a whole, is in line of diagnosing the disease. Note the general condition of the body. The thermometer will advise you rightly. Is there pain? If possible determine this point and locate the seat of it. Is the circulation natural? An examination of the pulse will tell you if the blood is racing rapidly or gliding slowly, and whether regular or rough. Is the respiration as it should be? Count the number a minute that you may know if the number is more or less, or is as it should be. On listening to the lungs, heart, and blood vessels, certain sounds are heard which change with disease--normal and heart murmurs. Whether or not an organ contains air can be determined by percussion, since solid organs, the lungs, for instance, in pneumonia, give a different sound from those containing air as they are normally. Air-containing organs--lungs and intestines--may thus be distinguished from the solid ones adjoining them. In this way their varying size in health and disease may be determined.

Your examination should go further and include the natural discharges--the dung, the urine, the nose moisture and the “look of the eye.” In cases of fever the urine is scanty and deeply colored. In Texas fever, for instance, the urine is dark red. In azoturia in horses, it varies from a light color to a deep brown or black. The nature of the dung should be observed, if watery or dry, soft or hard, scanty or profuse.

=Taking the Pulse.=--Stand at the left side of the horse and run the finger along the lower jaw until you come to the point where the artery crosses the jaw on its lower edge. This will be found about two inches forward from its angle. Right here is the large muscle and at the front edge the pulsations may be caught. To get the pulse of the cow, stand at the left side, reach over the neck and take it from the right jaw.

In the horse the normal pulse beats are from 35 to 40 per minute and may go to 100 in disease. In the cow the pulsations run from 45 to 50 in health. The pulse relates its story very accurately and, with practice, can be constantly used in diagnosing the nature of the ailment. For instance, a soft pulse, one that is easily compressed by the finger, indicates bronchitis. A hard pulse, one not easily depressed by the finger, indicates acute inflammation. A hard pulse may be quick and bounding and forceful. An irregular pulse, one that beats fast for a time, then slowly, indicates a weakened heart condition. A slow, full pulse, one that comes up gradually to the finger touch, indicates some brain trouble.

=Taking the Temperature.=--While the heat of the body may be surmised by touch and feeling this is not a reliable guide as to the temperature. A self-registering thermometer, inserted into the rectum, is the only reliable means for getting this desirable information. In a state of health the temperature of the horse ranges from 100° to 102.5°.

When the temperature rises, inflammation is indicated. A fall in temperature below normal denotes loss of strength, vitality, and death. If the temperature rises three or four degrees above normal, the case is serious, and a rise of five or six is very dangerous. Animals seldom survive when the rise reaches above 107° or 108°.

A good clinical thermometer should be in the possession of every stockman. It costs but little, and its aid in recognizing and treating disease is helpful, if not absolutely indispensable.

=Taking the Respiration.=--In breathing two movements are observed--taking in and sending out the air. In health the respiration is usually constant, ranging from 10 to 14 in the horses, and from 15 to 20 in cattle. Breathing is faster in young animals; and exercise increases the number of respirations per minute.

Any disease of the respiratory organs will cause the breathing to be short and rapid and labored. If the number of respirations seem more than normal, some disturbance is indicated. If the pulse is faster at the same time, illness is at once indicated, and the trouble should be sought at once.

THE TREATMENT OF DISEASE

The first effort in treating disease is to remove the cause. This is sometimes done very easily. Mange and lice are quickly destroyed by washes and disinfectants.

Bright, fresh, wholesome food and pure water easily replace bad food and water to the permanent good of the stock. Cattle ticks quickly disappear when the grease brush is applied. And so in every direction you take to fight the disease: find the cause and then remove it, and half the battle is fought.

If disease-producing germs cannot be killed at the moment, it is still possible to diminish their number or to modify their virulence. Thus to open an abscess is to remove the pus-producing bacteria, and hence to hasten recovery. To wash a wound or open sore with antiseptics is the simplest way to remove, diminish, and destroy the evil of the sore.

=Helping the Body Fight.=--When disease sets in a battle begins. One combatant is the disease itself, the other the body. Your work is to render assistance to the body. In many cases your help will not be needed. In others you can render incalculable aid. Here is where medical aid begins and ends: to care for and nurse and make the body strong that it may be victorious, quickly, if possible, but without fail, in the end. Medicines are helpful if they diminish the work of the diseased organ, giving in this way time for the body cells to bring about a cure. Therefore rest and quietness are advisable, that no organ may be called upon for any effort but normal function and repair. A disease of the heart calls for absolute rest, of the intestines for little or no irritating or bulky or hard food, of the lungs for no exposure. At times it is advisable to check the activity of an organ, in which case a drug may be given, like opium, to quiet the intestines, or like aconite, to diminish the rate of the blood flow.

In the same way external assistance may be rendered; as, for example, sweating--to throw off poison in the tissue juices; and blanketing--to maintain an even temperature and to protect from chill and draught.

ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICINES

Medicines are conveyed into the body as drenches, balls, enemas, and injections under the skin or into the veins. There is nothing mysterious about any of them.

=Giving Medicines in a Ball.=--The practice of giving medicines in a ball is a very old one, and has much to recommend it. Many nauseous agents as aloes, opium, arsenic, asafetida, are thus conveyed to the stomach without causing annoyance and disgust to the patient. The balls are wrapped in paper, dough, or gelatin capsules, and may weigh an ounce or two. In giving a ball the following plan is usually followed: Hold the ball between the thumb and first two fingers. Now seize the tongue at about its middle and gently draw it out to the side of the mouth, in such a way that the right hand may be inserted into the mouth and the ball placed far back on the tongue, when the hand is withdrawn, the tongue replaced and the halter or strap wrapped around the jaws until the ball is swallowed.

=Giving Medicines in a Drench.=--The drench is usually employed for liquid medicines. It is best to dilute the medicines with water, milk, or oil that they may more readily reach the stomach and at the same time exercise no injury to the structures through which they pass.

In giving a drench exercise as much patience as possible. To horses it should be given slowly. If there is any disposition to cough, lower the head, and then proceed as before.

=Poultices.=--These are made of a variety of things, bread, bran, and linseed meal being the most common. Any substance that will hold water and retain heat will serve the purpose.

=Mustard Plasters.=--These are made with mustard and water, cold water being the most desirable. Mix to a thin paste. If the part to which the plaster is to be applied is covered with thick, long hair, a very thin plaster will more quickly soak into the skin. This kind of plaster is most commonly applied to the throat, the windpipe, the sides of the chest, the abdomen and over the region of the liver. To get the best effect for the last named, apply on the right side at a point four or five inches behind the back ribs.

=Blistering.=--The first step in blistering is the clipping of the hair over the diseased part, and the removal of dirt and scurf attached to the skin. The blister is to be worked into the skin, and usually ten minutes of rubbing will be necessary to produce the desired results.

In the course of twenty-four hours blisters will form, and some swelling in the region is likely to be manifest. On the third day bathe the part with warm water and soap. After drying, apply vaseline, lard, or sweet oil. The blister should be repeated if the results of the first blister do not bring about a cure.

=Firing.=--The hot iron is a very useful agent in treating many cases of chronic lameness and bone diseases. In performing such an operation have the iron at a full red and white heat and touch the part gently with just sufficient pressure to make a distinct impression. But one leg should be fired at a time.

It is desirable to shave the hair closely to the skin before applying the iron. The day following the firing spread over the wound any common wound oil like neat’s-foot oil or vaseline. Daily applications are called for until the swelling subsides. Unless a period of rest is given after the operation, the best results will not be had. Many bone diseases return, or are never cured, because complete recovery never occurred in the first place. Work and exertion only aggravate the cases, often leaving them in a worse condition than before the firing.

CARING FOR SICK ANIMALS

In the first place keep them clean. If necessary wash them daily, especially the parts liable to get filthy and dirty. In fever cases a gentle sponging, every few hours during the day, is desirable. Vinegar added to tepid water is very good.

Animals in feverish or chilly condition can be assisted by blankets and bandages. These are very helpful in warding off congestion of the internal organs and in maintaining an even temperature of the body. Any warm rug or blanket that is clean and light will serve.

In bandaging the legs, endeavor to get an equal pressure at all points. A long roll is, therefore, best, and several layers should be wrapped around the member. It is a good plan to remove the bandage, replacing with another at least once a day, and two a day are better. When a bandage is removed, the skin should be washed and rubbed with the hand and fingers, and the covering replaced as promptly as possible.

=Food and Drink.=--During sickness only easily digestible food should be provided. Offer something different from the ordinary, and let it be prepared in an appetizing form. Nothing is better than gruels and mashes. These are soft, nourishing, appetizing, and easily digested. When active nutrition is demanded, milk and eggs can be added to the ordinary gruels or mashes.

Water should be available at all times. Small amounts at frequent intervals are better than large amounts at intervals far apart. In a few instances only is it best to withhold the water. In treating dysentery, diarrhœa and diabetes water is usually withheld, but in most diseases a free use is allowable and desirable.