Mouth.– Gums.
Gums spongy (20 grains thrice daily). Tongue. White, thickly-furred tongue. General Mouth. The lips and mucous membrane of the mouth were excoriated; in five days the ulceration of the mouth had extended further; the lips were covered with crusts (20 grains thrice daily). Saliva. Frothy mucus flowed from the mouth, and it seemed filled with a membranous substance, not unlike that of membranous croup (after twelve hours). Speech. Expressed himself in a peculiar broken speech, as if partially drunk (1 once).
Throat.
Came near strangling by spasm of the throat, involving apparently the epiglottis. Moderate catarrhal sore throat, with pain in the fauces (three cases). Awoke at 7 A.M. with feeling as of a cold in head; throat and posterior nares seem sensitive, raw, and burning (second day). Fauces and Oesophagus. Unless largely diluted, it produces a burning sensation in fauces and stomach. Partial paralysis of the oesophagus, accompanied by a nervous disinclination to take food or drink, and seriously interfering with nutrition of patient. Partial paralysis of the oesophagus, not spasmodic stricture; the muscles contracting, indeed, but sluggishly and incompletely, under the stimuli of food and drink; recurred at intervals for many months, even after convalescence was established. Swallowing. Deglutition difficult, the act not beginning till he strangled and coughed (after forty minutes).
Stomach.– Appetite.
Loss of appetite. Hardly any appetite for dinner. Thirst. Great thirst. Urgent thirst. On awaking in morning, intense thirst, with dryness of tongue and fauces, headache, vertigo, nausea, and great nervous sensibility. Eructation. Acidity of stomach; regurgitation of food tasting very sour (after one hour). Nausea and Vomiting. Nausea (especially on second or third day). In some instances, it has induced nausea and vomiting. Sense of nausea and oppression in stomach, without inclination to vomit; an uneasy feeling in stomach; nausea and stomach symptoms seemed to be relieved by eating supper, but came on again later in the evening (after one hour and a quarter). Retching (after fifty- five minutes) Slight retching (55 grains, after one hour and five-sixths). Slight tendency to vomit. After the first dose, whether she had the whole or a part, she always was sick, so that a double dose was used every night (noticed in three other cases). Stomach. Belching of wind; lasted until after eating (after five minutes). Sense of emptiness shortly after eating, as if he had not eaten. Intolerable sense of sinking and oppression at pit of stomach. Pain in stomach and abdomen, accompanied by slight difficulty of respiration (second day). Extremely painful sensation at pit of stomach (especially on second or third day). Sharp pains in epigastric region (after two hours).
Abdomen.
Severe colic (especially on second or third day).
Stool.– Diarrhoea.
Was seized with diarrhoea about two months before she died (produced, I fear, by the Chloral); during this diarrhoea she passed a large amount of gelatinous matter in the stools. Three stools during the day (second day)., Two stools during the day, instead of one. Two loose stools, in afternoon. Two soft light- yellowish stools, voided with some sharp pains in the rectum (after seven to nine hours). Soft, lumpy, strong-smelling stools twice a day, and frequent passage of fetid flatus. Soft yellow stool, in evening (after nine hours). Stool, in morning, soft, but voided with great pain in the rectum (third day). Constipation.
Urinary Organs.
Frequent and profuse urination of a dark amber color, clear and no odor. Urinated copiously in bed without knowing it.
Sexual Organs.
Copious nocturnal emission. Seminal emissions at night (it being only a week since the last), and again on the following night.
Respiratory Organs.– Larynx.
Pronounced redness and swelling of the epiglottis and of the false vocal cords. Respiration. Breath fetid (20 grains thrice daily)., Constantly fetid breath. Odor of Chloral in breath something sickening (after four hours). Respiration stertorous (after twelve hours). Stertorous breathing, with loud snoring during sleep in any position; when lying on the back, the inspiration was through the nose, while the expiration was blown through the lips, as in apoplexy.
Gasping breathing. Respiration so hurried as to “resemble the panting of a dog” (3 drachms, after ten minutes). Respiration 48, shallow, and loudly stertorous (after forty minutes). Respiration slow, labored, and stertorous (after ten minutes).
9 and 10 A.M., respiration 20 (before taking); 16 (after one hour); 18 (after three hours); 18 (after seven hours); 20 (after eleven hours). The patient was found breathing heavily, at times stertorously. Very laborious respiration, with occasional deep inspirations, with a sighing expiration.
Respiration quiet, and at times imperceptible. Respiration intermitting (after one hour). Sense of suffocation and oppression of chest, in front and at its base. Great dyspnoea.
Attacks of extreme dyspnoea, which increased to asphyxia; at the same time the face was swollen, the facial muscles paralyzed, and there were also all the signs of cerebral effusion (45 grains daily).
Chest.
Singular sensation of fullness of chest, not as if it was filled up, as a person experiences after a hearty meal, but rather as if all the tissues were hypertrophied, producing an indescribable sense of tightness and pressure on the lungs, causing very labored breathing and redness of the face, which attracted attention; this condition was so uncomfortable that he discontinued the proving, and it was several days before he could breathe freely. Used regularly to suffer after meals from a sense of oppression which made going upstairs extremely difficult, and even interfered with speech, although there was no chest disease to account for this; the symptoms persistently recurred in spite of all treatment till the Chloral was left off, when the oppression entirely disappeared. Sense of weight on the chest, in the region of the sternum, at night, causing an expiration to be easier than an inspiration.
Heart and Pulse.– Precordium.
Sounds of the heart indistinct (after one hour and a half). Heart’s Action. The primary action is to increase the force of the heart’s action and arterial tension. Action of the heart so violent that its pulsations could be heard at a distance (3 drachms, after ten minutes). As soon as she took a glass of beer there was strong pulsation of the arteries, and the whole face was swollen and of such an alarmingly deep color that we were obliged to forbid the use of wine and beer (30-45 grains). The secondary effect is to diminish the force of the heart’s action and arterial tension. Heart acting regularly, but with increased frequency and diminished force. Motion of heart quite rapid, but so feeble as to be scarcely felt (after twelve hours). Pulse. Slight increase of pulse. Pulse rapid, weak and wavy (after forty minutes). Radial, temporal, and tibial pulses frequent, weak, and irregular, in both force and rhythm, and frequently intermittent; after an hour, the superficial pulses almost imperceptible. Pulse 74 (before taking, 68). Pulse weak, and about 76. Pulse 84 (76 is normal), (after half an hour). Pulse 88 (55 grains, after forty minutes). Pulse ran up from 76 to 88 (30 grains, after fifteen minutes). Pulse 90; whole body extremely relaxed, except the left leg (after forty-five minutes). Pulse 92 (55 grains, after thirty-five minutes). Radial pulse hard, 92 (after one hour). 9 A.M. pulse 72; 10 A.M. pulse 80 (before taking); pulse 84 (after one hour and a quarter); pulse 92 (after three hours); pulse 90 (after seven hours); pulse 80 (after eleven hours).
Pulse risen from 80 to 100 (55 grains, after six minutes). Pulse 100; sleeps; face commenced to flush up bright- red (after fifteen minutes). Pulse 108 (after 25 minutes; after one hour).
Pulse 120 (20 grains thrice daily). Pulse 120; sleeps with snoring; face flushed of darker hue (after twenty minutes).
Pulse slow, feeble, and intermittent. Pulse fell from 125 to 100 in half an hour (75 grains). Pulse quick and bounding; its frequency about 120, but gradually decreasing till (after seven hours and a half) it was only 96. Pulse fell from 120 to 90 in about half an hour, with increasing drowsiness (60 grains).
Pulse fell from 96 to 84 in half an hour (45 grains). Pulse sunk from 88 to 80 (after five minutes). Pulse fell from 80 to 70 in half an hour (45 grains). After the dose, her pulse, generally small and 80 per minute, would fall from 10 to 12 beats; it would, after the lapse of half an hour or so, rise to 90, and even 100, and then, after some time, fall to its normal state; it was hard, but regular. Pulse fell from 90 to 60 in about half an hour, with increasing drowsiness (60 grains). In large doses, within safe limits, the pulsations are not reduced in number proportionately to the size of the dose, but the effect is more prolonged. The pulse of the carotids could hardly be felt (after one hour and a half). Pulse of right arm (she had lain on that side) not perceptible; that of the left, small, thready (after twelve hours).
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.