Avoiding anything that might add to the irritability

Avoiding anything that might add to the irritability

Avoiding anything that might add to the irritability

From the foregoing, it will have been seen that my efforts are chiefly directed to strengthening the system, and, so far as possible, avoiding anything that might add to the irritability. On these principles I have sometimes succeeded, and most often when the fits have been caused by some foreign substance in the stomach or intestines. When such is the case, the fits are mostly short and frequent. One dog that had one of these attacks, which did not last above forty seconds every five minutes, and was very noisy, lived in pain for two days, and then passed a peach-stone, from which moment it began to recover, and is now alive. In another case, a nail was vomited, and the animal from that time commenced improving. In this instance an emetic would have been of benefit; but such occurrences are rare, and the emetic does not, even when required, do the same good as is produced by the natural ejection of the offending agent. Perhaps, where nature possesses the strength to cast off the cause of the distress, there is more power indicated; but after an emetic, I have known a dog fall upon its side, and never rise again.