Medicinal measures are not to be so quickly settled

Medicinal measures are not to be so quickly settled

Medicinal measures are not to be so quickly settled

Medicinal measures are not to be so quickly settled. A constant change of the agents employed will be imperative, and the practitioner must be prepared to meet every symptom as it appears. The treatment is almost wholly regulated by the symptoms, and as the last are various, of course the mode of vanquishing them cannot be uniform. To guide us, however, there is the well-known fact, the disease we have to subdue is of a febrile kind, and has a decided tendency to assume a typhoid character; therefore, whatever is done must be of a description not likely to exhaust, depletion is altogether out of the question. The object we have to keep in view is the support of nature, and the husbanding of those powers which the malady is certain to prey upon: in proportion as this is done, so will be the issue. In the very early stage, purgatives or emetics are admissible. If a dog is brought to me with reddened eyes, but no discharge, and the owner does no more with regard to the animal than complain of dulness, a want of appetite, and a desire to creep to the warmth, then I give a mild emetic such as is directed, page ; and this I repeat for three successive mornings; on the fourth day administering a gentle purge, as ordered, page . The tartar emetic solution and purgative pills I employ for these purposes, in preference to castor oil or ipecacuanha, and during the same time I prescribe the following pills:

Ext. belladonna	Six to twenty-four grains.
Nitre	One to four scruples.
Extract of gentian	One to four drachms.
Powdered quassia	A sufficiency.