Definition. Causes: in work oxen, winter, foul stables; dairy cows on
spoiled fodder or maize, wheat, buckwheat, cotton seed, etc.
Contagion. Symptoms: skin hot, thick, tender, exuding, matted hair,
vesicles, itching, excoriation, ulceration, bleeding, sloughing.
Treatment: Soothing. Cleanliness. Pure air. Tepid sponging. Dusting
powder. Clip or shave. Calomel with care. Phenol. Creolin. Silver or
copper salts. Tannic or boric acid.
This is an acute eczematous eruption of cattle beginning as a congestion
and swelling of the skin and advancing to an exudation or secretion
which bedews the surface with a sticky discharge, and concretes into
scabs and crusts.
_Causes._ The disease has been mainly seen in work oxen during winter,
when kept in close, foul stables and not properly groomed. It is also
seen in dairy cows and may be attributed to the indigestion and gastric
disorders which come from the ingestion of spoiled fodders, or from a
too stimulating diet, such as Indian corn, wheat, buckwheat, barley,
cotton seed, and the seeds of the leguminosæ. Lafosse looked upon it as
contagious, but Cadeac denies both this and its alimentary origin.
_Symptoms._ The attack is severe, the skin becoming swollen, hot and
tender, especially at the base of the tail, on the neck, chine and
forehead. Soon the turgid, congested skin exudes a somewhat glutinous
serous product, which mats the hairs into tufts and exposes the
intervening red, excoriated skin, with here and there vesicles singly or
in groups. Itching is usually intense and the animal licks, rubs and
scratches the affected surface unmercifully. The resulting excoriations
and sores add greatly to the severity of the troubles, including
ulceration, bleeding and even sloughing.
_Treatment._ Prophylaxis should be the first consideration, and in the
acute stages of the disease, its arrest by soothing applications.
Cleanliness, pure air, and tepid sponging, to be followed by a dusting
powder of boric or salicylic acid, or a lotion of acetate of lead or
sulphate of zinc may serve a good purpose. If the case proves obstinate,
the hair may be clipped or shaved to allow of the more direct and
thorough application of the dressings. Cadeac especially recommends an
ointment of calomel (1 ∶ 10) but this must not be applied over an
extended surface, nor must it be recklessly repeated owing to the
dangerous susceptibility of the bovine race to mercurialism.
Lotions and ointments of carbolic acid are of great value in moderating
the intense pruritus, and a combination of this with lead acetate will
often prove quite effective. Lotions, liniments or ointments of tar, oil
of cade, creosote, or creolin. When ulcers are present they may be
treated by solutions of silver nitrate (2 ∶ 100) or cupric sulphate (2 ∶
100) or powdered iodoform. When the exudate is excessive, astringent
dusting powders often serve a good purpose; tannic acid and boric acid,
with starch or lycopodion.