Immediately attacked with a convulsive fit and died. Convulsive and death (after five hours and a half). Convulsions, with screaming, bending the head backward, at times opisthotonos.
Convulsions become stronger; the patient utters plaintive groans and tears everything within her reach; bites her hands and arms; four persons are necessary to keep her in bed. Convulsions of the extremities and face (after nine hours); death (after nine hours and a half). The fits were almost continual (second day). After rousing her to give a dose of tincture of belladonna, there was an almost convulsive struggle of resistance, attended by violent excitement, and followed by sudden and complete collapse; entire cessation of respiration; pulse barely perceptible; face pale; lips livid; pupils unchanged and eyes rolled upward and outward, to the extreme limits of their orbits (after four hours and a quarter); relieved by injection of atropia. Occasional convulsions. Convulsive twitches in the muscles, especially of the abdominal extremities. Convulsive movements. Muscles strongly convulsed (after one hour); the violent action of the muscles occasionally relapsed, but was alternated with slight subsultus.
Alternations of spasmodic contractions of the limbs and complete relaxation; these alternations took place every two or three minutes, at times with bending of the head and trunk backward.
Some slight convulsive contractions of the muscles, especially of the hands and face (after three hours). Attacked with hysteria.
First effects similar to hysteria. Spasms. Convulsive spasms occurred at regular intervals, when the eyes stared, with twitching and contraction of the muscles of the extremities. The child continued to lie in the spasms, with violent screaming, alternating with stertorous respiration; with distortion of the eyes, contractions of the fingers and opisthotonos. He bends his head backwards (a kind of tonic spasm in the nape of the neck), (after one hour). Tonic spasm and epileptic convulsions. Tonic spasm. Commencement of a tonic spasm, bending her backward (opisthotonos). Clonic spasms accompanied with screaming and tears. Clonic spasms, especially of the lower extremities, with loss of consciousness (third day). Spasms of the muscles of the face and extremities. Spasms like opisthotonos, always ending with trembling, followed by profound quiet, with relaxation of the limbs. Spasmodic movements, accompanied by cries. Slight spasms (after thirty-five minutes). Slight spasmodic contraction of muscles of face and extremities. Slight spasmodic movements (after eleven hours). Epileptic attacks, with violent delirium.
Epilepsy. Condition seeming apoplectic, with stertorous, rattling respiration, open mouth, pale face, covered with icy-cold perspiration, left eye completely closed, the right partly open, pupils dilated, eyeball paralyzed, with blue nails, a very full pulse, without sensation, with without motion, followed by death.
Paralysis. (* From too many and too large doses.-HAHNEMANN. *) Limbs and body powerless. Rigors. Rigidity of the whole body (after one hour). Rigidity of the muscles. Whole body paralyzed and stiff. (* Revised by Hughes. *) Started up in a fit and threw his arms about, vomited, and then sank, as if exhausted (soon).
He tosses the feet up and down, as if in convulsions, with a sudden loud cry. At times the patient raised himself and violently scratched either his face or chest. Their gesticulations are so whimsical as to excite mirth and merriment in those most inclined to pity them. Jerkings and throwing the arms about. Whole system excited. A nervous tremor about her (second day); continues to a great degree (fifth day). Appeared nervous and twitched frequently (soon). Trembling of the whole body, as if he were frightened, with some jerking of the body and twitching of the limbs, affecting only the flexor muscles, with external coldness of the body. Every fibre in the body trembles.
Trembling, sick, and so giddy that he could not walk without a stick; he ate no dinner, and continued in this state, sometimes in bed, sometimes walking about, until evening (one case).
Tremulous motion of the whole body (second and third days).
Trembling (after 4 to 6 grains); (one hour after 2 grains); (fifth and tenth days). Trembling of the whole body (fifth day).
Trembling of the whole body from time to time. Twitching and involuntary contractions of the muscles (after six hours and a half). No movement beyond that of the lips and chest of an unusually powerful frame. They are easily known by a kind of rickets, which this poison never fails to produce at last. The only signs of the susceptibility to outward impressions were; 1st, slight contraction of the upper eyelids when water was forcibly dashed upon them; 2d, liquids introduced into the mouth were slowly swallowed, and, as it seemed to me, somewhat more readily when the patient was imperatively told to do so; 3D, when asked to show her tongue, while the mouth was forcibly kept open, there were some slight attempts to move it. Supported in an erect posture by two strong men, who were holding her up by the shoulders, with her head hanging lifeless upon her breast, her hair in disorder, her eyes bewildered, and her countenance pale and ghastly; her limbs were unable to do their duty in supporting her, her body was suspended as it were in the air, with the points of the toes touching the floor; the muscles were in a complete state of relaxation (after five hours and a half). Lying on his back. Lying with the knees drawn up, for six hours and a half. He appeared twenty years older than he really was. Blood vessels injected. The whole body was quite stiff, extremities cold, eyes convulsively distorted and half open. The child could not support its head, or take a step without assistance. He lies as if in a sunken slumber. Total attenuation of body. The same breathing, look and pulse that I have several times seen in apoplectic attacks. The body wastes and the muscles lose their tonosity. Emaciation and debility. Their pale and melancholy figures would be sufficient to raise out pity, did not their lengthened necks, their heads turned to one side, their backbone distorted, their shoulders raised up to their ear, and a number of other extravagant attitudes, which result from their disease, exhibit a picture of the most ridiculous kind. Very much emaciated. Emaciation and weakness. Emaciation. Great relaxation of the muscular system (after two hours). Muscles in a complete state of relaxation, and he was supported in a chair (after three hours and a half). Muscular system completely relaxed (after fifteen hours). Muscles were in a state of complete relaxation; she had lost the power over them, and was so feeble as to be unable to support herself in an erect position without assistance (second day). Every muscle in a state of relaxation (after six hours); (after six hours and a half). Entire muscular system so relaxed that the tongue hung out of the mouth, and was pushed about by the end of the stomach- tube, in certain positions, folding back into the fauces, and apparently obstructing respiration (after one hour); muscular system, if possible, more relaxed than ever (after five hours). Failure of muscular power (after thirty-five minutes). All the muscles are relaxed; (after three hours and a half); (after half an hour). The muscles tone is relaxed, so that a kind of paralysis follows. Muscular force sunk in lassitude and languor. Muscles of her body became soft and relaxed. Muscular system not much relaxed. Muscles flaccid (after six hours). After several hours the child fell into collapse, with cold face and extremities; pupils at first contracted, but before death widely dilated; pulse rapid, small, weak, smaller in the right arm than in the left; visible and very violent beating of the carotids; distension of the jugular veins; respiration varying, sometimes superficial, sometimes deep and with much noise, as in agony with distension of the anterior and upper portion of the neck; abdomen retracted, hard, and tense; running of mucus from the mouth; the child became rigid, opened its mouth and eyes; the face at last became puffy and violet- colored; features drawn; followed by death, without convulsions.
The people seldom attain the age of forty, if they have begun to use Opium at an early age. Becomes old early. The offspring of Opium-smokers are weak, stunted, and decrepit. The acuteness of all her senses was restored by the usual dose, the want of which was indicated by heat and flushing of the face. Some of these unfortunate creatures have wry necks, for the muscles become rigid; the head is seen contorted to one side or the other, or one shoulder is considerably higher than the other, or the figure stoops, and a peculiar shuffling gait is acquired, by which alone a practiced eye may recognize an old Opium debauch. In the morning these creatures have a most wretched appearance, evincing no symptoms of being refreshed or invigorated by sleep, however profound. He is not deprived of sight or hearing, but of the senses of taste, smell, and touch, in relation to external objects, though he feels his cheeks cold when he touches them (after one hour and a half). (* Last clause revised by Hughes. *) His mental and bodily powers are destroyed. Nothing on earth can equal the apparent quiet enjoyment of the Opium-smoker; there is a lightness of the head, tingling in every limb; the eyes seem to be enlarged, and the ears sharpened to hearing; an elasticity and inclination to mount on high are experience; all pains are gone, and pleasure now remains; all weariness has vanished and freshness takes its place; the loathing of food previously experienced is changed to a relish for what is piquant, and a great desire is often felt for some particular food; the tongue is now loosened, and tells its tale, for whatever is secret becomes open, and what was intended, for one becomes known to all. Still there is no excitement, but rather a calmness, soft, soothing, and sedative. He dreams not, nor thinks of the morrow; but, with a smile in his eye, fills his pipe with the last of his allowance. Slowly inhaling it he seems to brighten up, the smile that sparkled in his eyes extends to other features, and his appearance is one of complete yet placid enjoyment. Presently the pipe is slowly displace, or drops by his side; his head, if raised, is now laid on the pillow; feature after feature gives up its smile; the eye becomes glazed; the upper eyelid drops; the chin and lower lip fall; deeper inspirations follow; all perception is gone; objects may strike the eye, but no sights are seen; sounds may fall on the ear, but none are heard, and so he passes into sleep, disturbed and broken, from which the wretched being awakes to a full conception of his miseries. The effects on the health by abandoning the habit of Opium- smoking, after it had become deeply rooted, are even worse than the perseverance in it. A gloomy despondency is added to the usual symptoms of the ordinary stage of depression; a state ensues somewhat like a low state of delirium tremens, attended with extreme prostration of strength, and often with exhausting diarrhoea and vomiting; all pre-existing diseases are aggravated, dropsy frequently ensues, and death may soon result, most generally by effusion into the great cavities, and general anasarca. When these effects have begun to show themselves under a compulsory cessation of the habit. the most marked improvement of health is produced by resuming it. The result of the examination of several hundred Opium- smokers on this point was, that, by their own confession, the extend of their indulgence was limited only by their means, and the spontaneous abandonment of it impossible. The writer of an essay on the Opium trade says, “There is no slavery on earth to name with the bondage into which Opium casts its victims; there is scarcely one known instance of escape from its toils, when once they have fairly enveloped a man. The effects were strongest if I were unwell, or if anything had in the least de- ranged the functions of the economy; for instance, if I had been up all night; if I had been sick and vomited, and taken no food, 2 or 3 grains would have as much effect as otherwise 4 or 5 grains. The torments of the victim of Opium, when deprived of this stimulant, are as dreadful as his bliss is complete when he has taken it. If deprived of laudanum for a single day, the most unpleasant symptoms came on; loss of sleep and appetite and an indescribable feeling of languor, with a corresponding depression of spirits, and slight involuntary motions of the limbs, all of which were readily relieved by the accustomed dose of laudanum.
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.