Part 89

VESICULAR IRRUPTION IN PIGS. PITCHY AFFECTION. SEBORRHŒA.

This also affects the young and is characterized by the successive appearance of vesicles, pustules and scabs or crusts. Friedberger and Fröhner associate it with debility from youth, disease or neglect, from articular rheumatism, rachitism, hog cholera, etc., but also as a result of lying on manure, and the accumulation of sebaceous matter and filth of all kinds on the skin.

Symptoms. Among the symptoms of general disorder are dullness, inappetence, prostration and slight fever. There is red eruption with vesicles and even pustules on the early rupture of which the discharge concretes into a black pitchy layer. It may be at first most marked on the ventral aspect of the body, but usually extends to the whole integument.

Treatment. Where it is not dependent on some grave internal disorder, this commonly yields to soapy washes, generous food and a clean pen.

GRANULAR ERUPTION IN SWINE.

Zschokke describes a disease of this kind affecting the ears, back and croup, and caused by a micrococcus in the epidermis and papillary layer of the derma. It appears in the form of patches, often of the size of the palm, showing bluish gray papules which dry up without forming pustules. It runs a chronic course and produces little or no itching.

Treatment would consist in absolute cleanliness, soapy or alkaline washes, and the free use of solutions of the hyposulphites, sulphites, or other antiseptics which are neither irritant nor poisonous.

URTICARIA is met with in swine as already noticed.

SCLERODERMA occurs in boars especially in the region of the shoulders and back.

ACUTE ECZEMA OF THE DOG.

Prevalence and forms. Red Mange. Causes: constitutional, hereditary, races most susceptible, short-haired, delicate skins, 1st and 2d years, flesh fed, overfed, spiced food, secondary to internal disorders, heat, cold, dust, irritants. Symptoms: blush inside elbow, thigh, belly, heat, tenderness, itchiness, scratching, vesicles, abrasions, sores, skin thickens, wrinkles, moistens. Diagnosis: from demodex, distemper, mange. Treatment: change diet, restrict in quantity, from flesh, or stimulating food, one meal daily, laxative, bitters; locally, cleanse skin, antipruritic non-poisonous dusting powders or lotions, starch, magnesia, bismuth; with muzzle, phenol, lead, thymol, thiol, later creolin, oil of cade, lysol, etc. Acute general eczema. Causes as in red mange. Symptoms: Common on head, ears, back, rump, eyelids, lips, scrotum, arms, digits, crusts and depilation, large vesicles, bleeding digits. Treatment.

In none of our domestic animals is this condition so common as in the dog, and of all skin affections of this animal this is the most frequent. As in other animals it may show itself in all forms or grades from simple erythema, through the papular, vesicular, pustular and scurfy or scabby, and all of them may often be seen at the same time in one animal. Yet special names have been given to different forms and localizations and it seems convenient to retain some of these for every day use.

=Eczema Rubrum. Red Mange.= This form is familiar to dog fanciers as one of the acute types of this disease.

Causes. Among these are recognized a constitutional predisposition, so that the disease appears in successive generations in the same family, without apparent reason for charging the trouble on any particular feeding or management. While not confined to any race or group of races it has been noticed especially in greyhounds, setters, pointers, fox hounds, harriers, bulldogs, St. Germains and braque hounds. It is especially common in dogs in their first and second years, and those that are nervous and lively, with a delicate and naturally dry skin. Again, the dog fed largely on flesh, and above all the house dog fed thrice a day or oftener on highly spiced animal food from the table, or on cakes, rich in fat, is a frequent victim. There is besides that tendency to irritation of the skin which comes from hereditary peculiarities and idiosyncrasy, from diseases of the stomach, intestines, liver or kidneys, from faults in sanguification, nutrition and secretion, agencies that disturb the circulation in the skin, like excessive heat or cold, irritant dust, dessicated perspiration or sebum, overheating and subsequent plunging in cold water. These acting locally may serve to precipitate that which was otherwise imminent from a generally acting cause.

Symptoms. There is first erythema, usually on the inner side of the elbow, or thigh, with redness, heat and tenderness, which soon extend to the belly, breast and intermaxillary region, but it confines itself as a rule to the ventral aspect of the body where the hair is sparse and delicate, and the skin thin and sensitive. The symptoms are more marked in white haired dogs. The tender skin is more or less (usually intensely) itchy, causing violent scratching with the development of minute vesicles and even open sores. The skin may become moist, thickened and wrinkled, but is rarely encrusted to any degree. Spontaneous recovery may take place under a change of diet (restricted or vegetable), or an outdoor life in summer with liberal exercise, or the disease may last indefinitely so long as the etiological conditions are unchanged.

Diagnosis. The affection is easily distinguished from demodectic acariasis which attacks a different part of the body, namely, the head, the eyelids, the feet, and the back, whereas, this form of eczema confines itself to the ventral aspect of the trunk. From the eruption of distemper it is diagnosed by the absence of the hyperthermia and catarrhal symptoms of that disease, and by the very small size of the vesicles; those of distemper are broad, flattened and often have dark colored contents. From acariasis it is differentiated by its confinement to the ventral aspect, in place of attacking the head, ears, neck and back, by the less severe and incessant itching, and above all by the absence of the acarus, and the element of contagion.

Treatment. A change of diet is a prime consideration. It may be in the direction of simple restriction, but usually also in the avoidance of meats that are highly peppered or spiced. A change to vegetable food,—biscuit or mush and milk, is of great importance, but in some animals a little fresh plainly cooked steak or raw lean meat may be essential. In other cases a little beef juice or gravy well skimmed of fat may tempt the patient to eat mush. In the same way it may be necessary to temporize in the matter of meals. Some dogs can be safely put on one meal a day, while for others accustomed to frequent feeding it may be needful to give two and restrict the amount. For the overfed or dyspeptic animal a laxative, at the outset, serves to remove irritating and fermenting ingesta, and to place the stomach and liver, and indirectly, the skin in a better condition for recovery. Any persistent indigestion should be treated in the ordinary way.

Locally it may be requisite to first clean the surface by sponging with tepid water, to be followed by soothing and antipruritic agents, due care being taken to avoid such as when licked will poison the patient. Starch powder, magnesium carbonate, and bismuth oxide may be used without apprehension. The same is true of limewater and to some extent of zinc oxide. When we advance to others we must take the precaution to use a close wire muzzle, to prevent the ingestion of the agent. Carbolic acid lotion (1–2 ∶ 100) acts as a local anæsthetic, and often materially lessens both licking and scratching. Lead acetate or thymol or both (1 ∶ 100) have a similar action. Thiol 20, glycerine 50, water 50, often acts as well. When the acute symptoms have subsided the more stimulating agents may be employed: Creoline (2 ∶ 100); oil of cade 1, vaseline 5; Canada balsam 1, vaseline 5; zinc ointment, or lead acetate ointment.

OTHER ACUTE ECZEMAS IN DOGS.

Apart from eczema rubrum, the acute forms have been designated according to their seat and the nature of the attendant eruption.

=Acute General Eczema.= This may be often traced to various causes of irritation local or general: overfeeding, over-stimulating or spiced food, digestive, hepatic, or urinary disorders, irritant dust or inspissated secretions on the skin, hot seasons, over exertion, cold baths when heated, skin parasites and scratching.

Symptoms. The whole skin, or a portion thereof is the seat of pruritus, causing active scratching and on separating the hairs on the affected parts there is found redness, congestion, and swelling with the formation of papules or vesicles, abraded, or moist surfaces, and scales or crusts. These patches are common on the back, the head, ears, rump, (=Caudal eczema=), the palpabræ, the lips (eczema labialis), the interdigital space (=interdigital eczema=), the scrotum, or the anus.

Sometimes the formation of crusts and the loss of hairs is to be noted, sometimes the eruption of large vesicles which burst and discharge a honey like fluid (=impetiginous eczema=), sometimes blood escapes from the irritated surface and concretes in dark crusts. The vesication and moist exudation is especially common about the head, ears, eyelids, and rump, while bleeding is especially seen around the claws and in the interdigital spaces in connection with running on rough ground, snow or stubble. The impetiginous form often bears a strong resemblance to vesicles caused by a burn with hot water. The treatment of these different forms does not differ materially from that of eczema rubrum, being first dietetic and hygienic, then soothing, and finally stimulating.

CHRONIC ECZEMA IN THE DOG.

Follows acute. Same general causes. Symptoms: skin thickens with papules, vesicles or pustules, scurf, crusts, depilation, surface glossy, abraded, scratched, raw, rough, fœtid, itching, emaciation, exhaustion. Chronic eczema of the back. Fat, old, gluttons. Symptoms: circumscribed patches on back, loins, quarters, tail, intense itching, skin thickened, cracked, raw, encrusted, black, folded, rigid, fœtid, hair broken, erect, shedding. Very inveterate. Chronic eczema of elbow and hock. Causes: friction on summits of prominent bones, filth, infection, predisposition. Symptoms: red, thickened, bare, indurated, calloused skin, cracks, sores, discharge. Inveterate. Chronic dry eczema of head, ears, neck and limbs. Circumscribed area, slow progress, thick, rigid, folded skin, hairless, dry, scaly, moderate itching. Treatment: Fresh eruption like acute form. For old chronic form, stimulating astringents, silver, mercury, copper, boric acid, tannic acid, iodoform: for dry and scaly, ointments of oil of cade, tar, green soap, zinc, cresol, lysol, chloro-naphtholeum, sulphur, sulphur iodide, ichthyol, salicylic acid, chrysarobin, naphthalin, naphthol, resorcin.

While acute eczema may recover permanently under hygienic measures alone, yet any case is subject to relapse and the new eruptions may succeed each other so persistently that the affection becomes essentially chronic. Like the acute, chronic eczema may be general or local and be named accordingly.

The same general causes as produce acute eczema are operative in maintaining the disease indefinitely. Faults in diet, overfeeding, unhealthy kennels, foul air and surroundings, hot weather, licking and scratching are among the common causes.

Symptoms. Under the continued inflammation the skin becomes thick (on the back it may be double or treble its normal thickness), it has a general angry congested appearance, papules, vesicles and pustules coexist or succeed each other and as these dry up, scales and crusts accumulate. The hair drops off over extensive patches, leaving a somewhat shining skin. What hair remains is largely twisted or broken by rubbing and scratching. Hypertrophy of the papillary layer is not uncommon giving a rough uneven aspect and feeling to the skin. A common feature is an offensive odor from the affected skin, and which may betray the persistence of the disease when it has been supposed that all eruption has been overcome. While not prepared to follow Cadeac in making this a diagnostic symptom from other skin diseases, yet as an evidence that an eczema is not yet entirely healed it serves a very useful purpose. In oldstanding cases the continued irritation, the unintermitting itching, the absorption or circulation of morbid products, and the constant nervous excitement may lead to emaciation, exhaustion and death.