Extremities in General
Objective. Seized with a sort of gesticulatory convulsions in the arms and legs, and by degrees his symptoms assumed the appearance of those which characterize hydrophobia. Paralysis of the lower extremities and right arm. Subjective. Pleasant numbness in the limbs (after one hour). Unpleasant shuddering through all the limbs, with a painful feeling of weight in the occiput, and a tetanic intermittent contraction of the muscles of the nape of the neck. Leaden feeling in the limbs, as though he could not move them, for some time (after two and a half hours). Tired feeling in the limbs, with disposition to retire to bed. Pains in wrists and ankles (second day). Pains in the joints (second day).
Superior Extremities
Objective. Trembling of the arms and hands. Inability to raise the right arm, with coldness of the right hand. Subjective. Curious shooting pain in left arm, from shoulder to tip of middle finger, producing in the finger a feeling of internal soreness, the same as is felt in neuralgic pains. The pain at one time concentrated itself in the pulpy part of the ungual phalanx, and at another at the upper part of the axillary border of the scapula, whence it seemed to radiate, like the spokes of a wheel, for a distance of two inches (after one hour and two-thirds). Agreeable thrilling through the arms and hands. Shoulders. Lameness of the shoulders. Feeling in the shoulders as if beaten, particularly in the left shoulder. Arm. Pain in front of the arm and back of the elbow. Elbow. Pain as from fatigue in the bend of the right elbow (at 7A.M., first day). Forearm. Unable to raise his hands, the feeling being as if a weight was upon the forearm. Heaviness of forearm and feet (in about thirty provers). Wrist. Pains in left wrist (second day). Hands. Constant rubbing of hands. Shaking of the hands so that he cannot write. The hands feel monstrously large. Fingers. Sudden appearance of redness in all the fingers, with burning and pricking in the joints. Sharp sticking pain in the fingers. Aching in the finger-joints.
Inferior Extremities
Objective. Unsteadiness of gait; not that of one who fears to fall, but of one who tries to keep down, for he felt as if there were springs in his knees, and was reminded of the story of the man with the mechanical leg, that walked away with him. While going along a plank walk, just one board wide, every now and then, and suddenly, the right leg would shoot to the left, missing the plank. After observing this muscular freak a few times, the attention was centered upon locomotion, with a view of preventing a repetition of the erratic misstep. Out shot the leg again and again, defying volition, and invariably going over the left. Entire paralysis of the lower extremities. He is unable to walk upstairs, on account of an almost entire paralysis of the limbs, with stiffness and tired aching in both knees. Limbs unable to support him (after two hours and a quarter). Legs hardly able to support body. The right limb suddenly gives way and he falls. About 3 A.M., having roused himself to sobriety, he went to bed. Stumbled down the steps on leaving his friend’s room. Lameness of the right limb, with drawings in the calves. Great weakness of the left leg. Weariness in both limbs, almost amounting to paralysis; worse in the left. Subjective. His limbs feel very large. Agreeable thrilling in both limbs from the knees down, with a sensation as if a bird’s claws were clasping the knees. The right limb feels paralyzed when walking. Tired feeling in the left limb. Numbness of the left limb and foot. Hip. Pain in the right hip. Pain in the left thigh-bone. Thigh. Pain and itching in left leg just above the knee. Knee. Laming pain, with drawing and aching in the right knee. Tearing pain in left knee (after fifteen hours). The patellae feel as if forcibly dragged down. Leg. A strange, painful lassitude in both legs (after fourteen hours). Aching pain in leg, near left external malleolus, while lying on back, not when lying on side. Sensation of cramps in the calves of the legs, which rendered the movement of the legs impossible, or caused them, to be distended, or to take a sudden jump. Ankle. Pain in right ankle (evening). Foot. He drags his feet when walking. His feet repeatedly go to sleep. On attempting to walk, his feet felt heavy; his hands were with difficulty raised, as the forearm felt as if kept down by weights (after four hours). On attempting to walk, he experienced intensely violent pains, as if he trod on a number of spikes, which penetrated the soles of his feet and ran upward through his limbs to his hips; worse in the right limb, and accompanied by drawing pains in both calves; these pains forced him to limp and cry out in agony. Numb feeling of the sole of the left foot, then the foot, increasing to a numbness of the whole limb. Burning in the soles of the feet. Sticking in the soles of the feet. Numbness in the joints of both feet. Bone pain in metatarso phalangeal joint of right foot. Toes. Shooting pains in the joints of the toes of the left foot, worse in the great toe. Violent pains in the joints of right great toe (forenoon and evening), (third day). Aching and stitching pain in the ball of the left big toe. Pricking and aching in the joints of the big toes of the left foot.
Generalities
Objective. Determination of blood to surface. Great excitation of the whole system, as if the blood were circulating very quickly; as if streams of it were poured from below towards the head, which felt dull, while his eyes were glistening; on walking, he could scarcely find his way; everything seemed dark and perverted; on reaching home great cheerfulness and serenity, as though an unseen power lifted him up into other and higher regions; everything appeared too small and too dark; frequent protestations that he saw something unearthly, and could accomplish great things; he saw spirits dancing around him as happy as himself; his hearing was very acute; the slightest noise, as the beating of his own heart, seemed too loud; violent thirst; cataleptic and epileptic attacks. Strange, balancing gait. From time to time shaking of the whole body. Catalepsy. Sometimes catalepsy. He did things automatically. Cannot avoid running against people in the street. Unconsciously walks sidewise in the street. Creeps on hands or knees in open air. During the intoxication, when the spells of laughter came on, he stamped with his feet, and raised his body up and down on the sofa in a violent manner. Closed his eyes and tried to think of something solemn. Suddenly felt as if he were a marble statue; had no ability to move, and a chill all over him. Feels as if under the sedative influence of an opiate (after three hours). Disinclination to physical labor. Felt idle in morning (second day). Luxurious indolence and erotic delirium. Great desire to lie down in the daytime. Much torpidity (second day). Feels greatly fatigued. Relaxation of muscular power (after four and a quarter hours). Felt very weak (second day). Felt as it weak, chiefly about the knees (after two and a quarter hours). Great muscular weakness. Too weak and nervous to work. He felt so weak that he could scarcely speak, and soon fell into a deep sleep. Thoroughly exhausted from a short work. Prostration (soon after). State of collapse (nearly ending in death). As soon as he closed his eyes he fell into a state of syncope. Sense of vague uneasiness. Felt in the highest degree nervous. Nervous, restless feeling over the whole body. Impulse to change about from place to place. After experiencing peculiar visions and sensations a necessity for exercise came on; he raised himself as if by some elastic power, struck himself on the breast, and began to sing and dance in the most extravagant manner. Feeling of numbness. Felt a peculiar numbness creeping through body and limbs. Skin insensible to irritation, for example, to mustard, brushes, etc. Was unconscious that mustard has been placed to his feet, and that they had been rubbed with brushes; the sensitiveness of the skin seemed to be completely blunted. Gradually total anaesthesia. Anaesthesia extended all over his body. It gradually decreased, but the sensibility did not return universally, nor steadily, there being frequent relapses. Subjective. An indescribably “queer” feeling pervaded the whole body (after one hour). There was also a curious sensation connected with the air, but he cannot recollect it. Feeling of lightness on motion was very marked. Feeling of lightness or buoyancy, as though he could fall like a cork, without sustaining harm, (after four and a quarter hours). Especially characteristic was the sensation as if his body were raised up from the ground, and as if he could fly away. Felt as if under influence of intoxicating drink (after half an hour). Felt drunk (after one hour). Felt drunk (after one hour and a half). Woke in morning not quite sober (second day). Felt very badly. After going to bed, sensation of heaviness or drowsiness; could not lift his arms or legs (after one hour). Rigidity of the muscular system. Felt the characteristic thrill produced by the drug (after exactly four hours). Agreeable thrilling through the body and extremities. All agree that the first symptom is experienced after the lapse of some hours, and is uniformly a thrill through the whole frame to the finger-ends, and through the brain, followed by great terror. Had a real Hashish thrill, so violent that I took hold of a counter to prevent myself from reeling, experiencing the same want of confidence in myself and anxious terror I had felt on taking the larger dose (after one hour). The right side of the body seemed to him to be greatly enlarged, so that he thought if he thus continued to grow he must bend over to opposite side. Sensation as if single parts had become larger and thicker, e.g., the lower lip seems swollen to the level of the nose, or the nose so large as to obstruct vision. Sudden, dull, aching pain and constriction, mixed with numbness and tingling, as if he had been electrified. It began in right upper arm, extending down the arm and up to the axilla, gradually passing down to the feet, and then up to the head. It was chiefly felt in arm and axilla. This feeling came on and off like a wave of sensation; it was confined entirely to the right side, and seemed to stop at the mesial line. (The prover’s right side was next the fire), (after forty minutes). Suddenly a great degree of oppression; everything seemed too narrow to him; features became distorted; he became pale; the oppression increased to anxiety, with a feeling as though his blood mounted to his head in a boiling condition. The symptoms develop themselves mostly on the right side. It affects persons of the highest nervous and sanguine temperament with the strongest effect; the bilious nearly as much; the lymphatic but slightly, with such symptoms as vertigo, nausea, coma, or muscular rigidity.
Born in 1837in Westminster, Vermont. . He was an orthodox doctor who converted to homeopathy
Dr. Allen compiled the Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica over the course of 10 years.
In 1881 Allen published A Critical Revision of the Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica.