The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1867-09-07
Hy'irOIDhObi1.

The accounts Published recently of several
Eases oi hydrophobia In various parts 81 the
county rcinind usoi number nf popular error.
respecting his terrible disease which IL may
he worth Will" tn try lo correct. In IN" iir.t
place the very name oi the malaly. >" lar ~
least as u refers To- dogs. IL not merely entirely
Inappropriate. but q The cause Of a ycrv dui
g'r''us isaprrchension. The word mrpi.
icar "i water, and II is commonly ..i,'.i-cd
that dread Of water, Is the gr,ai ! .tinyi hing
symptom Of canine madness, .ua that % tius
who will drink must be safe. Nothing cau i.,.
further from the truth. The ndciinable and
terrible dread Of water which characterize the
later stages oil hydrophobia in man. is not notic
cd In the dog IN one case out Of tliy; on the
contrary, one of the principal symptoms il "A
burning and HHqHeHehabic hisi. Why there
should be such q remarkable difference between
she manifestations of the disease IN man amd
IN the brute. no ono knows but IL is important
that the difference should be borne ia mind.
Another great mistake is In attributing hy
drophobia to the heat of the "dog days" aud
we darc say there are many people who sup
pose that the warm summer months receive
that popular name because IL Is In them that
dogs run mad. But IN point of fact. July and
August are just the peoriod when hy'lroph"bin
is icast COMMON aud whatever may be- the
cause Of the malady, nothing is more CERTAIN
than that heat Is not the cause. In the burn
ing regions Of Equatorial Afrira. whore al the
villages are nNcrsrun Win dogs, Mr.. Di
Chaiilu remarks that hyslrnphobia g. unknown
even by report. II " unknown IN Cyprus aud
Egypt II used to be unknown in Jamaica /:
aud II has never been seen ia the island ul
Ma'l"rin. where eur. of every description
abound. tormcntcd by diseases. insects. thirst
and famine. The cruel experiment has even
been TIED III rhnining dogs tu wall under
u burning sun until they died of thirst. Lui
they showed no symptoms of rabies. Careful
records 81 canine madness are kept at the
veterinary schools of Abort. Lyons aud T"u
l"us". 10 France. aud from these il appears
tha, ia. majority of eases occur not IN the
hottest but ia the ,rcits1 months. There are
iwic" and three times as many IN Aprii.
November and December. rs in June. July aud
August Probably u" accurate register has
ever been kept ia this country. but We make ~"
doubt that the disease il more prevalent IN the
wet spring months ihnn at amy "ihrr time "i
~" year.
Barring this in mind. '.gr readers ran ~.
prcriatc the FOLLY HnI brutality nf "ur ,lnglaw.
which condemns tn in,lisrTminnir slaughter
every dog ipuud running l",g" during III" very
period when. if there Is any truth in statt.ii.s.
his running ~p-r il attended with iray' danger.
"" lar" 'ay that very lew "fihr animals winch
~" killed 10 the streets un,lrr ih" supl,nsiti"n
that they ~" mad. really have hydr"ph"hia. q.
ia" popular id-a If what constitute u mad ,",
heine tar ir"m accurate. The syinl,t"'ns. how
ever .,s, unfnisiakablc in an cNIarirnrri cvr
NV fi''S HHNNtiN bfsinN iHftg eNl4"h ana
rrsil"... lie betrays extraordinary anxiety
nl"ui trivial ar imaginary objects. H., 3 sub
i"rt o. strange Authorizations. saiuctiiu-. ,i ..
pleasant. but oltcner of u fearful nature. ilis
appetite j. dcpraved he Refuses his usiiai i..ai
and j. Eager inr everything that il filthy and
h"rrihc. Ills limbs fail him he has sudden
ani violent itching Of III" ear Il" paws the
CORNERS nf his mouth he sccins insensibl~ tn
rain. 80 much that n mad ,log has been known
10 seiz" and hold with his mouth rel o, poker.
and another io gnaw his tail oil close e. the
base. TIL" voice changes in vcry remarkable
manner. There Is a foainiag at the mouth. but
il is always less than j. observed in epilepsy
and nausea. and never lasts long. The stories
"i inad Digs covered with foam are fabulous.
Dog. recovering from or attacked by 81 are
s"inetm". seen IN this state but iiis have no
relation whatever o. madness. Then We have
thu vio.cnt thirst which we have already
mentioned. tnle.. the animal il naturally
icrocious. he shows no disposition 10 bite until
he rrache. the last and iuo-t violent stage Of
the disease. and indeed not always then. ON
the contrary his ELECTION for his master seems
IN bc increased and he j. incessantly aitcmp-
ting to lick the hands and face Of the persons
he loves. This is propensity which must hc
carefully guarded against. II il not the bite % {
the mad dog which is poisonous. but his saliva.
which may be introduced into the system
through the mucous membrane ofth lips, or
anv little abrasion of the skin, as well as
Ia man. a dread Of water is an invariablc
symptom. The terror increases with the at.
tempt 10 swallow, and sometimes the mere
sound of liquid falling in n vessel, or the sight,
or even the mention Of il will produce the
Same effect. A draught Of cold air. or the sight
of mirror has also been known to produce "a
parnxysm. And il is quite certain tina; these
distressing symptoms are not the result Of
Imagination. for they have been noticed IN
young children and idiots who could never
have heard Of hydrophobia. nor, course. have
had any preconcivcd notions about il. At the
same time there is a violent thirst. The patient
is annoyed by the secretion Of thick viscid
saliva, and tries TO free himself from il by
blowing and splitting. There is painful stiff
ness in the back ofthe neck the breathing s
hurried ielirium or mania often, but not
always, comes on, and death ensures commonly
on the second or third day. There j. no
authenticated ease Of cure on record Death
alone put. an cnd to the suffering.
The newspapers recently have given clah-
oratc accounts Of supposed ease of hydIopho-
bia in Hamilton county. Indiana. in which thc
patient. a young woman. j. said tn have been
cured by bromide oi potassium. But from the
published reports /, is by no mcans clear that
The disease was hyirophobia atall. The young
woman had been bitten by mad dog about
two months before. The attack began with
rcpus snancc u water, hut there were ~ very
severe symptoms until the thirl day. when
then fell on the iour, ioainng NJ the mouth.
gnashing her jaws. and horribly conyulscd.
She hii iuro lsly at every "nc who rainc near
her \ second spasm came uu soon aiicrYari.
during which she i. described ~ Swapping.
snarlng. aud yclping." like a eur dog She bit
her hands terribly. and bit pieces out of the
bed clothes. The paroNysins lasted live or
six days, after which the diseas" yielded {"
treatment, and in ten days or a fortnight the
patient was prrnounccd convalescen,
Vow those symptoms are much more l'a"
hystcria then inalness. The foaming az the
mouth. the iit. the sclf.lareraton are not cha.
racteristic of hylrophobia. but they are exactly
what often happens in hysteria. Tha, disease
! moreover Is known ln initiate hydrnphnbia
| sometimes 81 closely % Ia deceive the most
| wary physician. The barking aud snarling
| like u eur must have been the effect II imagina
tion. either in the patient ar the observer VII"
| records the ease. Such thing ,lors not 's'cur
| IN madness from the bite ~ dog. though Il BE-
\ popularly supposed that u d"es. the error
\ originating probably lrnin the spasinudc cii 'fia
! which the sufferer makes {" clear his thrnlt si
| saliVa. Hut is quite conccvab" that nv.
tcrir woman. knowing that she hal lecn bitten.
| might hay" iancic,l thu, she had the disca.r
anl have produced rnintentionallv the bark
ing. the fear of water. and the other syinpi",ns
| which she supposed H. be- characteristic oi u.
| l'Ilil = more accurate history "l the ease Is
| made public. we shall bc slow. thefcinrc. ."
believe that this was hy'irophobia. ar cons"
lucntly that any cure iar that horrible affection
has yet been discovered. The only safety l. ~
the cxcsion or burning of the bitten part.
As death surely follows when the disease haf
once declared itself. II Is comforting in know
that oven Il you are bitten the chance oi inic"
tion isslight The virus may mt have pcneira
| tel the wound. or your organism may not br
susceptible to Il. Dr. Hamilton estimates the
chances II escape as high as ?i I" John
Hunter ~ 81 to ! Mr.. Yonatt as Ia l. The
chance ii Il dogs taking the infection FROM
another T. about as to 3.--N J.. TribHHc.
81. al.l..s Tsl... I...ls..,f.