DISTEMPER (OF. destemprer, to distemper, :NIL. distemper-are, from Lat. dis-, apart ± ecinperarc, to temper, from tempts, time). A typhoid inflammation affecting the upper air passages of young dogs, and resembling in many respects the strangles of young horses, and the -earlatina and other such complaints of children. Like these, it is contagious, runs a definite course, is accompanied by low fever and debility. and is most successfully treated by good nursing and attention to diet and regimen. The eyes are red, weak, and watery; the nose dry and hot: draughts of air or movements of the ani mal readily excite sneezing or cough; there is dullness, fever, and loss of appetite. The thick ened slimy mucus which the inflamed membrane, after some days, secretes, accumulates about the eyes, nostrils. and respiratory passages, and, lodging in the bronchial tubes, prevents the free access of air and the proper purification of the blood. Hence ensue distressed breathing, increas ing weakness. and symptom, of nervous dis turbance, such as staggering gait. chorea (q.v.), and fits. All dogs are liable to distemper, but the delicate, highly bred. and artificially treated varieties stiffer most severely. and arming them the mortality is very great. All irritating and redneimf remedies must he carefully avoided. and a good dry bed in a comfortable airy place provided. The stomach, which is generally over loaded, should be relieved of its contents by an emetic, which for an ordinary-sized English ter rier may consist of two grains each of tartar emetic and ipeea•uanha, with eight or ten grains a common salt, given in a wineglassful of tepid water. If no effect is produced. the dose must,
be repeated in twenty minutes. Constipation, if present, should he corrected by half an ounce each of castor and olive oil, to which, in large dogs, a few grains of gray powder a useful addition. The febrile symptoms. if acute, may he alleviated by giving four times daily, in cold water, two drops of tincture of aconite, and five grains each of nitre and extract of belladonna. In eases where the pulse is very weak care should be exercised in the administration of aconite. Distressed breathing will be relieved by applying to the chest and sides, for an hour or two continuously, a thick flannel cloth. wrung at short intervals out of not water. The throat may also be rubbed with hartshorn and oil, and the nostrils sponged and steamed occasionally. Give frequently, and in small quantities at a time, milk and bread, or any other such simple and digestible food: and when recovery is tardy, and weakness ensues, endeavor by nursing, and by the use of tonics and stimulants, to support the strength.
The term distemper is sometimes applied to in fluenza (q.v.) in horses. and epizoiitic pleuro pneumonia (q.v.) in cattle. For an account of distemper in pigs, see lion CnotErt.t.