MANGE.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 89, 21 May 1914, Page 11

MANGE.

ITS CAUSE AND CURE. This ■ sk'iu trduble is due to mange mites.* All the fur-bcariiig animals, botli wild and domesticated, are subject; to it. There are three principal kinds. Their structural differences need not trouble the reader, but he needs to know their habits. ' The worst kind are those which form burrows under the skin—that is to say, the females make these long- tunnels, arid deposit their eggs at the ends or bottom of them, where they are least likely to be. injured by outward violence or the remedies we prescribe. The lordly males stalk upon the surface, content to feed upon the discharges whiqh the work of the burrow.ers creates. The second variety do not burrow, but they puncture the skin, and so provoke those discharges of serum upon which they live. The third kind merely live upon the.skin, too idle to make punctures, but relying on their numbers and movements to make the host scratch and rub and provoke the necessary amount of skin discharge upon which to feast. It will be easily understood, then, having regard to the different habits of the mange mites, why one amateur doctor is confident that he knows a perfect cure for mange, while another fails with a variety of remedies. Scab' in sheep is the same thing as mange in other animals. It is caused by a similar parasite. s TEEATMENT. "Whether in horse or dog, cattle or pigs or cats, it will be obvious that no cure can be begun without first destroying the mites. Many remedies are recommended, and most of them are good in their way.. All have, some- objection. Either they 1, are dangerous, expensive, greasy, or ineffectual. First, wash the animal with a very •large amount of soft soap ..and warm water. The outer layer of skin is lifted up by the use of alkalies. The epidermis or cuticular layer swells up, and is more o>r less/detached from ; the' true skin underneath by the application of this soap batly,-and the ground is thus prepared for the, drugs employed to come in contact •with the hiding vermin, which have, of eourse, sought shelter under these leaves of skin, if one may so term them. Then comes the application of sulphur. Sulphur or brimstone is one of the few specifies or certain cures known to mankind. It was discovered very early in the history of the world. Alexander the Great's cavalry were treated with it, for infectious diseases have always followed in the wake of armies.

How shall we apply it! If we use it as an ointment or mixed with lard o*~)other basest rwill be costly to apply and laborious to get off, again if a number oi large animals with thick coats are the subjects of our ministrations. Again, we Jmay resort to the sulphuretted hydrogen, preparation which was prescribed as a louse killer. If the superficial skin has been well lifted by soft soap or a solution of potash or soda—any alkali r.will ido—then this sulplvur preparation will reach the mites, and cause their.death.. The cost is infinitesimal, the stink abominable. This preparation, is.suitable for all kinds of .animals, arid may M-used upori.,;/the harmless neeessaiy cat, who will, however, show her disgust at thei smell' by Crouching in a -very:;niiserable, bling ioilg'VoiJes of salrv#"as a sign of nausea. REQUIRE TO" BE 'BJEPEATED: All'mange dressings inquire 'to be re-peated..-.lnternal treatment is desirable. If small doses of sulphur are given internally, they act through the skin. It

may not be generally known in these days of elegant pharmacy and gun-metal ; watches, but the action of sulphur from, within outwards : ..the : mail who, takes'the^drug white bearing a silver vratch. The watch blackens by; the formation of sulphide of silver. You i could have no better proof of'the valuol of sulphur given internally as an altera-; tive or conditioning agent" in getting, horses fit for hunting or other work. LEG MANGE. It has been said that there are several kinds of mange, and not all so difficult of cure as the sarcoptic or burrowing variety. These confine their attentions to a locality more or less. 1 On stalled cattle they collect about the neck and the root of the tail. On horses : the neck, under the collar, along the croup, or under the harness saddle, and-may be treat#¥ r by a smear of mereurial ointment extending to a little beyond the parts affected. There is a kind of mange I would take this opportunity of calling attention to which I find very few people have ever heard of. It is leg mange., It often remains on a horse for years without ever getting much above the fetlock joints. It is mistaken for grease. Grease is a disease of .the skin, too, and of a very different kind, but for the present moment suffice it to say that more than half the horses that stamp violently in the stable at night and develop the objectionable habit of night kicMng. at the stall posts, are the .victims of mange mites of a kind that live chiefly round the pasterns or lowest parts of the limbs. When the horse is out of doors they remain quiet, but at night, in the warnith of ' the stable, they wake up, and by their migrations cause itching. Then the host rubs and bruises himself, breaks his feather, and spoils his appearance. That is precisely what they want him to do — to cause sufficient irritation to make the skin exude the serum on which they feast. ■••■■■■■ -■■■. ■■• We said of the other forms how desirable it was to wash with soap.' In this leg mange we go further and plaster a thick layer of soft an inch thick) say—upon the parts'affected, and 1 leave it for half an hour to work into the skin. Then we come along with a bucket of warm water, and put .the foot in it, and thoroughly wash the skin. It is now ready for any of the mange remedies which will kill mites>., It is desirable to repeat the performance in about a week, for the reason given in treating other parasitic diseases. EINGWOBM. Eingworm is caused by a parasite—this time a vegetable fungus. The common form of it is not very' difficult to cure, but there is a rare,kind known as cup ringworm, or favus, which is' very difficult to eradicate, unless we scrape or destroy the skin when it has taken root. Sulphur is a cure for ringw T orm, but the solution to which reference has been made is not enough. The drug itself must-be applied in the form of oint : ment. The most efficient dressing in my hands has beeh ah ointment inade as follows:—T-Sulphury two .parts; salts 'ofytartar,.one part; oil-ofttatr t one part; lard or rancid butter, \ three or four imrts. . . , ■•':...'■•.) ■...;". ;■"'.' EjCLAY.'