Homoeopathy — Page 207
Capsicum 207 Capsicum (Cayenne Pepper) Capsicum is prepared from red pepper. As a common notion, when a thin, lean person is found to be restless, it is said that it is his reaction to the pepper. However, the Capsicum patient is different altogether. He is fat, flabby and shows venous spiders on his face. His complexion is that of an alcoholic. The alcohol affects the small blood vessels of the face, which turn into reddish looking spider webs. The ingestion of chillies also causes enhancement of the circulation to the skin. Whether the food is hot or cold, the patient is hypersensitive to both. Hot things feel hotter and cold things seem colder than they actually are. When a person, in the habit of taking too much pepper, gives it up, his appetite becomes suppressed because his digestive glands and the lining of the stomach have been tuned to work under the stimulating effect of the chillies. When he resorts to taking pepper again, his glands become active and produce acid for digestion, which in turn stimulates the appetite. Even though hot pepper causes burning and gives the feeling of warmth, nevertheless the Capsicum patient is of a cool nature and likes to live in well-heated room. A strange quality of the patient is that he does not like to live outside his home for long. He feels homesick even if he is not in the habit of taking too much hot pepper. A mere administration of two doses of Capsicum may somewhat diminish his anxiety to return home. A Capsicum patient is stubborn in nature. It has been seen that in areas where a lot of hot pepper is consumed, the people there are usually of a stubborn nature, but not everyone who eats pepper is essentially of such a nature. An angry nature with irritability and dissatisfaction resembles Chamomilla. One cheek is red and the other is pale. This is commonly seen in diseases of the children. The scalp sweats. The patient thinks of committing suicide but does not dare. He is rather scared. He likes to live alone. The head or some other part of the body feels magnified. It can also happen in Sabadilla. In Capsicum, there is a feeling of throbbing. His severe headache becomes worse while resting, while movement makes it subside.