Special Report on Diseases of the HorseUnited States. Bureau of Animal Industry
Science
Special Report on Diseases of the Horse
United States. Bureau of Animal Industry
Horses -- Diseases
_Treatment._--In treating external ophthalmia the first object is the
removal of the cause. Remove any dust, chaff, thorn, or other foreign
body from the conjunctiva, purify the stable from all sources of
ammoniacal or other irritant gas; keep the horse from dusty roads, and,
above all, from the proximity of a leading wagon and its attendant cloud
of dust; remove from pasture and feed from a rack which is neither so
high as to drop seeds, etc., into the eyes nor so low as to favor the
accumulation of blood in the head; avoid equally excess of light from a
sunny window in front of the stall and excess of darkness from the
absence of windows; preserve from cold drafts and rains and wet bedding,
and apply curative measures for inflammation of the adjacent mucous
membranes or skin. If the irritant has been of a caustic nature, remove
any remnant of it by persistent bathing with tepid water and a soft
sponge, or with water mixed with white of egg, or a glass filled with
the liquid may be inverted over the eye so that its contents may dilute
and remove the irritant. If the suffering is very severe, a lotion with
a few grains of extract of belladonna or of morphia in an ounce of water
may be applied, or, if it is available, a few drops of 4 per cent
solution of cocaine may be instilled into the eye.
In strong, vigorous patients benefit will usually be obtained from a
laxative, such as 2 tablespoonfuls of Glauber's salt daily, and if the
fever runs high from a daily dose of half an ounce of saltpeter. As
local applications, astringent solutions are usually the best, as 30
grains of borax or of sulphate of zinc in a quart of water, to be
applied constantly on a cloth, as advised under "Inflammation of the
eyelids." In the absence of anything better, cold water may serve every
purpose. Above all, adhesive and oily agents (molasses, sugar, fats) are
to be avoided, as only adding to the irritation. By way of suggesting
agents that may be used with good effect, salt and sulphate of soda may
be named, in solutions double the strength of sulphate of zinc, or 7
grains of nitrate of silver may be added to a quart of distilled water,
and will be found especially applicable in granular conjunctivitis,
diphtheria, or commencing ulceration. A cantharides blister (1 part of
Spanish fly to 4 parts lard) may be rubbed on the side of the face 3
inches below the eye, and washed off next morning with soapsuds and
oiled daily till the scabs are dropped.
WHITE SPECKS AND CLOUDINESS OF THE CORNEA.
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