Gave Croton tig., 30. The next day the right eye became involved; on the third day the right eye was again well and the left improving; the eruption ceased to spread, and blisters half an inch long, appeared on the fingers, which bursting, discharged a yellowish- white serum, and then rapidly healed; on the fifth day the eyes were both open, and a yellowish-brown scab had formed on the arm; on the seventh day the eyes were perfectly well, with no photophobia, and the cuticle on the right arm and fingers was peeling off. Some sensation of heat about the face, in the evening (first day); considerable heat and some itching, with slight fullness (second day); considerable tumefaction, with much of that indescribably itching, stinging, or burning sensation, peculiar to this affection (third day); tumefaction great, vesicular eruption very distinct (fourth day); symptoms decreased (after four days). Vesicular eruption on the cheek, with intense itching and burning (after thirty-six hours). Her face and hands were affected in a manner similar to that first described, although the inflammatory process was less severe. The parts were less swollen, but there was an abundant eruption of the vesicles and flow of serous exudation from the excoriated parts. Swelling and inflammation of the right cheek, attended with intense burning and itching. The inflamed surface was covered with large blister, containing a yellowish serous fluid. In the succeeding spring she was seized with a precisely similar attack, without being able to trace it to any renewed exposure of the poisonous plant. In the second case, the inflammation and tumefaction were confined to the right side of the face, never extending beyond. Patient complained of itching and burning. Swelling of the lips and nose, and then pale swelling of the face; on the third day the swelling of the face increased, with burning pain; the lids were closed by the swelling, the eyes watered; on the fourth and fifth days, the face was covered with vesicles full of yellow water, that ruptured and discharged some moisture; the swelling of the face lasted eight days; that below the chin lasted longed, and was followed by fine desquamation. An eruption of an erysipelatous nature upon the face. The inflammation had extended over the forehead and into the scalp, both eyes were closed, both ears, cheeks, and lips were very much tumefied and pitted on pressure and the patient’s features were so much disfigured that he was not at all recognizable. A slight eruption on the face and the hands, were very much swollen; the eruption extended over the backs of the hands and to the ends of the fingers. In the language of Griffith, there were “violent itching, redness, and tumefaction of the parts, succeeded by heat, pain, vesication, and fever.” The vesicles on the inside of the fingers were large, and adding to the pain by pressing against each other. Erysipelas of the face, with perspiration of the face, without thirst (after one hour). Great swelling of the face; the head became double its natural size; a sort of phlegmonous erysipelas, that kept her in bed for four weeks.
Great swelling of the head, face, and lids, so that he could not open the eyes for over twenty-four hours. Erysipelatous swelling of the face and neck. Erysipelatous swelling of the face and of the eyelids, and finally an eruption of phlyctenae over the whole body. Before sunset the cuticle of the hand was a trifle elevated in papules, red and warm, and next morning itched decidedly, but not annoyingly, and showed a few vesicles.
A cluster of vesicles an inch in diameter appeared on the cheek, and was more annoying than that on the hand. Scratching greatly aggravated the inflammation, and caused a free watery discharge. Itching and swelling of the left ear, and the lobule of the right ear increased to bursting of the skin (sixth day).
Smarting and prickling around the mouth, with vascular watery eruption below the vermilion border of the lower lip (after thirty-six hours). (Burning blister about the mouth and nostrils). Clusters of vesicles, filled at first with a watery substance, near both corners of the mouth, on the margin of the lower lip, with a salty biting sensation and soreness to touch (after ten hours). A very painful violent burning and itching eruption, especially on the scrotum, prepuce, eyelids, and eyes, with swelling of these parts and appearance of small yellowish blisters, that here and there become confluent and discharge, also some vesicles upon the arms and loins; these after a few days become as large as peas, and are inflamed by the scratching of the patient. Many of these large pustules or ulcers slowly suppurate, are surrounded by a red areola, become extended and heal slowly (in the third week); the small confluent pustules rapidly dry up and desquamate after a few days. This eruption occurred without previous vomiting, nausea, and fever. A vesicle oozing moisture on the top of the glans penis. Frightful eruption on the genitals, swelling of the urethra (followed by death). A large vesicle on the glans penis beneath the prepuce, that opened on the following day (sixth day). Swelling of the prepuce and glans penis; violent itching, burning, prickling, and cutting around the root of the penis and in the prepuce; transparent swelling extending from the prepuce to the scrotum, more on the left side, with watery vesicles, discharging a transparent fluid; prepuce very sore, looks and feels like a scald (after thirty-six hours).
Very moist eruption on the scrotum, with swelling of the prepuce and glans. Has sores on his chest from a blister, with great itching. Large blisters containing yellowish liquid, with swelling of the arm; the blisters were ruptured carelessly, and the liquid flowed over the whole arm, after which a very large number of vesicles appeared, so that after eight days the whole forearm seemed to be one mass of blisters; anointing with olive oil seemed to have no effect upon the complaint; soon the upper arm and then the right arm and other parts of the body became affected; the whole trouble lasted four weeks. Vesicle on the right wrist, just below the lower head of the ulna (sixteenth day). On the right wrist blisters on a pale red base of four fingers’ breadth, that constantly increased, most of them of the size of the head of a pin, increasing to that of a pea or even of a bean, and so numerous that not only every point of the skin was covered, but they almost seemed to form a thick mass like clusters of grapes with pits (the spaces between the blisters could not longer be recognized), some were brownish, glistening from the dried exudations that were pressed out of the blisters as limpid water (fifth day). The juice became dark on exposure, and concreted on the palm and wrists, forming dark scales, which adhered so closely as to be with difficulty removed by rubbing off the superficial layer of the cuticle. At this time no inconvenience was felt, but four days afterward, two blisters were noticed, each about the size of a three penny piece, on the flexor surface of the right wrist. On the top of each blister there remained adherent a portion of the black concentrated juice, and there was some redness around the vesications, but no pain. Four or five days subsequently the other wrist became similarly affected, and about the same time the redness began to slowly spread up both forearms. Nothing further was noticed until the seventeenth day after the exposure, when he was obliged to give up work in consequence of the swelling and stiffness of the forearms, and about the same time the redness began to spread slowly up both forearms. On examining the patient I found the skin on the flexor surface of both forearms swollen, and of a florid red color, like that of erysipelas; and the red surface was covered with small transparent vesicles each about the size of a pin’s head, closely set together. The vesicles closely resembled those of eczema of the minute inflammatory vesications produced by the application of turpentine. Both forearms were considerably swollen, and felt stiff to the patient. Some of the black spots, formed by the dried acrid juice, were still seen on the palms of the hands and on the adjoining parts of the wrist. The skin of the (upper) arms was natural. The face, though less affected than the forearms, and not vesicated, was swollen and erythematous, the eyelids being puffy and partially closed. The trunk of the body was untouched, but the skin of the penis and scrotum was red, oedematous and painful, and there were scattered spots of inflamed and slightly elevated skin on the inner surface of both thighs. The inflamed portions of the skin were the seat of pain, sometimes of a numbing character, sometimes stinging like the irritation of nettles. The pain was worse at night, owing to the heat, but it was not severe anywhere except in the forearms. During the course of the following day the red patches extended up the arms, and also down the thighs as far as the knees, while some scattered spots remained over the pubes. Next day (27th) the swelling and redness of both face and arms were diminishing, and the vesicles on the forearms were drying up into scabs, but the erythematous eruption on the thighs continued to spread downwards to the legs, and upwards on the trunk of the body. On the 29th, at noon, the abdomen was found covered with irregularly-shaped patches of inflamed skin, which had extended from the pubes upwards as far as the hypochondria. At the margins of the large patches there were numerous detached small reddish spots, like the eruption at the outset of measles, the larger patches resembling the continuous rash of scarlet fever. On the 31st the redness had extended to the back, while anteriorly the skin, from the pubes to the clavicles, was marked with inflamed patches and spots, the region of the sternum alone being unaffected. The legs were almost entirely covered with eruption. There was no vesication on any of these parts. But while the eruption was thus spreading on the lower half of the body, the upper half was recovering. Thus the forearms were now nearly well; the redness and swelling were gone, only a few vesicles remaining on the backs of the hands and between the fingers. The face had nearly the natural appearance, very little desquamation being observable. Both hands and wrists were inflamed and enormously swollen. In urinating he conveyed the poison to his penis, affecting the whole organ, and the scrotum, the lower part of the abdomen, and part of the thighs. The prepuce was swollen to the size of a common orange, and distended with fluid, giving it almost a transparent appearance; there was phimosis, completely hiding from view the glans; the scrotum was enormously swollen.
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.