ETHNOVET & HOMEOPATHIC TREATMENT OF BLOOD IN MILK ( COWS & BUFFALOES)
Dairy farmers frequently approach practicing veterinarians for the treatment of cows or buffaloes producing milk which is reddish or pinkish due to the presence of blood. Farmers suffer from the economic loss because bloody milk is often rejected by the consumers. The condition is usually sporadic in occurrence but rarely several lactating animals may be affected at a time.
Causes ———
There are several causes of blood in milk. The important causes of this disorder are mainly 2-
1) Hemorrhage:
2) Systemic microbial infections:
Diagnosis——-
1) Blood in milk is usually diagnosed on the basis of clinical signs. If the milk with suspected presence of blood is left undisturbed for a few hours in a transparent glass container, the lower portion of the milk in that container will reveal the presence of blood clots when hemorrhage is the cause of bloody milk. No sedimentation of RBCs will occur when reddish discolouration is due to lysis of RBCs and colour of milk will remain uniform throughout . Centrifugation of milk at a speed of 2500 rpm for 10 minutes will result in visible sedimentation of RBCs at the bottom of a centrifuge tube made up of transparent glass. In cases in which the presence of extremely little blood in milk is suspected, benzidine test or Hemoccult slide test (Smith-Kline Diagnostics) can be performed to confirm the presence of blood in milk. It should be remembered that benzidine is a known carcinogen and as such its use should be avoided.
2) Perform blood platelet count in cases which do not respond to conventional treatment as thrombocytopenia is one of the causes of blood in milk
3) Perform surf field mastitis test to rule out mastitis as a cause of blood in milk. To this end, mix an equal quantity of 3% solution of house hold detergent (i.e. Surf Excel) and milk sample of each quarter separately. The formation of gel indicates the presence of mastitis
4) Centrifugation of fresh milk to determine whether the reddish discoloration of milk is due to intact RBCs (associated with hemorrhage in the udder) or due to lysed RBCs (associated with leptospirosis and other systemic microbial infections or due to red dye in the leaves of fodder). If centrifugation facility is not available, let a sample of milk stand undisturbed for several hours in a transparent container and then look for sedimentation of RBCs at the bottom of the container. The formation of a bead of RBCs at the bottom of the centrifugation tube indicates hemorrhage.
Treatment:
Different treatment strategies available for the treatment of blood in milk ,which we vets try at field level are as follows—
1) Intravenous administration of calcium:
2). Parenteral coagulants:
3) Local coagulants:
4) Local and parenteral vasoconstrictors:
5) Administration of vitamin C:
6)Administration of antioxidants:
7).Antibiotics:
8)Blood transfusion:
9) Vaccination against leptospirosis:
10) Ethno veterinary treatment———
A) Ancillary and supportive treatment:
Tape the end of normal quarters and allow the calf to suckle milk from the teat having blood in milk. Calves do not care about blood in milk. Do not allow an affected cow/buffalo to run. Rather keep her tethered as running will aggravate the condition. Application of ice cold water or crushed ice (placed in a cloth suspensory the 4 ends of which are tied at the back of the affected animal) helps in control of hemorrhage through vasoconstriction. The affected animals should be tethered with sand as the bedding material which should be hosed with cold water 3-4 times in a day. When the animal suffering from blood in milk sits on cold sand, this leads to vasoconstriction and control of hemorrhage in the udder or teat. George et al. (2008) recommends that the affected teat be milked only once a day. If this approach does not work after several days, milking of affected quarter should be totally stopped. It should be remembered that total stoppage of milking may cause formation of severe clots in the teat. Thorough cleanliness in the animal shed and on the dairy farm should be instituted as squalid managemental condition predispose to blood in milk. The feed or fodder which is suspected for causing blood in milk should be changed.
B) Oral/injectable camphor:————-
Raval et al. (1998) studied the efficacy of camphor (Camphora officinarum; ‘Rushak Kapoor’ in Hindi ) in buffaloes suffering from blood tinged milk. Camphor contains volatile acid, which has a styptic action. I have treated many cows & buffaloes with clinical cases of blood tinged or bloody milk with camphor in banana orally at a dose of two tablets twice a day .Affected animals are recovered within three to five days. Camphor can probably be more effectively given in an injectable form i.e. 30-60 ml of camphorated oil into the pectoral muscle (Udall, 1954). This camphorated oil can be formulated by mixing 20 parts of camphor powder (finely ground) in 80 parts of olive oil). Cotton seed oil may be substituted for olive oil in this prescription. To make a preparation that will not become cloudy when cold, set the oil in a refrigerator for 2 or 3 days and filter while cold (Milks, 1946).
C) Ethnoveterinary treatment practices with Haldee
A widely touted ethnoveterinary practice for treatment of cows/buffaloes consist of dissolving 250 grams of turmeric (‘Haldee’ in Hindi ) powder in one liter of warm milk, addition of 250 grams of ‘Neem’ leaves mixed with about 25 gram chuna (slaked Lime) and giving as a drench for 2-3 days. Many farmers resort to oral administration of a cake of Lifebuoy soap dissolved in half to one liter of milk for 2-3 days. This soap is not likely to be toxic because lactating cows are normally fed sponified fat to increase milk yield
11 ) Homeopathic treatment:———–
Indian famous homeopathic vet Dr SK DEY Sir has suggested homeopathic complex consisting of Phytolacca 200c, Calcarea fluorica 200c, Silicea 30c, Belladona 30c, Bryonia 30c, Arnica 30c, Conium 30c and Ipecacuanaha 30c. Dose of this complex is 10 pills four times daily until recovery. I have personally tried it on more than 100 cows and has got marvelous result. These investigators ascribed the effectiveness of this commercial homeopathic preparation in the treatment of fibrosed/nonfibrosed mastitis, udder edema and blood in milk to antiinflammatory effect of Phytolocca on glandular and fibrous tissue, analgesic effects of Bryonia, absorptive effect of Silicea on fibrotic and scar tissue, anti-inflammatory effect of Belladona, antihemorrhagic and antiseptic effect of Arnica, local decongestive effect of Ipecacuanha and Calcarea fluorica.
Compiled & Shared by- Team, LITD (Livestock Institute of Training & Development)
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