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Parasites and their Poisons
580
The Veterz'nary Journal.
given in struction s not to remov'e them for foul' hours , I impr·e ss upon my client the necessity of keeping the cow in the upri ght position for th at period if nece ssary. As a general rule, by the time thi s mu ch is done the animal presents a much livelier appearance. I refrain from prophesying what time the animal will g et up , but find from experience, and on subsequent inquiry, they usually do so in about four hours. Should I note a tendency to dryne ss o,r ha rdness of freces on back-raking, I g iv·e a pound of Epsom salts in two pound s of treacl e to wh ich so me warm water ha s been added to thin it. This accompanied by a few qua rts of warm water enemata has the d·esired effect of either curing or stallin g off dry murrain . [The imp o,rtance of keepin g a cow on her brisket is reco g nized by all cattle practitioners. It is one of tho s·e thing's we learn as pupil . The objection to the air treatment is that any layman can adopt it. The point re costly drugs used by Mr. Mayall in hi s tr·eatme nt ha s not much fo~-ce when we find Mr. MacCormack usin g such drugs as pure dig italin, sparteine sulphate , and strychnine nitrate (Parke Davi 's cardiacs), besides, chloral hydrate is now I7 s. a lb., and pot. bromo 18s. Mr. MacCo,r mack , too , is apparently g reatly favo ure,d if all hi s cases of milk fever are simple, uncomplicated ones. Salts are often administered by the owners some tim e before a veterinary surg eon is ca ll ed in. T he rea so n for keeping the tape s on the teats for foul' ho ur s is not apparent. vVhy not twelve? In the majority of our cases milk secretion does not appeal' to have ceased, becau e the ba g is stripped ,each time it is injected.-ED.]
PARASITES AN D
THEIR
PO I SONS.
By F. G. MAHON, M.R.C. V.S . Southampton
man y years the study of helmintholog y has been one to conjure with, so as an old student of the same, although I was fir st introduced to the same study whi lst actin g as monitor to the late Dr. T . S. Cobbo ld , for many years Great Britain' s foremost auth or, writer, and teacher of the same-ye s, ev·e n as far remote a 1883--and wherever and whenever opportunity in practice has occurred the subject o f parasiti sm has been one of FOR
Pa1'asz'tes and thew P oz5.0ns.
s8n
extreme fascination. In having the sole charge of a large veterinary practice during the present war, i.e., filling the gap for one called, and worthi ly so, to the honoured Army Veterinary Co.rps, may I be per mitted to engage my readers for a few moments in endeavo'lll-jng to express a few of many views on the subject. To do so is to ·find myself in agreement without any cavil with the extract which I give, culled from Knowledge, October, 1915, recoa-ding the "foll owing from that able writer and a uthority on zoo logy, &c ., viz., Professor J. Arthur Thomson, M.A., LL. D . " Parasites and their Poisons .-Vve have ref.erred to the fact that a vigorous animal may harbour numerous parasites without seeming to be the bit the worse. But a delicate or enfeebled animal may be killed by them, and lack of vigour, or something u nwholesome in th e diet, may lead to an inor'e ase in the number of parasites. I t has been known that 'intestinal worms' somet imes caus.e nervo us tro ubles." This was fo,rmerly attributed to the irritation of the nerve endings on the wall of the intestine, but it is no,w referred to the toxins wh ich t he paras ites produoe. Extracts of flat-worms may serve to bring on the ne,rvous tro ubles if injected into the subject. In working with the se Dr. Demettre E. Paull ian found that his fingers, nose, and eyes were affected. This indicates that they ar,e vo latile, and that the poi so ns can pass thro ugh the skin. Rev iewing thes,e facts one cannot but express g rave doubts as to the u tility or rational treatment so called, hitherto in vogue. The old-fashioned, much-vaunted specifics which each practitioner hugs and cherishes in the fond belief that in its secrecy, because the majority I have encountered think , as a rule, their treatment only, and theirs only to be the best. I have employed practically nearly ,every known drug of the East and Western Hemispheres, at time s have tried the remedies of scores of practitioners, but as r,egards the efficacy of both the allopathic and homreopathic drug employment, have for years been sceptical of their efficacy, and fee l sure, in many cases, the host ha s be,en materially in jured constitutionally by their employment if continued over a lon g p·eriod. Recently I have come across many cases of T
The Velerl'llary
'.1 ourllal.
so-called, and adopted antiseptic treatment, first of all building up my patients by good nourishing food, exercise in moderation, and in the hors,e, as a beast of burden, conserving his powers by advising less hCLrd work than formerly and more creature comforts. This regime of diet, rest, and work has been followed byexceU,ent r·e sults from a mixture of beta-naphthol and salol. Carbolic acid an d g lyce rine has also been tried w ith ,e xoellent r,esult s, as has also formidine. Now all these agents ar'e antiseptic, and if placed in a media of glycerine apparently move in the right direction, and so far as I have been , in a busy practice, able to J'ecord, my patients have in all cases d'o ne well. Surely, in view of Professor Thomson's record of Dr. Demettr,e E. Pa ull ian's researches, a move in a mor·e practical sen sible li ght is ind'eed needed. Progr'e ss in many dir,e ctions of veterinary science does not seem, to my way of thinking, to have made strides in many directions since 1885, and to read the literature or records of the agents used by vderinarians in the treatment of parasitic di seases seem s to be one at varianc·e with the savants qu oted and t o be inimical or destructive to animal life in many cas es. My intention is to purs ue tonic treatment primarily; secondly, antiseptic treatment in the future, and hope at some future date to tabulate, so far as .my humbJ.e abilities and pen will allow, ca ses treated by the se means. May I ask my readers not to be over-crjtical when perusin g these few lines on a most worthy ,subject , vi z., helminthology, so interesting and material both to the human and veterinary practitioner , also as regards our f'Dod supply and the dangers to the host very often when infested by the se creatures (parasites), whose role in Nature is no doubt a g reat and usdul one, otheJ'wi&e we shoulod not hav,e such among us so often, or in such numbers, and evidently part and parcel of the Supreme Mind w ho fashioned them , as well as our selves, for good or evil purposes.
The Veterz'nary Journal.
given in struction s not to remov'e them for foul' hours , I impr·e ss upon my client the necessity of keeping the cow in the upri ght position for th at period if nece ssary. As a general rule, by the time thi s mu ch is done the animal presents a much livelier appearance. I refrain from prophesying what time the animal will g et up , but find from experience, and on subsequent inquiry, they usually do so in about four hours. Should I note a tendency to dryne ss o,r ha rdness of freces on back-raking, I g iv·e a pound of Epsom salts in two pound s of treacl e to wh ich so me warm water ha s been added to thin it. This accompanied by a few qua rts of warm water enemata has the d·esired effect of either curing or stallin g off dry murrain . [The imp o,rtance of keepin g a cow on her brisket is reco g nized by all cattle practitioners. It is one of tho s·e thing's we learn as pupil . The objection to the air treatment is that any layman can adopt it. The point re costly drugs used by Mr. Mayall in hi s tr·eatme nt ha s not much fo~-ce when we find Mr. MacCormack usin g such drugs as pure dig italin, sparteine sulphate , and strychnine nitrate (Parke Davi 's cardiacs), besides, chloral hydrate is now I7 s. a lb., and pot. bromo 18s. Mr. MacCo,r mack , too , is apparently g reatly favo ure,d if all hi s cases of milk fever are simple, uncomplicated ones. Salts are often administered by the owners some tim e before a veterinary surg eon is ca ll ed in. T he rea so n for keeping the tape s on the teats for foul' ho ur s is not apparent. vVhy not twelve? In the majority of our cases milk secretion does not appeal' to have ceased, becau e the ba g is stripped ,each time it is injected.-ED.]
PARASITES AN D
THEIR
PO I SONS.
By F. G. MAHON, M.R.C. V.S . Southampton
man y years the study of helmintholog y has been one to conjure with, so as an old student of the same, although I was fir st introduced to the same study whi lst actin g as monitor to the late Dr. T . S. Cobbo ld , for many years Great Britain' s foremost auth or, writer, and teacher of the same-ye s, ev·e n as far remote a 1883--and wherever and whenever opportunity in practice has occurred the subject o f parasiti sm has been one of FOR
Pa1'asz'tes and thew P oz5.0ns.
s8n
extreme fascination. In having the sole charge of a large veterinary practice during the present war, i.e., filling the gap for one called, and worthi ly so, to the honoured Army Veterinary Co.rps, may I be per mitted to engage my readers for a few moments in endeavo'lll-jng to express a few of many views on the subject. To do so is to ·find myself in agreement without any cavil with the extract which I give, culled from Knowledge, October, 1915, recoa-ding the "foll owing from that able writer and a uthority on zoo logy, &c ., viz., Professor J. Arthur Thomson, M.A., LL. D . " Parasites and their Poisons .-Vve have ref.erred to the fact that a vigorous animal may harbour numerous parasites without seeming to be the bit the worse. But a delicate or enfeebled animal may be killed by them, and lack of vigour, or something u nwholesome in th e diet, may lead to an inor'e ase in the number of parasites. I t has been known that 'intestinal worms' somet imes caus.e nervo us tro ubles." This was fo,rmerly attributed to the irritation of the nerve endings on the wall of the intestine, but it is no,w referred to the toxins wh ich t he paras ites produoe. Extracts of flat-worms may serve to bring on the ne,rvous tro ubles if injected into the subject. In working with the se Dr. Demettre E. Paull ian found that his fingers, nose, and eyes were affected. This indicates that they ar,e vo latile, and that the poi so ns can pass thro ugh the skin. Rev iewing thes,e facts one cannot but express g rave doubts as to the u tility or rational treatment so called, hitherto in vogue. The old-fashioned, much-vaunted specifics which each practitioner hugs and cherishes in the fond belief that in its secrecy, because the majority I have encountered think , as a rule, their treatment only, and theirs only to be the best. I have employed practically nearly ,every known drug of the East and Western Hemispheres, at time s have tried the remedies of scores of practitioners, but as r,egards the efficacy of both the allopathic and homreopathic drug employment, have for years been sceptical of their efficacy, and fee l sure, in many cases, the host ha s be,en materially in jured constitutionally by their employment if continued over a lon g p·eriod. Recently I have come across many cases of T
The Velerl'llary
'.1 ourllal.
so-called, and adopted antiseptic treatment, first of all building up my patients by good nourishing food, exercise in moderation, and in the hors,e, as a beast of burden, conserving his powers by advising less hCLrd work than formerly and more creature comforts. This regime of diet, rest, and work has been followed byexceU,ent r·e sults from a mixture of beta-naphthol and salol. Carbolic acid an d g lyce rine has also been tried w ith ,e xoellent r,esult s, as has also formidine. Now all these agents ar'e antiseptic, and if placed in a media of glycerine apparently move in the right direction, and so far as I have been , in a busy practice, able to J'ecord, my patients have in all cases d'o ne well. Surely, in view of Professor Thomson's record of Dr. Demettr,e E. Pa ull ian's researches, a move in a mor·e practical sen sible li ght is ind'eed needed. Progr'e ss in many dir,e ctions of veterinary science does not seem, to my way of thinking, to have made strides in many directions since 1885, and to read the literature or records of the agents used by vderinarians in the treatment of parasitic di seases seem s to be one at varianc·e with the savants qu oted and t o be inimical or destructive to animal life in many cas es. My intention is to purs ue tonic treatment primarily; secondly, antiseptic treatment in the future, and hope at some future date to tabulate, so far as .my humbJ.e abilities and pen will allow, ca ses treated by the se means. May I ask my readers not to be over-crjtical when perusin g these few lines on a most worthy ,subject , vi z., helminthology, so interesting and material both to the human and veterinary practitioner , also as regards our f'Dod supply and the dangers to the host very often when infested by the se creatures (parasites), whose role in Nature is no doubt a g reat and usdul one, otheJ'wi&e we shoulod not hav,e such among us so often, or in such numbers, and evidently part and parcel of the Supreme Mind w ho fashioned them , as well as our selves, for good or evil purposes.