Causes: fermented or putrid swill, spoilt vegetables, frozen aliments,
caustic alkalies (powdered soaps) from kitchen, indigestible
materials, poisons. Symptoms: dullness, grunting, restlessness,
seeking seclusion, colics, vomiting, rumbling, tense, tucked up
abdomen, diarrhœa. Treatment: emetic, bland acids, laxative, dieting,
bitters, iron.
_Causes._ Swine have such a varied dietary, are so constantly fed swill
containing all manner of ingredients and often kept in barrels, etc.,
that are never emptied and cleansed, and therefore so often the seat of
septic fermentation, that both gastritis and enteritis are often
produced. Spoilt turnips, potatoes, apples and other succulent
vegetables, or those that have been exposed to frost, or which are
devoured while frozen are additional causes of irritation. The various
caustic alkaline powders used in washing the table dishes and the
product added to the swill is another cause of such outbreaks which,
attacking a whole herd at once, is attributed to hog cholera. Then
indigestible materials (hoofs, hair, bristles, tree bark, etc.) when
they fail to be rejected by vomiting cause gastritis and indigestion.
Finally a long list of medicinal and toxic substances act in this way.
_Symptoms_ are like those seen in dogs, dullness, arching of the back,
drawing the feet together, erection of the bristles, hiding under the
litter, grunting, restlessness, frequent movement from place to place,
lifting of the hind feet, grubbing in the litter with the snout, tension
of the abdomen, and often abdominal rumbling followed by diarrhœa and
recovery. More commonly, however, relief comes from early rejection of
the irritant matters by vomiting.
_Treatment._ Induce emesis as in the dog. Give vinegar in case of
alkaline poisoning. Follow this by a laxative if the irritants have
gained the intestines, and finally a course of iron or bitters. Careful
dieting is absolutely essential.