The Helena independent., 1893-09-23
ERRORS ABOUT AyDRoPHoeiA.
o Popular Mistakes Concernins th

ERRORS ABOUT AYDROPHOBiA.
Jpme Popular Mistakes Concerning thu
Disease nu.i Mad Dogs.
A very grave error III Expressed In the
name hydrophohia, which means horror at
water This Is not simply misnomer. but
misleading In very serious way. The
name hydropAoblA having become fixed Ia
peoples minds aud tho idea that rRbid dogs
dread wassr havisa become part and par
eel OF tfp general belief, tho sight of = dog
eagerly lapptng wster or willingly rlnng-
ing intoit naturally leads 90 ont Of 100 to
eNclaim: "He drinksl There is no dam
ger"
The fact IA thate burning thirst is ono
Of fthectaEacteristic symptoms of rabies in
its EARLY sta9ea On the other hand, tho
name hydropholAa Il very appropriate
when applied to man. as an indefinite dread
of water or. any liquid is the characteristic
ofthc later stages u tfrc disease when af-
f1ictinga human subject. In dogs, SO far
from a dleed Of water being reliable
symptom, 1t is one which shows itself but
in extremely rare cases
Another popular error attributes the
madness of dogs to the heat of the dog
days. InJuly and August, says the scien-
tst. all kinds of precautions are taken
which no one thinks of In November or
December. Now, the simple fact is that
the dog days have no more to do with the
rabies than the moon has to do with lu-
macy Dogs are liable to attacks every
month of the year, but it so happens that
July and August are precisely the months
in which the fewrst cases occur. The rec
ords Of the veterinary schools of Abort,
Toulouse, Paris, London and Lyons show
that it Ia not in tho hottest months, but in
the wettest months, that the great ma jor-
ity of cases arc seen. In April November
and December the recorded cases are dou-
bic and treble those in June, July and Au-
gust. That the heat of tho weather is not
the cause OF rabies is strikingly proved by
the fact that in hot countries the disease is
rare, aud i'll some even unknown. Thirst,
however intense, is incapable of producing
rabies Dogs have been Z blected to the
cruel experience of complete abstinence
from wster when chained to wall under
q burning sun. They died from thirst, but
showed no symptoms of rabies.
Another error is to suppose that mad
dogs foam at the mouth. It is only at one
stage of the disease that the rahid dog
shows any foam. A perfectly healthy dog
often shows an abundance of foam at the
mouth after a hard run.
As it is most important that the sy1np-
tons of rabies in dogs should be remem-
bered, the following of the most notable are
given. for the guidance Of both those who
are fond of dogs and those who fear them
AT the commencement of the disease, the
animals temper becomes changed. 1t is
dull, gloomy and silent, seeks solitude aud |
withdraws into the most obscure corners.
1t is iidgety and restless, goes here and there,
lies down and gets up, keeps constantly !
prowling about and cannot rest long in one
place. 1t sniffsand scratches with Its paws
and appears to try to hide it's head under |
its chest. Often the affected dog starts as
if haunted by phantoms 1t barks and snaps |
at nothing. Ut always has gloomy, sullen |
aspect. The mad dog has no dread of wa
ter, but on the contrary will greedily swal- |
low it.
When the desire to bite, which is one Of
the essential characteristics of rabies at a |
certain stage, begins to manifest itself, the |
animal first attacks inert bodies. 1t seems !
to delight in gnawing wood, leather, its !
chain, carpets, the wood of its kennel /
straw, coal, earth, etc. The sensibility of
the rabid dog is greatly blunted when it is
struck, burned or wounded. 1t emits no |
cry OF pain or sign rs when it suffers or is |
afraid in health One Of the most iInpor-
tant indications Of madness Is that the sick
dog is always very much epraged at The
sight of an animal of its own species
Even when the disease is but little devel
oped, it will show this strange antipathy
The voice Of the rabid dog is of a marked |
contrast and can easily be detected The |
sound is very husky and jerking These
may be taken as the most important symp-
toms of this dread disease and are the re-
suits of long observation and study by
noted English scientist.-ChicagoH Herald