General oedema, followed by profound coma and death. The whole extremity became tumefied and covered with livid spots; this tumefaction extended to the thorax, and was followed by nausea, vomiting, somnolence, difficult respiration, and death. Tumefaction of the part bitten is a constant symptoms, accompanied by oedema, redness, and heat; the parts become hard, tender, and swollen to twice or three times their normal size; the tumefaction lasts from four to eight days, sometimes persists a long time; the pain accompanying the inflammation consists of tension, which is rarely acute. Swelling of the extremity, with livid spots in the skin, followed by general chilliness, dyspnoea, nausea, and vomiting, and death on the seventh day. Swelling of the arm and hand began after half an hour, was followed by nausea and vomiting; after an hour and a half the swelling had extended to the shoulder, the arm was hot; the swelling gradually extended to the body over the chest; the upper extremity was of a livid color, covered with black and dark-red spots of ecchymoses; the arm was of enormous size, about that of the thigh, the skin tense, but not painful to pressure, the livid red color disappearing on pressure, but the color of the spots of ecchymoses was not affected thereby, the lymphatic glands of the axilla not much swollen; at the point of the bite blisters of large phlyctenular form with reddish serum; several of these phlyctaenulae developed on the back of the hand. The patient complained of cephalalgia, great vertigo, had a rapid pulse, and pale tongue. After this the hand began to diminish in size, but the shoulder continued very large, covered with black mottled spots; the whole scapular region of the left side and part of the right of a livid red color, with several spots of ecchymoses; this red color and these spots extended over the interior portion of the thorax; the right breast became edematous and hard, and presented a spot of ecchymoses that extended into the corresponding axilla; apparently this trouble in the right breast, where it was isolated from the rest of the trouble, was caused by a blow; afterwards these ecchymoses spots spread over the lumbar region. On the ninth day the sclerotic was somewhat yellowish. On the tenth there seemed to be an aggravation, the back became more edematous, and the ecchymoses and infiltration spread over the nates. On the twelfth the ecchymoses had greatly diminished, but the oedema of the upper extremity and shoulder still continued; the hardness was remarkable. On the fourteenth the sclerotic again became yellow; the urine was perfectly clear and transparent. On the fifteenth the oedema of the upper extremity still persisted, with a yellowish tint. On the seventeenth day there was still hardness of a portion of the arm and back, but all the ecchymoses had disappeared, though the skin over the arm and back was still yellow; the urine was perfectly clear and transparent; the sclerotic still somewhat yellow, 33. The bitter part became black, hard, swollen, and covered with spots. After a quarter of an hour the arm began to swell, it became tense and bluish red; together with nausea, violent vomiting, great prostration, and at time inclination to fainting. The bite was found to look like the scratch of a pin, and to extend scarcely through the epidermis, nevertheless the whole hand and arm as far as the elbow was swollen, so that a rather large shirt had to be cut away; there was no pain, either in the wind or in the room, but an unpleasant tense sensation; the skin dark bluish red, with black and yellow spots, and stripes followed the course of the cutaneous veins of the arm. The usual fresh and ruddy color of the face had rapidly changed to a very yellow and earthy color, the mood was anxious and irritable; pulse weak, slow; there was also a constant sensation of faintness. The yellow color of the face continued five days, and of the arm ten days. Finger became swollen and painful; and sense of numbness and rigidity gradually extended up the hand and arm (in five minutes); towards evening the hand and arm became painfully inflamed and swollen to three or four times their natural size. Spots of purpura hemorrhagica appeared the next day in various parts of the body and limbs. The inflammation, which was of an erysipelatous character, gradually spread from the arm to the shoulder, integuments of the neck, chest, abdomen, and back, on the right side, as low down as the hip. The bright-red hue of the skin began to fade on the fourth day, leaving it of a mottled livid color, with patches of ecchymoses. The oedema of the legs was considerably relieved by finely puncturing with a lancet. At the end of a week I was able to leave my bed, but the hand and arm were quite useless, and did not recover their former powers until six or eight weeks after the accident; the right leg also remained weak for some time, causing me to drag it in walking. After a fortnight, collections of matter formed successively in the finger, hand, forearm, and axilla, requiring evacuation by the lancet. After a bite on the foot, swelling and pain suddenly extended to the abdomen; for many years afterwards the leg was always diseased, presented at times yellow, at other times blue spots, and was painful. After various remedies these suddenly disappeared and attacked the eyes; after suffering for a long time she became completely blind for two years. The eyes improved, but it extended through the whole body, and gave rise to pains internally, in various parts of the abdomen and limbs. At last she became almost numb. The bitten extremity was covered with leaves, the tumefaction disappeared on the fourth day, and the patient seemed convalescent, but on the seventh day he was seized with extreme suffocation, followed by death. The pain was at first exceedingly acute; the wound became livid, and the arm was much enlarged, towards evening; the next morning the swelling encompassed her whole breast, and even extended to the bottom of the true ribs; the third day the swelling extended over the lower part of the abdomen, and her body was considerably increased beyond its natural size. After being bitten in the finger and sucking it, there was swelling of the finger and also of the mouth, he was obliged to sit down, it was impossible to go forward; he felt as if he would die, became helpless and weak, leaned against a tree, the hands became black and cold, the mouth and abdomen swollen, constantly said that he should die, followed by bloody vomiting, diarrhoea, and death, in an hour and a half. The foot becomes as blue as if washed with indigo, without swelling, after the vomiting and great weakness; the next night he had violent fever with much delirium, and in the morning decided swelling from the bite as far as the neck, the whole right side of the beck was bluish, greenish, and yellowish; there was no swelling at all on the left side. Therewith the urine was dark yellow, as in jaundice. So weak that every time he rose he fainted. Subsequently a gangrenous slough formed at the place of the bite, involving the soft tissues, including the tendons of the muscles, which after several weeks sloughed off. Gangrenous spots on the foot. After the bite on the foot some drops of blood flowed the wound which he sucked into his mouth. This was immediately followed by vomiting. The foot swelled and became insensible. The vomiting was incessant, with bleeding from the nose, oppression of the chest, and indescribable anxiety, sunken eyes; distorted face. The foot was greatly swollen as far as the abdomen, grayish yellow, covered with large blisters. After fourteen years the knee still remained stiff and the leg drawn backward. Whole body pale, and from time to time agitated by fits of shivering (after one hour and a half). Paralysis yearly with pain and insensibility. Stiff, rigid, cannot make the slightest movement. Epilepsy one, two, and five years after the bite. Violent spasms. General spasms, with raging pain in the abdomen and head. Restlessness. Easy fatigue. Weakness. Weakness, so that he was unable to stand upon his feet. Weakness, so that he was no longer able to move. Great weakness and sleepiness. Extreme weakness, unable to move a limb, having barely strength to speak. So weak that he fainted every time he raised the head. Falling down when standing. Extreme debility. Great prostration. Prostration followed by death (fourth day). General prostration of the vital forces. General torpor (third day). Faintness. Immovable. Sinking down with faintness, immediately. Sinking down with violent pains, after the bite. Faintness, with feeling of warmth in the head. Faintness, with loss of sight and hearing, almost imperceptible pulse. Fell into a faint with alternate vomiting and diarrhoea. Attacks of faintness in rapid succession. Felt so faint that he was obliged to lie down. He fainted after walking a few steps, immediately after the bite. Fainting alternately with great anxiety and restlessness. After half an hour the patient could scarcely stand erect and was faint. Fell to the ground in a faint and remained so for an hour, until he was awakened by cold water. Collapse, followed by death. Loss of acuteness of the special senses. Sensitive to every change of weather. After six years he asserted he still experienced attacks of rather severe pain in the arm bitten, with sensations of lassitude and malaise; these symptoms recurring every year in the month of April, and lasting a month. Violent pain in the part bitten. Violent shooting pains through the whole body, spreading from the point of the bite. Violent pain began at the wound and extended through the whole limb. Violent pains after the bite. The pain caused by the bite is not severe, but is followed by a burning sensation, which spreads over the whole limb. The bite was immediately followed by acute pain and by a burning sensation of heat and tumefaction. Violent burning pain in the wound, immediately. Pains like the sting of a bee in the bite; after a time the wound became leaden gray, and swollen; the swelling began to diminish after two or three days. The bite was felt through the whole body like a streak of lightning, she sank to the ground. The swelling was insensible. When bitten he felt a stitch through the whole body.
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.