On regaining consciousness he wanted to get up and walk about, work, take a drink, etc., then relapsed into coma, and so on alternately; the delirium lasting three times longer than the coma; the delirium more generally occurs after than before the epileptic attack. Pupils so much dilated that the iris is hardly visible. He was hardly in bed at the hospital before he told us he was about to have an attack, by the sensations of formication and pricking, which extended from the index and thumb of the right hand to the shoulder; at the same time the fingers became flexed into the palms, the thumbs being covered by them. The forearm was strongly flexed upon the arm, and held in forced pronation; the wrist also was strongly flexed, and the whole limb agitated by clonic spasms. The right hand and forearm were red from stagnation of blood; with his left hand he supported his right forearm, which tended in its movements to approach the trunk.
The head also shook, and was inclined to the left. There were slight spasms of the eyes. There was a slight circular movement of the lower jaw, but no frothing at the mouth, nor was the intellect in the slightest degree affected, although he was unable to utter a work; and he fully understood everything that was said within his hearing. The attack lasted about half a minute. After it was over he complained only of little numbness of the right hand. Four fits; two at intervals of several days, and the other two on the same day. A week before his admission into the hospital he had eight epileptic attacks, one after the other. Three days after admission he was seized with epileptic fits, which continued to recur frequently for two days, until death. Eight epileptic seizures, on after the other, on the eighth day before his admission to the asylum; a few days after admission the fits returned very frequently. Peculiar paralytic sensation extending from the back towards the hands and down to the feet, especially involving the left side of the body, which felt asleep; she was unable to move a limb; this paralytic condition seemed to disappear with a shock, and was followed by a sudden spasmodic stretching of the left extremities, which seemed as if dead; wherewith the fingers of the left hand were spasmodically closed, with pronation of the wrist and gradually extension of the arm at the elbow, and extension of the left lower extremity from the knee to the ankle, lasting several minutes; this cramp returned at short intervals; the patient cried aloud from pain, and, although consciousness was partly lost, yet she was able to make short, indistinct answers; after about twelve hours these spasms affected other muscles; whenever a spasm occurred the head suddenly and with a jerk was drawn to the left side, and at the same time bent forward, so that the chin rested upon the left clavicle; during the next day the spasms occurred every quarter or half an hour, and the excessive paleness of the face of the first day changed to a bright redness; on the third day the spasms began to affect the right side in a similar manner, and were associated with opisthotonos, so that the body was balanced upon the neck and heels; at the close of the paroxysms, rattling in the trachea and oozing of tenacious, frothy mucus from the mouth; at this time there began to be noticed, during the intervals between the spasms, a jerking of the facial muscles; pupils contracted, the sclerotic dirty yellow, lips bluish, gums retracted from the teeth, exhibiting a lead line, middle of the tongue covered with a yellowish-while coating. Epileptiform convulsions in the third, of which she died. Fit of epilepsy, at 5 A.M., of which he was unconscious. Epileptic attacks. Several had fits, described as being hysterical. Epileptiform spasms; the patient fell to the ground unconscious, lips rigid, with spasmodic contractions, frothing from the mouth, eyes turned upward, pupils insensible, somewhat dilated. Epileptiform paroxysms, with frothing from the mouth, convulsions of the arms.
During the fourth day of delirium, twelve epileptic fits, followed sometimes by delirium, sometimes by coma.
During the fifth day of delirium, movements of an epileptic character took the place of distinct fits of epilepsy, and in these convulsions he passed away. During her last few days epileptic fits supervened, which by their violence and frequency, soon rendered her apparently quite insensible to what was passing around her. Epileptiform twitchings in all parts of the body, followed by paralysis. Epileptic attacks, in which the tongue becomes excessively swollen, protruded, and bitten. Epilepsy. Has had two attacks of epilepsy. Suffering from epileptic fits, occurring about once in a fortnight, severe in character, and of three years’ duration. Ten epileptic seizures in about two years; in which he fell down with a cry; became very pale; there was at first stiffness; then followed contractions. The attack lasted about an hour, and was followed by great prostration. It was accompanied by involuntary urination. The paroxysms occurred only every half hour. Small spasmodic shocks shoot like lightning over his face and limbs. Spasms. Violent spasms.
Tetanic spasms (after two hours). Spasms of particular muscles, and in two cases, of the whole body, with delirium. Epileptiform spasms. A series of spasms and convulsions of various kinds, at first with free intervals, which, however, gradually became shorter and shorter, until the last twenty-four hours the spasms were almost uninterrupted; on the fifth day the patient became comatose. Seized three times with what seemed like a tetanic spasm; then came sharp prickings in the hands, the forearm, in the whole lower limb, and then the limbs were stiffened, the jaws were clenched convulsively. Clonic spasms of the muscles of the face and extremities, with loss of consciousness, frothing from the mouth, and puffiness of the face (with albuminuria). Violent clonic and tonic spasms, with both eyeballs rotated upwards, repeated four or five times daily. Suddenly seized with convulsions; the upper and lower extremities were violently thrown into alternate flexion and extension; the body is forcible and involuntarily shaken; the head bends backward. All sensation is lost, but there is neither frothing at the mouth nor stertor; the face is injected. The convulsions lasted about five minutes. When they cease, he lies quiet and motionless in profound coma, and cannot be stimulated into attention. After this has continued for a quarter of an hour, convulsions again set in, but do not last as long as at first.
Thirty-four convulsive seizures were counted within twenty-four hours; between them he was always comatose. Convulsions, preceding which the patient cried out, turned very pale, then became very much flushed, immediately following which the body was seized with violent clonic spasms, lasting an hour, and followed by great perspiration; the attack was associated with involuntary discharge of urine. The latter part of September his brother reported that at school he had fallen, and according to his description was convulsed. It subsequently appeared that some days previous he had a similar attack while amongst his playthings in an attic room, when his brother noticed him lying on the floor and acting strangely, and asked, “What he did so for?” he replied, “He did not know.” The evening of the day of the attack at school, the nurse called his parents, after he had been asleep, saying that he was breathing strangely. Nothing abnormal appeared when we arrived, but in the course of an hour I heart the heavy and laborious breathing, and found him in a convulsion, which continued not over a minute. The eyeballs were distorted, and the body and arms flexed spasmodically. These attacks numbered seven or eight daily, and in the course of two or three days amounted to fifteen daily, which number daily continued until the middle or latter part of the following February, having, however, once numbered twenty-two to twenty- three in twenty-four hours; but this was when the attacks were not the most protracted nor the most brief. The duration of each attack varied at different periods, from (I should judge from memory, not by the watch) one-third of a minute to one and a quarter on one and a half minutes. They did not very much in duration and severity usually during a period of twenty-four hours, but did in a period of weeks. The heavy, laborious, almost stertorous breathing was our first admonition during the early attacks (when he was asleep); soon this ceased, and during the last month or two this symptom occurred only at the close of the convulsion, and was our first notice of its subsidence. Indeed. I remember failing to discover any sign of respiration during the greater part of an attack in some of the later weeks. Soon other symptoms varied in a like manner, as to order, during the whole period. A small quantity of saliva ejected from the mouth terminated many of the attacks, perhaps one-fourth of them. The turning in of the thumb upon the palm was sometimes noticed, but was not always or uniformly the case, while I think strong flexion of the fingers was a usual accompaniment. The strong contraction of the muscles of the back and neck, at the termination of the convulsions, was noticed during the severe attacks, but did not accompany the lighter attacks. The attacks in the daytime were without premonition; sometimes he thought he had a slight dizziness a moment before, but was unable to notify us. To us the attacks seemed instantaneous; as when as cheerful as usual (talking the moment before) he would fall to the floor from his seat; once, when standing by the dinner-table chatting with his brother, he fell backwards, turning one-quarter around, the arms and neck contracting, otherwise at full length, striking his head against a sheet-iron stove. Having never had nervous complaints or colic (except an attack of the so-called “Madrid colic”), was suddenly taken, while eating, with convulsive movements of the limbs, soon followed by a general stiffness. No frothing at the mouth or stertor. He fell to the ground, but without loss of consciousness; could not answer questions, but understood all that was said about him. This state lasted five minutes; after which he could talk as sensibly as usual; only complaining of great weakness. Next day another convulsive attack like the above. Suddenly his head inclines forcibly to the right, his limbs stretch out, become stiff, and are strongly convulsed, as also is his face, which turns blue; his eyes are wide open and rolled upwards; pupils exceedingly dilated; violent shocks pass over the whole body; bloody froth issues from the mouth; the beats of heart and pulse are tumultuous and quite strong. Then the spasms of body and limbs subside, but the oppression increases considerably, and he is threatened with suffocation; inspirations are deep-drawn and difficult. The previously dark-red face becomes pale as a corpse; only the whites of the half-opened eyes are visible; the body becomes cold; the frothing at the mouth ceases; he remains motionless and sleeps a little while; pulse 140, and very small. He awakes in a few minutes, his eyes fixed and staring, and his whole countenance looking very dull; is ill-humored, and will hardly answer questions; finally, turns over to his left side and falls asleep. After working seven weeks, an attack of colic; five days later saturnine encephalopathy set in; he fell down unconscious when in the act of washing his hands; then he had spasms; this attack lasted two hours. Four or five hours after, another attack like the first; it only lasted two hours. Four or five hours after, another attack like the first; it only lasted an hour; until this time his lead symptoms were confined to these two attacks, and a certain degree of muscular weakness in the upper extremity only. A few days afterwards he found that he could hardly use his upper limbs in eating; when he tried to carry a glass, for instance, to his lips, his arm shook so much that he could not drink; the muscles were also very weak. Next day there was slight formication in the lower limbs; walking was still almost natural. At the end of four days he walked with difficult, and was obliged to lean against something so as not to fall down; at the same time he had severe headache, with dimness of vision and hard hearing, especially on the left side. In proportion as the difficulty in walking increased, the involuntary movements of the upper limbs became less decided. When seized by a paroxysm, he lies down on the floor, rolls about in every direction, places himself in all sort of attitudes, squeezes his feet, calves and knees with his hands; groans aloud, calls for help, while his distorted face expresses the keenest agony; entirely engrossed by his pain, he can scarcely answer when addressed. In from three to five minutes, he get more quiet, but is so completely exhausted he can hardly stand on his feet. Frightful convulsions, with cold clammy sweat. Most violent convulsions, with loss of all the senses, in recurring attacks. Frequent and frightful convulsions and colic.
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.