The skin was so universally irritable, that no clothes could be worn for forty-eight hours, when the affection was as its height, and a sheet or blanket was the only covering during this time. Sleep, without powerful anodynes, was impossible for several nights in succession. The following morning he complained of tiresome itching on the hands and wrists. On the fourth day the itching increased, and the wrists as well as the hands commenced to swell, and became covered with a number of small pimples; afterwards the hands and wrists became more swollen during the night, were covered with a number of small vesicles, which continued to enlarge for severe or eight days, and became filled with yellowish serum, indicating a bad form of erysipelas; in spits of bloodletting, baths, emollient fomentations, and soothing drinks, the head swelled to such an extent that he was unable to see for twenty-four hours in consequence of the enormous swelling of the eyelids; the itching then spread all over the body, chiefly on the hairy scalp and the privates, which he tore to pieces with scratching. After ten days these symptoms, went off; the wrists, which had exuded much serum, cast off their epidermis, and the patient was surprised to find that he was cured of an eruption (dartre), which he had had on his wrists for more than six years. Wound not disposed to heal; eruption under the plaster at first, but now extends the whole length of the tibia (tenth day). Eruption extended to scrotum, attended with a thin colorless discharge and great irritation (fourteenth day). The eruption completely covers the face, trunk, and extremities, attended with a discharge from the chin, scrotum, and thighs, where it lies on contact, and from the leg where it first commenced; penis swelled; in its general appearance resembling anasarca (fifteenth day).
Eruption decreasing (after sixteen days). In the evening I felt considerable itching of my wrist, and the following morning observed that there were upon it a number of extremely minute vesicles, which contained a fluid more or less limpid or transparent; the itching increased hourly; the wrist and the middle of the forearm began to swell, and the vesicles extended themselves rapidly, chiefly upwards towards the elbow, and partly downwards along the lower part of the wrist and upon the fingers; mean while vesicles, accompanied and preceded by itching more or less troublesome, made their appearance upon various other parts of the body; the face was universally sprinkled with them, but these were extremely small; the fluid which they contained was always very limpid, and without any application, except that of cold water every morning, they entirely disappeared in two or three days. About the seventh or eighth day the itching, the inflammation, and the spread of the vesicles appeared to be nearly at their height. At this period, and for some days afterwards, the greater part of the forearm and about one-third of the arm were swelled to nearly twice the natural thickness; the itching was intolerable, and the vesicles, in general, were no longer filled with a limpid fluid, but contained a thick matter or pus very similar to that of small-pox, and strongly adhering to the linen. On the ninth day I perceived a swelling in the axillary gland of the right arm, which was that to which the lacteous juice and applied, and which was chiefly affected; the swelling rapidly increased until it became of the size of a hen’s egg, and on the second day of its appearance it had almost entirely vanished. From the period that the swelling was at its height to its entire disappearance, the itching was almost universal, and much more insupportable that it was before. In fifteen days from the time that the poison was first applied to my arm, all the disagreeable symptoms had ceased; the vesicles had almost entirely disappeared; a desquamation of the affected parts had taken place, and a new epidermis had been formed. In June, 1971, she suffered very severely from a burning and itching eruption covering her entire face, neck, both mammae, external genitals, extending along the inner surface of both thighs, both hands, wrists, and portions of her abdomen. The disease ran its course, terminating in desquamation, without any benefit from treatment. On the 6th of May, 1872, the eruption again broke out, appearing simultaneously in all the localities attacked the previous year. It began with swelling, redness, intense burning, and itching. During the subsequent twenty-four hours, the inflamed surface became densely covered with very minute vesicles, which soon ruptured and poured out very copiously a yellowish serous fluid, which, collecting in the most dependent parts, desiccated into amber- colored, semi-translucent incrustations. On May 31st, 1873, the eruption made its appearance for the third time. Burning and itching on the right temple, extending to the outer canthus of the right eye, slight redness, but no swelling (first day); right eye entirely closed, swelling extended along forehead and to left cheek, partially closing left eye, also down right cheek to lip; swollen surface inflamed, firm and elastic; no pitting; the parts first attacked covered with minute vesicles; exudation very copious and seems to irritate the inflamed surface (second day); swelling about eyes slightly diminished; right cheek, brow, and right upper eyelid covered with vesicles; exudation very copious; in the afternoon, the swelling had extended down the right side of the face, under the right lower maxilla and chin, but the right side of the face, under the right lower maxilla and chin, but had diminished about the right eye; exudation very copious (third day); swelling, tumefaction, etc., decreased (after three days). Her whole head was greatly swollen, and the features so distorted that no one could recognize her. On closer inspection the skin of the face and neck was felt to be deeply oedematous and was largely covered with vesicles of all sizes, many of which were seated on an erythematous base, others being still in the papular stages of development. There were also numerous large excoriations, from which fluid was freely exuding, stiffening in places on drying, and forming soft crusts. The ears were much thickened, and were dripping with the escaping serous exudation. The hands were also affected, being thickly covered upon their backs with groups of small vesicles, while upon the palms numerous vesicular exudations were dimly seen beneath the thickened epidermal coverings, trying to push themselves above the level of the general surface. The subjective symptoms were great itching and burning of the parts affected, with the feeling of local discomfort consequent upon so great swelling of the features. New efflorescence continued to appear for several days, but the course of all the cutaneous manifestations was abbreviated, and the oedema immediately reduced by the local treatment which was employed. Intense itching and burning of the skin of the forehead, and about the eyes; face was much swollen, could open his eyes only with difficulty; vesicles made their appearance, filled with watery fluid. In the first case, the eruption made its appearance in the form of vesicles over the right mastoid process and from thence it slowly extended to the ear. For three or four days the disease seemed to remain stationary, spreading little if any. There was a copious exudation of turbid serum poured out from the vesicles; this soon formed into semi transparent incrustations. On the morning of the fifth day I noticed considerable puffiness of the left upper eyelid. The disease from this time forward rapidly extended over the entire face, neck, and upper part of chest. The tumefaction and inflammation were well-marked, disfiguring the patient to such an extent that she was scarcely recognizable. There was no pitting on pressure. On the sixth day the eruption made its appearance on the hands; the vesicles were small and aggravated in patches, varying in size from that of a three-cent piece to that of a silver half dollar. The fingers on their proximal surface were thickly studded with vesicles. The tumefaction and redness of the parts were but slight. Patient complained of intense burning and itching, and unless closely watched, would frequently indulge in the luxury of scratching, which for the time being seemed to effort relief, but in the end only aggravated the trouble. In a day or two she began to itch and burn; in three days her eyes were swollen shut, and she had all the symptoms of Rhus poisoning. Her face, ears, and neck had an erysipelatous redness, and were seemingly swollen to their utmost capacity.
She could not open her eyes, her nose was closed, and no African every exhibited such a formidable pair of lips. The hands became greatly swollen, blistered badly, and were a long time in healing. The face became red, enormously swollen and oedematous, then also the hands and skin of the whole body became covered with a scarlet-like exanthema, with intolerable itching biting (second day); on the fourth day the backs of the hands and legs became covered with blisters, that burst and slowly desquamated. Violent vesicular erysipelas of the face and hands, attended with a high state of fever (after a few hours). In the morning, a blotch of redness, with very slight swelling, extending in a fan shape from the root of the nose towards the hairy scalp; in the afternoon the tumefaction had increased, and felt hot (third day); face very much swollen and disfigured; both eyes closed; on the right temple a circular blotch of redness slightly elevated, itching and burning intensely; on the afternoon of the same day, the circular blotch was thickly covered with very minute vesicles, and vesication had commenced on other parts of the inflamed surface (fourth day); then patches of vesication present a milky whitish appearance, and under the magnifying glass the vesicles seem collapsed, presenting closely aggregated curdy whitish points; small patches of vesication on the dorsum of right hand, and dorsal aspect of several fingers exhibit vesicles much larger than any which have appeared on the face; they are limpid at their apices; the fluid, when discharged by puncture, is limpid and transparent, changes blue litmus to a deep blue, which fades after drying, leaving no trace of discoloration (sixth day). Left eyelid swollen, dark- red, oedematous; exuded pus of a yellowish-white color from the tarsal margins; right forearm covered on its interior surface with minutes vesicles, burning and stinging; they were preceded in their spreading up the arm by a plain line of inflammation.
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.