Poisonous with privation of water. Dose: horse, ox, pig, dog, hen. Symptoms: anorexia, thirst, emesis, colics, diarrhœa, dysuria, weakness, spasms, palsy, death in six hours to two days or more. Lesions: gastric congestion, ecchymosis, blood fluid, bright red, cerebral congestion. Treatment: emesis, water, demulcents, enemata, oils, cold to head. Brine: salt, ptomaines, toxins, from salt meat and fish. Strongest at three months old. Dose: horse, pig, dog. Symptoms: nervous, disorder, mainly spasmodic. Lesions: congestion of encephalon. Treatment: anodynes, stimulants, wine, camphor.
Common salt is especially irritant if given in concentrated solution and with subsequent deprivation of water. The poisonous dose for the horse is 2 to 3 lbs. (Gohier), for cattle 4 to 5 lbs. (Hertwig), for the pig 7 to 8 ozs. and for the dog 6 to 7 ozs. Chickens are poisoned by picking up broken pieces of salt instead of pebbles, or by salted food.
Symptoms. Anorexia, intense thirst, dullness, emesis in vomiting animals, colics, watery diarrhœa, frequent urination, muscular weakness, spasms, paralysis, weak pulse, red buccal mucosa, dilated pupils. Death may take place in six hours or it may be delayed two days or longer. In chickens giddiness and rotary movements are common.
Lesions. Congestion of the stomach and intestines with points of ecchymosis. The mucosa of the bladder is reddened. The blood is fluid and of a bright red. There is more or less congestion of the cerebellum and medulla and their meninges.
Treatment. Emetics (tepid water, tickling fauces) and the stomach pump. Abundance of water or of mucilaginous drinks. The same liquids by the rectum. Bland oils may be given as emollients and eliminating agents. Cold to the head is usually desirable.
POISONING BY BRINE.
This is partly due to the toxic effects of common salt but also to the ptomaines and toxins formed in old brine. It has been seen most frequently in hogs fed on salted kitchen waste and on the liquids from salt meats, (beef, pork, fish). Herring-brine is a common source of poisoning for hogs and dogs, also the brine from the salted meats of the butcher’s shops. Reynal found it to be especially poisonous when at least four or five months old. He gave as the fatal doses for horse 3½ pints, for pig ½ pint, for dog 6–7 ozs. The lethal dose however will vary with the concentration of the fluid and its age.
Symptoms. In addition to the direct irritation caused by the sodium chloride there are marked nervous symptoms, nervous irritability, spasms, rolling of the eyes, convulsive winking, dilated pupil, blindness, vertigo, staggering gait, epileptiform seizures, trismus, oposthotonos, pleurosthotonos, stupor.
Lesions. In addition to those of the stomach and intestines there is marked congestion of the encephalon, especially the medulla and cerebellum.
Treatment. In addition to that for common salt, anodynes and stimulants (wine, camphor) may be demanded.