Cayenne or Red Pepper.
Introduction
“HAHNEMANN says, this `spanish pepper’ as it is called, was introduced as a spice to season the sauces at the dainty tables of high livers (the pulverized seeds of the still more pungent `cayenne pepper’ being often used as a substitute) in order to stimulate the palate to an unnatural appetite, and thus–ruin the health.
“In the meantime but little was heard of the medicinal use of this powerful substance. Bergius alone mentions having cured several agues of long standing with two grain doses of capsicum. But he did not give it alone, for the old original sin of traditional medicine induced him to combine it with bay berries He does not describe the agues cured by it according to the totality of their symptoms, but only employs the expression `old agues’ after the manner of his other old school colleagues, so that the virtus ab usum of the mixture prescribed is shrouded in darkness.
“On the other hand the homoeopathic physician proceeds much less doubtfully and with much greater certainty in his cures with Capsicum; for guided by the peculiar, pure morbid states produced by this powerful medicinal substance in the healthy body, he only attempts the removal of those natural diseases the sum of whose symptoms is contained in the greatest possible similarity among those of Capsicum.
“The diseases curable by Capsicum are rarely met with in persons of tense fibre.”
One notices that the burning pains of Capsicum, which so greatly affect mucous membranes, are the “burnings, as of cayenne pepper, sprinkled on the part.” They affect especially mouth, tongue, stomach, abdomen, bowels, rectum and bladder. But chest, lungs, and skin may also be thus affected.
Then one notices pressing pain in eyes: to protrusion: with burning, redness and lachrymation.
And, not only deafness and pains in ears, with otitis: but the mastoid process is specifically affected: with swelling, periostitis and even caries. This seems to us especially worthy of notice. Kent’s Repertory give only Capsicum here. There are also bursting pains, head, abdomen, etc. We are told, by an ex-R.M.O. of our Hospital, of a patient with early mastoid trouble (and with marked home-sickness) who got Capsicum. It worked.
It is one of the sea-sickness remedies: and a unique remedy for home-sickness. One of our young “residents” when he found a recently admitted child inconsolable; screaming, or sobbing its heart out; would give a dose of Capsicum, and come back shortly afterwards to find it playing happily with toys.
Then, a curious symptom, coughing causes pain in some distant part. This also we have verified.
These remedies of limited, but curious and unique action are most useful, where they fit; one may need them seldom: but yet nothing on earth will take their place, where symptoms demand them. Happily they are easy to remember.
BLACK LETTER SYMPTOMS
Home-sickness.
Of a contented disposition : is jocular and sings, and yet on slightest cause, gets angry.
Disposition to start. After emotions, fever with red cheeks.
Intoxication,
Confusion of HEAD: or, all the senses are more acute.
When moving head and when walking, headache as if the skull would burst.
Throbbing, beating headache: in one of the temples: in the forehead. Pressive pain in forehead,
Drawing, tearing pain, left side of head.
A shooting headache, worse at rest, better by movement.
An outstretching headache, as if the brain were too full.
Drawing, tearing pains frontal bone, more on right side.
Aching pain in eyes as from a foreign body.
Swellings of MASTOID process: painful to touch:
Periostitis and caries of mastoid.
Tearing pain in concha of ear.
An itching or aching pain quite deep in ear.
Epistaxis.
Burning blisters in MOUTH.
Tough mucus in mouth: or dryness.
Taste foul: like putrid water.
Chaps on the lips: fissured lips.
Tough mucus in posterior nares on rising: difficult to dislodge.
Tonsillitis, with burning, smarting pain.
Great soreness in THROAT, with smarting.
Pain when swallowing, burning and other pains in throat, worse between acts of swallowing. Throat inflamed, dark-red, burning, pressing.
Heartburn.
Dyspepsia from torpidity; especially in old people.
STOMACH ice cold: or burning in stomach.
Inclined to vomit.
Thirst: drinking causes shuddering; drawing pains in back.
Burning, cutting pains in ABDOMEN.
After every stool, thirst, and after every drink shivering.
Aching tension, ABDOMEN, especially in stomach, worse movement: with aching tension lower part of back.
Tensive pain, abdomen to chest, as from distension.
Abdomen feels distended almost to bursting, impeding breathing, to suffocation.
A drawing and turning over in abdomen.
After flatulent colic in hypogastrium, small frequent STOOLS of mucus mixed with blood, which cause tenesmus.
Tenesmus: violent tenesmus.
Burning pain in anus.
Dysentery: tenesmus and strangury: pain worse from a current of air, even if warm.
Smarting and burning pain in the anus and rectum.
Tenesmus of rectum and bladder at the same time.
Haemorrhoids, burning as if pepper were sprinkled on them, swollen, itching, throbbing: with sore feeling in anus: bleeding or blind with mucus discharge; with bloody mucous stools; with drawing pain in back and cutting pain in abdomen.
Small frequent stools of mucus, at times with blood: cause tenesmus.
Burning in bladder.
Burning, smarting after urination.
Strangury: tenesmus neck of BLADDER: urging to frequent, almost ineffectual urination.
Scalding of urine.
Gonorrhoea: second stage: white discharge: excessive sensibility of parts to contact: chordee only suppressed by cold water.
Creeping and tickling in NOSE, as in stuffed coryza.
Hoarseness, from straining voice, in singers, preachers, etc.
When coughing, headache a if skull would burst.
COUGH expels on offensive breath from lungs.
Nervous, spasmodic cough.
Tightness of CHEST: appears to come out of stomach.
Chest constricted, with oppressed breathing: worse very slight movement.
Throbbing pain in chest.
Drawing tearing pain in and near spine.
Tensive pain in knees.
Coldness beginning in back.
Shivering.
Lack of reactive force, especially in fat people.
Is wide awake at night: cannot sleep.
Sleep full of dreams.
Yawning.
Great desire to lie down and sleep.
So awkward that she runs into everything.
Sea-sickness.
Lazy, fat, unclean persons who dread open air.
Children who are always chilly,
Shivering with chilliness after every drink.
As if cayenne pepper were sprinkled on parts!
Relaxed fibre: obesity.
Shuns all movement.
Burning in skin.
Haemorrhoidal constitutions.
ITALIC, AND STRANGE, RARE AND PECULIAR SYMPTOMS
Children become clumsy and awkward.
Home-sickness, with red cheeks and sleeplessness.
Wakes in a fright, screams: remains full of fear. Senses obtuse.
Brain too full. Bursting pains in head. Head feels bruised.
Pressing headache in forehead, as though pressure in occiput would force brain out through forehead.
Violent, deep-penetrating stitches, vertex.
Head seems too large.
Affects especially mastoid process.
Flickering before eyes: or objects look black.
Eyes very prominent, with pale face. Eyes protrude from sockets.
Pressing pain in ear with every cough: as if abscess would open.
Aching in ears when coughing.
Tip of nose very red and hot: worse towards evening.
On coughing or sneezing, cutting in one or other limb.
Pain internal or exterior of face, with biting as if from salt.
Dry throat without thirst.
A remedy of cancrum oris.
White spots in throat, with red halo.
Malignant or gangrenous pharyngitis.
After every stool, thirst, and after every drink shivering.
After a drink, must go to stool.
Haemorrhoids burn, as if pepper were sprinkled on them.
Needle-stitches, in forepart of urethra, when not urinating.
During pregnancy, affections of ears, etc.
Tickling in trachea causes violent sneezing.
Cannot get air deep enough into lungs.
Cough in sudden paroxysms: convulses whole body.
Cough, as if head would fly to pieces.
With every explosive cough, pungent, fetid air escapes.
Coughing or sneezing causes sudden pain in a limb.
Stitches in suffering parts, with cough.
Splitting pain in head, with cough: or pain chest, back, bladder, neck or ear. Inclined to vomit: or pain in knees, legs, ears, throat.
Cough : worse anger, warm drinks, evening, night, when lying, dry cold weather, draught, warm or cold.
Pain in chest, as if it were too full: not room enough in it.
Fatty degeneration of heart in obese persons.
Violent pulsations of arteries of abdomen.
Clucking, rapid pulsation in some of the larger arteries.
Chilliness between scapulae: “cold water dropping down back.”
NASH summarizes its peculiarities thus:
Burning pains, especially on mucous membranes, or smarting, as from red pepper, on the parts.
Cough with pains in distant parts, as head, bladder, knees, legs, etc.
Chill or shuddering after every drink. Begins between the shoulders and spreads all over.
With above symptoms, it is a good remedy for dysentery, or the later stages of gonorrhoea, or in throat complaints. A remedy to be remembered in all affections, with the red pepper burnings.
