New-York tribune., 1867-05-31
HYDROPHOB91.

occurrence of fatal case IN lhls Guy St SdVuu"y'
remind us of number of popular errors respecting |
this terrible disease, which it may be worth wllle TO
70 correct In the first place the very name oftho
olady SO far at least as it refers to dogs, Is not
merely entirely Inappropriate but is the cause OF
,roru dangerous msapprehenson. The word means
fear of wator, and it is commonly supposed that
n dread of water is the great distinguish
inc svmptOm of canine madness, and that |
n dog who win drink must be safe. Nothing can be
further from the truth. The ndelnable and terrible
dread of water which oharacterzes the later stages
of hydrophoba in man, is not noticed in the dog in
one case out of ffy the contrary of the prin
cipal symptoms is burning and unqaenchdble thirst.
WHY there should be such remarkable difference
between tbe manifestations of the disease in man and
in the brute no knows; but it is important that
the difference should be borne in mind.
Another great mistake is in attributing hydrophoDa
to the heat of tho "dog-days," and we dare say
there are many people who suppose that the warm
Summer months receive that popular name because
II s in them that dogsrun mad But point of fact
Julv and August are Just the period when hydropho
bia il least common; and whatever may be the cause
of the malady nothing Is more certain thah tD hea'
is not the cause In the burning regions Oh
rnn with dogs Mr.. Du Chailu remarks thaI
hyClrophobia is unknown even by report; AZ soJ lI
unknown IN iyprIIs ~ Ismaca; % and It has never
beep seen in tho Island of MADEIRA, where ours OF
every description abound t0rmented Dy dlseases IN
sects thirst and famine. The cruel eHperinens mas mas
even been tried of claiming dogs to q wall under
burning sun until they died or thirst Duo shoSe
showed symptoms OF rabies. OaIeiul IeoUb ntoo y
canine madness are kept at the veterinary sGlsOps
of AIfort Lyons, and Toulouse, IN france, anu Hon
these it appears that the majority OF cases occur oc
IN the hottest but in the eeet OHfs NON No,dSey and
December as in June, July ana august. iioOdDy
no accurate register has ever been KEPT III ths coun
trv Int we make no doubt that the disease Is more
prevalent in the wet Spring months thah ae any
other time of the year; i, -. rooio, O. 4.
Bearing this in mind, our readers can aPpreclaIe
tbe folly and brutality of our dog-law, when con,
denns TO indiscIiminate slaughter every dog 10uhu
running loose during the very period wnen II lheie
is any truth in statistics ms runns lSoSo To sav
that very few of the animals wihch are kIieu NE.
in the streets under the supposltion that lIiey
are mad really have bydrophobia, the poPudr srdsa
idea of what constitutes mad dog Deng Iar Iyh I
accurate The symptoms, however, are uilillsIak I'M
allie TO an experienced eye. The dog usually pesins
by being sullen and restless lie Detays eAtid4I ft
dInarv anxiety about trivial or imaginary obJects
e is subject TO strange hallucnatons, sometimes OF
a pleasant but oftener of fearful nature IlIs aP
petite il depravcd he refuses his usual food ana ~
Ger for everything that is filthy and horrible. MS
limbs fail him; he has sudden and ana violent lGn-
ing Of the ear Inc paws the corners OF MS loutn
he seems insenslble 10 pam, so InuVh 80 ae i.
dog has been known to seize and hold with ms mouth
n red hot pokel and anotherto gnaw hs tan or elose
10 the bose The voice changes in very leInarka-
Ne manner There is foaming at the mouth, but ii
~ ons loss than is observed in epilepsy and nau-
sea and never lasts long. The stories OF mac COG
covered with foam are fabulous. DOGS IecoveIilha
from or attacked by ht are sometnnes seen IN tn
| state; btt fits have no reiation ~natIeHe, Z.
to madness Then we have the ylolenI enni
which we have already mentioned. Unless the ani-
NAL Is naturally ferociOus, he shows no disposition 10
bite until lie reaches the last and most violent siafe
OF the disease and indeed not always then. On tIt
contrary his afecOn for his master seems 10 DO IN
creased md he ia iuccSSanty attempting 20 hck tle
hands aud face Of the persons he loves ms Is pro
pensity which must DO carefully guafued AGAINST ~
| is not tho bite of the maa dog wiiiSn ~ Is
| poisonous but his saliva, which may De nllo-
dncod into tie system through the mucous membrane
of the lips or any little abrasion oil the I'D 10 "e
! as tLrongh a wOurd made by the animals teeth.
I'm man. dread OF water IS an inyaIiaDie symPIon'
The terror increases with the atlemRL 70 sNhliON,
and Sometimes the mere sound OF hquld falnhg III =
vessel or the sight or even the mention or u VIII
produce tho same effect. A draught OF cold ar OF
the sight of mirror has d asP Dfen fhO"m auite re
dSTtaiS SaGiS0 that these distressing symptoms
are are '''' not the result of imagination. for
thcy have been noticed III young children ana IDIOTS
who could never have heard of hydrophobia nor, OF
course have had any prcconceived notions ABOUT IT.
tient is ANNOYED by the secretion of thick viscd
saliva and tries to free himself trom 1t by blowing
and splitting There Is PAINFUL stliness IN the Oaoh
of the neck the breathing is hurried; deIium oI
| mania ofton, but not always, comes on, and deatl
ensues commonly on the second or third day. Ihert
is no authenticated case OF cure on record. Deatl
| alone puts end to tho suffering.
| The newspapers recently have given elaborate
accounts of supposed case Of hydropbObla in Ham
| iitOn County, Indiana, In which the nuent, young
| woman ig said TO have been cured by bromide OF
| potassium But from the published report 10 Is by
no means clear that the disease was hydropopha al
ALL The young woman had been bitten by a MAD
| dOg about two months before. The attack began
| with repugnance to water, but there were
| no very severe symptoms until the thlru day,
| when she suddenly began grinding her teeth, and
then fell the floor toamlug Mt the mouth ghasn-
! ing her jaws and horribly conyulsed. She Olt
furiously at every one who came near her. A second
| spasm came soon afterward, during which she is
described as swapping. Snarllng, ana yelrng, IKE
cur dog. She bit her hands terribly ana bit pieces
ont of tho bod-clothes. The paroxysms lasted i've or
six DAYS after which the disease yielded TO treat
ment and in ten days or n fortnight the patient was
| pronounced convaescent. 49, "
| than madness. The foaming ut the mouth. the mt
| tho self-laceTatiOn not characteristic OF hydro
phobia but they are exactly what often happens III
hystcria. That disease moreover Is known 70 mn
tate bydrophobia sometimes so closely as TO deceive
! the most wary physician. The barking and snarlina
| like eur must have been the effect OF imagna-
ton either in the patient or the observer who records
! the case. Such a thing does not occur in madness
from the bite OF dog though II popularity supposed
that il does, tho originating probably from the
spasmOdic efforts which the sufferer makes 10 clear
lis throat Of saliva But il Is quito conceivable that
| hyscre woman knowing that she had been bitten,
might have fancied that she had the disease, and
have produced unintenti0nay the barking, the fear
| of water, and the other symptoms which she sup
| posed itO be characteristic OF it. Until q more
| accurate history of the case is made public, we
| shall he slow, therefore, To believe that this
was hydrophobla, or consequently that any cure Tor
that horrible affection has yet been discovered The
only safety III the eXcsion or burning oi the bitten
| part.
As death surely follows when the disease has once
declared ITSELF it is comforting 10 know that even II
you bitten the chance of infection is slight. The
virus may not have penetrated the wound, or yOul
organism may not be susceptible TO it, Dr. Hamilton
estimates the chances of escape as high as 2j TO 1
| Inl,,, H,,,,ta tn1 Mr. faa 4 10