Salivation is one of the most marked indications of mercurial poisoning, and is the earliest symptom of the constitution being under the influence of that powerful metal. Hundreds of dogs have been killed by the different preparations of mercury, either applied to the skin for the cure of eruptions, or given internally in various visceral diseases. The black, blue, red, and white ointments of the chemist, who impudently presumes to prescribe for diseases which he knows nothing about, are all so many preparations of the different mercurial compounds. Calomel is often given, even by professional men, in excessive doses, from 5 to 10 grains.

Symptoms

The effects produced by mercury vary in severity with the quantity administered; and the effects are precisely the same whether the drug is swallowed or absorbed into the system by the skin. The gums are tender, swollen, spongy, and red; the teeth are discoloured and loose; the breath is peculiarly foetid, - this is a characteristic sign; saliva dribbles freely from the mouth; the glands at the jaw are enlarged, hard, and painful; there is no desire to eat, but great thirst; the mucous membrane of the. mouth may be more or less ulcerated, especially under the influence of large doses. When the lining coat of the stomach and bowels is inflamed, there are frequent retchings, the rejected mucus being tinged with blood, and the stools are fluid and bloody. The hair frills off and is seldom re-produced; irritative fever, debility, tremors, convulsions, and paralysis, appear in quick succession and destroy life. Even in the most favourable cases, recovery is slow, and ever after both the teeth and breath give evidence of the havoc which the mercury has committed, and of the difficulty encountered in ridding the system of the mercurial poison. The hair, too, seldom, if ever, grows as long as formerly.

Treatment

The most rational treatment consists in giving a remedy which is endowed with the property of eliminating the poison from the blood, and this remedy is Kali hydriod. One grain, dissolved in a tablespoonful of water, should be given night and morning, so long as improvement goes on. At the same time, the dog should have nourishing food, and be kept warm, dry, and free from draughts of cold air. Loose teeth should, of course, be drawn, for as they seldom or never become firm in the jaw again, they are apt to act as foreign bodies, and set up local irritation. When the mouth is ulcerated, Calendula lotion* will prove grateful and beneficial.

A case illustrating the treatment with another remedy will be found in the Appendix.