Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1867-08-17
MISCELLANEOUS.
IIydrOphObia.

HydrOphObia.
The accounts published recently of severa!
cases of hydrophobia in various parts of the
country, and the occurrence of fatal case
in New York city, recently, says the Tribune,
remind us of number of popular errors re-
! specting this terrible disease, which it may
be worth while to try to correct. In the
first place the very name of the malady, so
far ut least as it refers to dogs, is not merely
entirely Inappropriate, but is the cause of Il
very dangerous Misrepresentation. The word
means tear of water, and it is commonly
supposed that dread of water is the great
] distinguishing symptom of canine madness,
! and that dog who will drink must be safe.
Nothing can be further from the truth
The indefnable and terrible dread Of water
which characterizes the later stages of by
| drophobia in man, is not noticed in the dog
in one case out of fifty; on the contrary,
one of the principal symptoms is burning
and unqucnchable thirst Why there should
| Re such IA remarkable difference between the
manifestations of the disease in man and in
the brute, no one knows; but it is impor
tant that the difference should be borne in
mind.
Another great mistake is in attributing
hydrophobia to the heat of the dog days,
aud we dare say there are many people who
suppose that the. warm summer months re-
ceive that popular name, because it is in
them that dogs run mad. But in point of
| fact, July and August are just the period
when hydrophobia is least common; and
whatever may be the cause OF the malady,
nothing is more certain than that heat is
not the cause. In the burning regions OF
! Equatorial Africa, where all the villages are
I nv al M oil In ,orlys
that hydrophobia is unknown even by re-
port 1t is unknown in Cyprus and Egypt;
| it used to he unknown in Jamaica and it
has never been seen in the Island of Madei-
ra, where ours of every description abound,
tormented by disease, insects, thirst and
famine. The cruel experiment has even been
tried of claiming dogs to wall under Il
burning sun until they died of thirst but
they showed no symptoms of rabidness.- -~
Careful records of canine madness are kept
ut the veterinary schools of Alfort, Lyons
and Toulouse, in France. and from these it
appears that the majority of cases occur not
in the hottest but in the 1cettest months.
There are twice and three times as many in
April, November and December, as in June,
July and August. Probably no accurate
register has ever been kept in this country,
but we have no doubt that the disease is
more prevalent in the wet spring months
than at any other time of the year.
We dare say that very few o. the animals
which are killed in the streets under the
supposition, that they are mad, really have
hydrophobia, the popular idea of what con-
stitutes q mad dog being far from accurate.
The symptoms, however, are unmistakable
TO an experienced eye The dog usually
begins by being sulleu and restless, He
displays extraordinary anxiety about trivial
or imaginary objects. He is subject to
strange halucinations, sometimes of plea
SAINT, but oftener of a fearful nature. His
appetite is depraved; he refuses his usual
food, and is eager for everything that is
| filthy and horrible. His limbs fail him.; he
has a sudden and violent itching of the ear !;
he paws the corners of his mouth he seems
insensible to pain, so much so that a mad
| dog has been known to seize and hold with
his mouth a d-hot poker, and another to
gnaw his tail off close to the base The
voice changes in very remarkable manner.
There is foamng at the mouth, but is al
ways less than is observed in epilepsy or
nausea, and never lasts long. The stories
of mad dogs covered with foam are fabu-
lous. Dogs recovering from or attacked by
fit are sometimes seen in this state but
Then we have the violent thirst which we
have already mentioned. Unless the animal
is naturally ferocious, he shows no disposi-
ton to bite until he reaches the last and
most violent stage of the disease, and indeed
not always then. On the contrary, his af-
fecton for his master seems to be increased,
and he is necessarily attempting to lick the
hands and face of the person he loves. This
is a propensity which must be carefully
guarded against. 1t is not the bite of the
mad dog which is poisonous, but his saliva,
which may be introduced into the system
through the mucous membrane of the lips.
or any little abrasion of the skin, as well as
through wound made by the animals
teeth.
In man, dread of water is an invariable
symptom. The terror increases with the
! attempt to swallow, and sometimes the mere
sound of liquid falling in vessel, or the
sight, or even the mention of it, will pro-
duce the same effect. A draught of cold
air, or the sight of mirror, has also been
known to produce paroxysm. And it is
| quite certain that these distressing symp-
toms are not the effect of Imagination, tor
they have been noticed in young children
and idiots who could never have heard of
I hydrOphobia, nor, of course, have had any
preconceiyed notions about it. AT the same
time there is violent thirst. The patient
is annoyed by the secretion of thick, Wis
cid saliva, and tries to free himself of it by
blowing and splitting. There is a painful
stiffness in the back of the neck; the brea
thing is hurried delirium or mania often
/ but not always, comes on, and death ensues
commonly on the. second or third day
There is no authenticated case of cure on
record. Death alone puts an end to the
suffering.
The newspapers have recently given elsb-
' 'orats accounts Of supposed case Of hydro