Palsy — Mange

11th February, 1835. — A Persian bitch, at the Zoological Gardens, who was well yesterday, now staggers as she walks, and has nearly lost the use of her hind legs. Gave a good dose of the castor-oil mixture.

18th. She is materially worse and drags her hind legs after her. I would fain put on a charge, but the keeper does not like that her beautiful coat should be spoiled, and wishes to try what gentle exercise will do. She certainly, after she has been coaxed a great deal, will get on her legs and stagger on fifty yards or more. Gave the castor-oil mixture daily.

19th. She is a little stronger, and walks a little better. Continue the mixture. Embrocate well with the rheumatic mixture — sp. tereb., sp. camph., liq. ammon., et tinct. opii — and give gentle exercise.

2d March. — She does improve, although slowly; the charge is therefore postponed. Continue treatment.

30th. She is considerably better. Continue the mixture, and use the embrocation every second day.

10th April — She has mange in the bend of her arm, and on her chest. Use the sulphur ointment and alterative balls, and omit the embrocation and mixture. In less than a week she nearly recovered from her lameness, and ran about almost as well as ever.

30th. She runs about very fairly, but the mange has assumed that character of scurvy which I do not know how to grapple with. Continue the alterative balls, and the ointment.

18th May. — The mange has disappeared, but the palsy is returning; she staggers slightly, and droops behind. Give the castor-oil mixture and use the embrocation.

14th June. — Mange quite gone, but palsy continues to a very considerable degree. I want to use the plaster; but the keeper pleads for a little delay. Continue the treatment.

1st July. — I have at length determined to have recourse to the charge. A piece of thick sheep's leather was fitted lo her loins and haunches.

18th. She appears to be improving, but it is very slowly.

31st. Very little change. The plaster keeps on well: she has no power over her hind limbs; but she eats and drinks as well as ever.

23d August. — No change. Give her half a grain of strychnia, morning and night.

26th That singular secretion of milk, to which the bitch is subject nine weeks after œstrum, is now appearing. Her mammæ are enlarged, and I can squeeze a considerable quantity of milk out of the teats. Give an aloetic pill, and continue the strychnia.

31st. The secretion of milk continues. There is slight enlargement and some heat of the mammæ; but she feeds as well as ever. Increase the dose of strychnia to three-quarters of a grain.

On the following day she was found dead. In making the usual longitudinal incision through the integuments of the abdomen a considerable quantity of milky fluid, mingled with blood, followed the knife. There was very slight enlargement of the teats, but intense inflammation of the whole of the mammary substance. The omentum, and particularly the portion opposite to the external disease, was also inflamed. Besides this there was not a vestige of disease.

This is an interesting case and deserves record. I fear that justice was not done to the animal at the commencement of the paralytic affection. In nineteen cases out of twenty in the dog, the constant but mild stimulus of a charge over the lumbar and sacral regions removes the deeper-seated inflammation of the spinal cord or its membranes, when the palsy is confined to the hind extremities, and has not been sufficiently long established to produce serious change of structure. The charge should have been applied at first. The almost total disappearance of the palsy during the cutaneous disease, which was attended with more than usual inflammation of the integument, is an instructive illustration of the power of counter-irritation, and of what might possibly have been effected in the first case; for much time was lost before the application of the charge, and when at length it was applied, it and the strychnia were powerless.

I consider the following case as exceedingly valuable, at least with reference to the power of strychnia in removing palsy:

19th August, 1836. — A fine Alpine dog was suddenly attacked with a strange nervous affection. He was continually staggering about and falling. His head was forcibly bent backward and a little on one side, almost to his shoulder. A pound of blood was abstracted, a seton inserted from ear to ear, and eight grains of calomel administered.

21st. He has perfectly lost the use of every limb. He has also amaurosis. perfect blindness, which had not appeared the day before. He hears perfectly, and he eats, and with appetite, when the food is put into his mouth. Gave him two large spoonfuls of the castor-oil mixture daily; this consists of three parts of castor-oil, two of syrup of buck-thorn, and one of syrup of white poppies.

23d. A little better; can lift his head and throw it upon his side, and will still eat when fed. Continue the mixture, and give half a grain of strychnia daily.

24th. Little change.

27th. No change, except that he is rapidly losing flesh. Continue the treatment.

31th. The strychnia increased to three-fourths of a grain morning and night. The castor-oil mixture continued in its full quantity. He was fed well, but there was a sunken, vacant expression of countenance.

2d September. — He can move his head a little, and has some slight motion in his limbs.

4th. He can almost get up. He recognises me for the first time. His appetite, which was never much impaired, has returned: this is to be attributed to strychnia, or the seton, or the daily aperient mixture. They have all, perhaps, been serviceable, but I attribute most to the strychnia; for I have rarely, indeed, seen any dog recover from such an attack. Continue the treatment.

6th. Fast recovering. Medicine as before.

14th. Improving, but not so fast as before. Still continue the treatment.

28th. Going on slowly, but satisfactorily. Remove the seton, but continue the other treatment.

13th October. — Quite well.

Related: Dog Health information.