WARTS ON THE SKIN-AND MUCOUS MEMBRANE

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1511, 14 February 1901, Page 55

WARTS ON THE SKIN-AND MUCOUS MEMBRANE

The growths which are commonly seen upon the surface of the body of different animals, and also on the internal lining of the different organs,- are known 'as warts or warty growths. -In scientific language they are spoken of as epithelioma, papilloma,-: or verruca©. They .depend upon an increased activity in the papillated structure of. the skin, which leads to the secretion j of, -an amount- - of epitheriai -cot ©ring. They are of different, forms and of - various sizes, according to the activity of the ■: diseased condition : under which their growth takes ■ place. ' In the horse .waits are found upon the eyelids, sides of the,,face, underneath the abdomen,, on the sheath, , and, in fact, sometimes they, are .scattered all over the animal’s body.; In one instance in particular the animal was so completely _ covered with warty, deposits that the skin presented 1 .the appearance, of that- of the elephant rather than that of the hoi*se. The growths vary not only in their character but in their degree of virulence, and here is reason to - believe that in some - cases, • particularly where they'occur upon the muiooros mombraaies, they possess a contagious character. The: mouth of the dog is .very frequently , infested with . these small growths, and they are very .difficult to; get rid of. ; -• : - -

In the case of cattle, warts are found chiefly of a pendant character, underneath the abdomen, and in this position they sometimes attain an enormous size. Sheep appear to be comparativoly exempt, for it is- rare that a warty growth of any kind is found upon uhe-r skins. In the dog, however, warts- are constantly occurring, and our correspondents very'frequently ask for advice as to the best methods of treatment. It must he obvious that in regard to rhc treatment of warts depends upon their extent and situation. : Pedunculated warts, by which is meant warts which have a stalk, and"hang from the skin or mucous membrane like an

apple or pear would hang from the tiee on which it grows, are easily removed. A ligature, or the still rougher method of tying a piece of string around the neck of the wart and snatching it away, is commonly employed with perfect success with these dependent growths. Warts which have no pedicles but have a broad surface at the base implicating a considerable portion of skin, can be removed' by the aid of the scalpel most readihf, provided, of course, that they occur in a part where the skin is sufficiently loose to allow of considerable contraction in the healing process, otherwise there will be a very marked blemish. Wart-s occurring on the eyelids are difficult to deal with, and in other sensitive and delicate parts of the body their removal i-s attended with some difficulty in all instances. The most effective measure, the use of the knife or the appiieat'on of strong caustics, are entirely out of the question in those parts. In the case of the dog, the presence of warts in the mouth is very frequently met with, and although it is true that they may be gradually removed by the application of the scissors and frequent use of vinegar and water for washing the mouth, the process is a very slow one, and necessitates repetition day by day a;-, the warts increase in number or size.

Speaking generally, the treatment of warts resolves itself into—

1. The use of the scalpel, which is applicable only to warts with broad bases. 2. The use of a ligature in the shape of horse hair or fine twine, which should 'be tied sufficiently tight to stop the circulation, and cause the wart to drop off, or otherwise is used as a means of at onoe pulling the wart from its position—a thing that can only be done when there is a very small pedicle, or the wart is very looosely fixed in one texture of the skin. ;

3. Caustic is the next applicat ion, and the agents which are commonly employed are nitrate of soda or acetic acid, either of may be applied to the surface of the warts after a sufficient scraping to remove the epitheriai covering. The most powerful agent is arsenic, which, when mixed into a paste with a little honey, is applied to the surface of the wart, after the central portion has been scratched sufficiently to cause a slight bleeding. Arsenic as a very active caustic agent, and therefore grea.t care must be taken to apply it very sparingly, as extensive sloughing is by no means an uncommon result' of its incautious application. In addition t° the knife, caustic, and ligature, there is a very simple applicartioii, which is, however, not altogether pleasant to a sensitive operator, the use of freshly-drawn blood, which we are assured by those who have tried it is very effective in cases where the situation of the wart forbids the application of either the scalpel, ligature, or can dee In order to employ the remedy effectually it is necessary to take the animal to be treated to a slaughterhouse while killing is; going on. The blood from an animal recently killed should be taken while it is warm, and, if possible, before coagulation commences, and smeared over the wart, or, as it happened in the case of a correspondent who lately wrote on the subject in the instance of a dog .with, a crop of warts in the mouth, the animal’s head may be thrust into thee • vessel ■containing the -warm bfoqa. The natural consequence of this act. will be the protrusion of the dog’s tongue, v, hffh will carry the blood back into the mouth .and over tho mucous lining of the cavity. In one c-ase recorded a dog affected with an extensive crop of warts on the mu so us membrane of the month was treated in this way on three occasions at intervals of two or three days, with the result' that the warts rapidly became brownish in colour, faded or shrunk very rapidly, and ulimately f ell from ihe menibrane entirely. This same treatmentmay undoubtedly be applied with effect , . to larger animals by, the use .of a brush, y i reat eixre must be takei\ in these eases, also that, the blood is not in . a coagulated state, because in all probability, it as in the act of coagulation that - very considerable . ; pressure 7 is exercised upon the growths;\ and circulation is thereby sob far arrested as to ultimately lead to the death of the tumors. ”V ■ r : The use of internal "remedies,{is occasionally necessary where the wiirfs ure so situate that no external application can be conveniently used, jyalacy he; acid for the larger'aaiinials uas been found effective in very considerable doses. In one case'of cattle affect 3d with large ; pendulous warts on the inferior part of the, abdomen a daily dose of 2dr or 3dr of the drug continued for some fenr or five weeks was followed by tlie rapid.-fad-ing off of the whole of the growths. This case was-watched for tune afterwards, and there did not appear to bo ' -any tendency to recurro U 3. For sinad- , er animals, r of course, a rn'M',- icss quantity 7 would be necessary. .'When, as happened in a recent instance of small warts on the skin of a dog, the* greater part of the animal’s body is affected, small doses of salicylic acid may wifa advantage be tried under proper supervision. It must, however, be ahoved that the; blood bath in such cases is much the safest plan, although less to ' be commended from' the. aesthetic point of view. - :

Warty growths on mxicous membrane in some of the canals or tubes of-the respiratory and digestive,"organs sometimes occasion serious and even fatal obstruction to the functions of such organs'. No treatment could be ti>el m „• t ch cases, even it if be possible to form a diagnosis. The presence • • cf warty

growths in the oesophagus .-r other canals might in certain cirjum tan cos bo suspected, but couldi not to pivvccl except by a post-mortem examination.— “London Field.”