A tincture is made of the inspissated juice of the white Poppy, Papaver somniferum. L.
General Action
It produces stupor and profound coma, with stertorous respiration, contracted pupils slow, feeble respiration and pulse, cool, moist skin, and finally death from failure of respiration. Rarely, instead, it produces delirium or conclusion.
Obstinate constipation, with diminished secretion and atony, usually follows. Retention of urine is common. Its power to diminish reflex irritability and destroy the consciousness of suffering pain is well known.
Allies. Cannab-ind., Gelsem., Hyoscyamus, Sec-c., Belladonna, Nux-v., Carbo-v.
Generalities
Emaciation. Muscles flaccid. Intoxicated appearance. Lying on back. Lying with knees drawn up. Sinks down in a heap, with short, anxious respiration. Raises himself at times and violently scratches his face or chest. Whimsical gesticulations. Wry neck, head contorted to one side, one shoulder higher than the other, or head is almost buried beneath shoulders. Relaxation of muscles; so that tongue hung out of mouth, in certain positions folding back into fauces and obstructing respiration. Stooping, and peculiar shuffling gait. Tottering of body when erect. Trembling; of whole body, with twitching of flexors of limbs and external coldness of body; (<) lower limbs and about lumbar region. Excitement of whole system. Hysteria. Twitching; of tendons (Hyosc., etc.); (<) limbs, with pain in muscles.
Convulsions; alternating with subsultus; of face and limbs; with comatose intervals; with images before eye; with terrible pains; with bloody liquid exuding from nose and mouth; and face, neck and limbs turgid, livid and cold; and she groans and tears everything within her reach, bites her hands and arms; with screams, bending of head backward, at times opisthotonos; with deep, difficult, interrupted respiration; with clenches hands and teeth and loud breathing, stertor after the C.; eyes shut, pupils contracted, breathing stertorous, between the spasms he was limp, had no control over his limbs, and head feel forward or backward; started up in a fit, threw his arms about, vomited and then sank as if exhausted; conclusive throwing about of r. arm and leg. with loud cries, difficult respiration, coldness of face and hands, that were covered with drops of sweat; spasmodic contractions of limbs alternating with relaxation, at times with bending backward of head and trunk.
Convulsions at regular intervals, with staring eyes and twitching and contraction of muscles of limbs; C. making stiff, afterwards warm sweat. Tonic spasm. Clinic spasms, with screams and tears; c. spasms, (<) lower limbs, with unconsciousness. Epilepsy; with violent delirium. Opisthotonos; with blue color of skin, (<) genitals; with distortion of eyes, contraction of fingers and screams alternating with stertorous respiration; ending with trembling, then profound quiet with relaxation of limbs.
Rickets. Dropsical tendency. Strumous affections. and the constitution is prone to succumb without resistance under all violent diseases. Those seldom attain the age of forty who begin to use Opium early.
Gnawing in bones in morning. Pains; in limbs and loins in morning on waking, and bathed in sweat; piercing through the marrow of bones; nervous or neuralgic; burning, with irritation. Bruised sensation in r. half of body, with flushed of heat and burning pain. Inability to lie on l. side, and pain in it even on attempting to turn in bed. Intolerance of open air, with sensation as if he would take cold. Restlessness; with oppression, confused ideas, sparks before eyes and heat of head extending over body; anxious. Sensation of strength.
Inclination to lie down. Inclination to lean against something, to stretch out feet and support the head upon the hand. Feeling as after a night of debauch. Weakness; of mind and body on waking; in waking from restless dreams; and stunted, decrepit; and voice not firm; of knees, elbows and masseter muscles; with bruised sensation so that it was difficult to move limbs, yet internal restlessness constantly impelling him to change his position; extending through all nerves, (<) sciatic nerve; pleasant.
Faintness; sudden. Collapse, with cold face and limbs, pupils contracted but before death dilated, pulse rapid, small, weak (Sec-c.), smaller in r. arm than in l., violent beating of carotids, distention of jugular veins, respiration sometimes superficial, sometimes deep and noisy, as in agony, with distention of anterior and upper part of neck, abdomen retracted, hard and tense, running of mucus from mouth, child became rigid, opened its eyes and mouth, face at last violet, puffy and drawn, then death.
Heaviness, Numbness, Insensibility to pulling of the hair, pinching and sudden affusion of cold water. Sensation diminished; afterwards reflex irritability. Loss of the senses of taste, smell and touch in relation to external objects, though he feels his cheeks cold when he touches them. Activity of voluntary muscles destroyed, sensation diminished, and hence sleep. Paralysis. Stiffness; of whole body, limbs cold, eyes convulsively distorted and half open. Cold, rest and especially sleep retard the appearance of effects and prolong them. Refreshed for a moment by cool air. Amelioration from vomiting; from black coffee (Chamomilla); from coffee, of all symptoms except trembling, but they soon return.
Clinical There is a general tendency to twitching of muscles or tremulousness of the head, arms and hands, with occasional jerks, especially of flexors. Puerperal spasms, with the characteristic coma between the spasms. Sometimes indicated in spasms resulting from fright, especially in infants, the spasms ushered in with a loud cry, with purple face, hot sweat, etc.
Mind
Delirium; at, with jactitation and frightful dreams; and great attempts to resist treatment, then unconsciousness; talking about all sorts of things, with open eyes, afterwards remembered them only as in dream; saw frightful animals and other objects; said many disconnected things, pointed at imaginary masked persons approaching him, now loud laughter, now staring in fright at fancied swordsmen who threatened to stab, angry with any one who talked to him of thought him delirious, but blamed himself for his folly; and rolling about the floor, anger, threatenings, does not recognize his friends, head and face swollen, lips reddish- blue and swollen, eyes protruding, inflames; distressed by ghosts and chimeras that collected about her bed; talked of his business, cast up columns of figures and started at any noise; violent, with red face, glistening eyes and great activity; raging, with distortion of eyes; in paroxysms, during which she leaped form bed and escaped from the doors, but she soon became faint, feel and begged to be carried to bed, after which she was composed till another paroxysm; he seemed to be flying or floating through the air and to whirl with everything about him. Sensation as if in heaven; driving away slumber. amiable, and employed himself in drawing maps of apartments in heaven, which he said he visited every night. Wild expression of face, delight, gesticulations, talking, some compose verses and address bystanders in excellent language, in an elysium, then miserable reaction. Agreeable reverie, in which they throw themselves into an thousand postures, extravagant and merry, absurd talking, they imagine themselves possessed of whatever they wish, Visions. Hallucinations. Conscious of being possessed of another self besides his real self, and is not always sure which will conquer the other.
Excitement; with risus sardonicus; pleasant, they carouse, sing amorous songs, laugh, play pranks, then anger and raving, then sadness and weeping, then sleep, then their ordinary condition of sadness and stupidity; threaten alternately self-destruction and injury to others. Agitated, often rising from bed and walking hastily across the room. Joy; increasing to delirium. Exhilaration, but all is order, harmony, vigor and tranquillity, Liveliness, with great strength. Laughter. Cheerfulness alternating with sullen grief.
Quiet enjoyment, lightness of head, tingling in limbs, eyes seem enlarged, hearing acute, elasticity and inclination to mount on high, pain and weariness gone, loathing of food is changes to relish for what is piquant and often great desire for some particular foot, tongue loosened, calmness smiles, then broken sleep, from which he wakes to a conception of his miseries. Hardly sensible that my feet touches the ground, it seemed as if I slid along the ground impelled by an invisible agent, and that my blood was composed of an etherial fluid which made my body lighter than air, and visions of delight filled my brain all night. Alert and sprightly. Courage; and endurance; with mirth and lustiness, then Dullness of head, etc. Undaunted in danger. Fear of death lost (Compare Cannab-ind.).
Loquacious, then conversation droops, frequent loud laughter, then vacancy of countenance, with pallor and shrinking of features, then silence, then sleep with slow, soft and small pulse (in the chinese), but the Malays, before they sleep, often become violent and quarrelsome, and lives are occasionally lost. Whimsical gesticulations. Screams. Lamentations and howls. Moans. Groans. Starting at least noise, and a fly on any part of the body was a burden to him. Sudden. Weeping mood; at night; from vexation about a pain. Feeble wails or cries.
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.