The Medicinal Uses of Cayenne

Disclaimer.  I am not a licensed health practitioner.  This is just another post on an item you might wish to have available if needed so that a physician can treat you and your family as best as possible.  No medication, including those available over the counter, should be taken without consulting a physician.  Information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes only.  It is not medical advice nor a substitute for licensed medical care.  A qualified, licensed physician or other medical provider should be consulted before beginning any herbal or conventional treatment.

This was by far the most frustrating item to research and write about to date.  Six or eight years ago I read a very detailed article on the medicinal uses of cayenne.  I even saved it to the hard drive of a laptop long since deceased.  Of course, I can't find it online now.  Regardless, I thought the information should be rather simple to track down.

Not so.

While cayenne has been used for thousands of years for medicinal purposes, there isn't a lot of detail to be had.  Historical use of cayenne in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres shows it was used for treating indigestion, confusion, tremors, hemorrhoids, menorrhagia, tonsillitis, scarlet fever, sore throat, flatulence, gout, fever, nausea, heart attacks, and the list goes on.  But how exactly was it administered?  How effective was it at treating diphtheria?  What dosages were prescribed when it was used in conjunction with penny royal for expelling the retained dead tissue of a miscarriage?

It is fortunate that some scientific research is being and has been performed, but even that isn't too helpful if it is only conducted in a laboratory, which is the case with many of the articles I posted links for below.  In the case of internet jockeys and self-professed gurus, the information may even be dangerous.  Anecdotal evidence of cayenne pepper powder stopping bleeding does not mean using cayenne to stop a serious bleed is a good idea.  Would the bleeding have stopped anyway with a little direct pressure?  Is pouring cayenne into a wound creating a greater potential for infection?  After all, doesn't the cayenne need to be washed out before closing that wound?

On the other end of the spectrum, striving to care for our loved ones in a post-apocalyptic world (PAW) may have us willing to throw anything and everything at a problem.  As the physicians leading the off-grid medicine courses I attended taught us, CPR is for dead people only.  When society has completely collapsed and there is no higher medical care, you don't perform CPR, except in cases of drowning, lightning strike/electrocution, and choking.  Those people were healthy before the accident.  Everyone else has a medical condition that brought on the heart attack and that will not be able to be diagnosed and/or treated without modern medicine.  I can accept that.  It's easy to say now.  But what if the heart attack patient is my husband, who as a type-1 diabetic is in the do not resuscitate (DNR) group?  Can I just let him go?  Probably not.

Would I be willing to try giving him some cayenne tea if he were able to swallow or cayenne tincture under his tongue if he were not (supposedly used on someone who had just expired, with miraculous results)?  Yeah, I'm kinda attached to him, so I'd do it.

Unfortunately, these kinds of things have only anecdotal stories attached to them.  There's no scientific research to back them up.  Treating a heart attack patient with cayenne pepper when more civilized care is available would be considered malpractice, at least in this country.  No one's going to do it.  Does drinking a strong tea of cayenne pepper help stop internal bleeding?  Heck if I know.  But Dr. Patrick Jones, a veterinarian and herbalist, has used it on dogs hit by cars, and he says it has worked.  That's another one that isn't likely to be researched for a long time.  Would I be willing to try it on someone who was suspected to have internal bleeding?  Well, of course that's going to depend on a few factors, but I'd probably be open to the idea.

With that said, here are some suggestions for using cayenne. 

Infusion:  1/2-1 teaspoon of cayenne in one cup of boiling water.  Drink warm, about one tablespoon at a time (16 sips per cup), for indigestion, fever, gout, arthritis, rheumatism, and sore throat and cold.  For internal bleeding, use one teaspoon and drink it as quickly as possible. 

Powder: Pour it on and apply pressure.  Honestly, the "apply pressure" part is the most important.  If the bleeding is that serious, I'm going to go with a commercial clotting agent like Celox or QuikClot, if it's my family.  Everyone else can have cayenne. Yes, cayenne in a wound is going to burn.

Capsules:  One capsule, one to three times daily, for indigestion.  (I've been doing this for six years, and I have no problems with heartburn, unless I run out.  That happened once.  Now I keep a better supply.)  Also, and there is more research on this (web addresses posted below), cayenne pepper does not cause gastric ulcers.  On the contrary, it helps heal them.

Cream:  Add 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder or a couple of drops of cayenne tincture to some body lotion and rub over the affected area for arthritis and rheumatism.

Cayenne oil:  In a glass jar, place 1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper, 2 tablespoons of crushed mustard seeds, and 2 teaspoons of grated ginger root in one cup of carrier oil such as olive or almond.   Allow to infuse for one week, then strain.  Use as a massage oil for treating muscle, joint, and arthritis pain.

Cayenne tincture:  Fill a one-quart jar with fresh cayenne peppers (or halfway with cayenne powder) and top off within 1/2 inch of the rim with grain alcohol (95% percent) if possible, or the highest proof you can get.  (You may substitute apple cider vinegar or glycerin for the vodka, but the tincture won't be as strong and will only have a shelf life of six months.)  Place lid on top and store in cool, dark place for six to eight weeks.  Strain to remove peppers and store tincture in dark glass bottle.  Shelf life--three to five years.

For further reading:
http://www.holistic-research.org/uploads/1/1/3/8/11385972/cayenne_pepper.pdf (Accessed on 28 December 2018)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5785894/ (Accessed on 28 December 2018.  Chronic disease, inflammation, and spices)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19919287 (Accessed on 27 December 2018.  Cayenne inhibits bacteria)
https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/antimicrobial-properties-of-chili-peppers-2332-0877.1000145.pdf (Accessed on 27 December 2018.  Effect of various hot peppers on various strains of bacteria and viruses)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16621751 (Capsaicin and gastric ulcers.  Accessed on 27 December 2018)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21104944 (Accessed on 27 December 2018).  Capsaicin cream in treatment of chronic pain)