Diaphoretics. Besides these remedial methods of inducing a revulsion and glow in the skin with perspiration, medicinal diaphoretics may be resorted to. Among these may be included copious drinks and injections of warm water, acetate of ammonia, antimony, ipecacuan, or pilocarpin, or one of the sedatives, aconite, veratrum, or opium, etc. Many a threatened acute inflammation has been to a great extent cut short and nipped in the bud—the stage of chill—by warm clothing, active hand rubbing, and such an apparently unscientific nauseant as tobacco.
When the preliminary stage has passed and the hot stage of the fever has set in, cooling and eliminating agents are especially called for.
Laxatives. In many cases, and especially in those with marked constipation or bowels loaded with indigestible materials, a laxative is beneficial. For the horse, aloes, or, often better, sulphate of soda, and for cattle or sheep, the latter, or Epsom salts, will at once remove an irritant, cool the general system, draw off much blood and nervous energy to the bowels, and secure a considerable depletion and elimination from the intestines. For swine, dogs, and cats castor oil or salts may be used, and for fowls castor oil. If the mucous membranes are yellow, the tongue furred, and feces scanty, hard, and fœtid, a dose of calomel (horse or ox, one drachm; sheep or pig, one scruple; dog, three grains; chicken, one-half grain) with tartar emetic (horse or ox, two drachms; sheep, twenty grains; swine, one-half grain; dog, one-fourth grain; chicken, one-eighth grain) may be given and followed in ten hours by one of the laxatives named above.
Diuretics. In the absence of any manifest disorder of the digestive organs, the laxative may be omitted and refrigerant diuretics resorted to. Acetate of ammonia or potassa, nitre, tartrate of potassa, carbonates of potassa or soda, may be used along with sedatives.
In cases of infectious disease with poisoning by ptomaines and toxins the elimination of these by the bowels and kidneys is of the greatest importance.
Sedatives. Of the sedatives, aconite, bromide of potassium, veratrum, hyoscyamus, or chloral hydrate may be used according to the special indications.
Alkalies. Resolvents. When the organ inflamed is a serous membrane in which dangerous adhesions or other functional disorders are likely to occur from newly formed false membranes, their formation should be counteracted as far as possible by the free use of alkalies (carbonates of soda, potash, or ammonia, nitre, iodide of potassium, muriate of ammonia, etc.), and in the same conditions excessive effusion should be controlled by free action on the kidneys.
Antipyretics. To reduce the febrile temperature and especially, when caused by the ptomaines and toxins of bacterial infection, agents like acetanilid, antipyrin, exalgin, analgene, benzanilide, salicylate of soda, and quinine have been largely employed and will usually lower the temperature several degrees in a few hours. They nearly all depress the vital forces, or hinder reparatory processes, so that their use is to be carefully guarded. Quinine which is less depressing than the others hinders migration of the leucocytes and thus stands in the way of successful phagocytosis. With a dangerously high temperature they may be temporarily admissible, but they should be suspended as soon as possible. In all ordinary cases they are probably better avoided. A judicious use of the cold or tepid bath, or of wet compresses is incomparably safer and more generally applicable.
Stimulants. When the disease results in great prostration or when symptoms of septic or ptomaine poisoning set in stimulants are often required to sustain the flagging heart and circulation. These may be alcoholic, ammoniacal, etherial, camphor, digitalis, etc.
Tonic Refrigerants. Later, when both inflammation and fever have been somewhat reduced, temperature, breathing, and pulse rendered more moderate, eye clearer, and even appetite perhaps slightly improved, the sedatives may give place to refrigerating tonics, such as mineral acids (nitric, muriatic, sulphuric, or phosphoric), in combination with bitters (quassia, cascarilla, calumba, gentian, salicin), without as yet the suspension of refrigerant diuretics. Thus for the horse the following Recipe: Pharmaceutical nitric acid, two drams; infusion of gentian, ten ounces; nitrate of potassa, two ounces. Dissolve. Give one ounce every six hours.