Secondary skin lesions, maculæ, vesicles, seborrhœa, crusts. Impetigo
of young: cold weather: exposure: filth: spoiled or improper food.
Symptoms: eyelids, etc., show itchy, red, swelling, pustules, scabs,
erosions, may affect nose or mouth. Duration 20 days. Hot weather
aggravates. Treatment: cleanse: soapy washes: emollient ointments,
astringent lotions, saline laxative, diuretics.
Disease of the skin is by no means uncommon in swine, but it occurs
mostly as a manifestation of an acute general malady. Thus in the
different specific diseases, caused by microbes, maculæ in the form of
blood extravasations, punctiform or in extended patches are constant
phenomena. In some cases this is complicated by a vesicular eruption, or
by a seborrhœa and by a dense accumulation of black crust on the
surface.
=Impetigo of Pigs.= Benion and Cadeac describe this as a sporadic
affection of young pigs especially, which has been attributed to cold
stormy weather, lack of shelter, filthy pens, spoiled food and
insufficient nourishment.
_Symptoms._ The skin of the eyelids and other parts of the body presents
itchy, red, hot and swollen patches, which gradually pass into a
pustular eruption. The pustules no larger than a millet seed, burst in
forty-eight hours, and discharge a yellowish or purulent liquid which
concretes around the eyelashes or bristles, and glue the eyelids
together. The crusts may increase so as to cover the affected part of
the skin by a dense scabby covering which is firmly adherent and when
detached leaves a bleeding surface. It may extend to the different
mucosæ of the eye, nose or mouth. The disease runs a course of twenty
days or less being retarded by the extremes of temperature. During the
heats of summer the attendant pruritus is very great and annoying.
During convalescence the scabs and crusts gradually detach themselves
and drop off leaving the healthy skin covered at first by a somewhat
delicate epidermis.
_Treatment_ is confined to cleanliness, soapy washes, emollient
ointments and astringent lotions (lead acetate, sulphuric or
hydrochloric acid) but no premature detachment of scabs is permissible.
Saline laxatives and diuretics are often called for.