Cayenne Pepper for strokes.

[Terrwyn]

I was just on Wise Owls thread. Glad she is better. They were talking about Cayenne Pepper under the tongue and the extract etc. Do any of you know about that?
I am at a very high risk of having a stroke right now due to elevated blood pressure.
Any information would be appreciated.

One thing I wanted to know is does it burn you mouth?

 

[cowboy]

Keep the Aspirins handy.

 

[summerthyme]

Definitely it works on clot based strokes (it won't do anything for a stroke caused by a brain bleed). It does "feel" hot... I don't like hot, spicy food. However, it doesn't actually cause "burns", and eating a piece of bread (or drinking a bit of cream or whole milk) will neutralize the heat in your mouth. Hubby hates spicy food, but happily uses the cayenne for his Reynauds.

I suspect if you're having a stroke or heart attack, the "heat" from the cayenne wouldn't even be noticed, given the other symptoms.

As I wrote there, make a tincture (1 ounce of cayenne pepper of at least 40,000 scoville units, added to 5 ounces of vodka. Leave to steep for a month, and then strain (you don't HAVE to strain the cayenne out.. and you CAN use the tincture within a few days if necessary)

Summerthyme

 

[nana2boys]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am going to try this.

 

[Terrwyn]

Thank you for the information Summerthyme.

 

[Snettrecker]

I would be very hesitant about taking this for a possible stroke. We don't give vasodilators or anticoagulants until we are very certain that a stroke isn't hemorrhagic (a bleed). If you take or give cayenne pepper (a vasodilator) and it's a hemorrhagic stroke, you could very well make it worse or even cause death.

2 reasons;

1. if it is hemorrhagic, you open the blood vessel and possibly allow more blood to flow into the brain tissue. bad juju

2. If it's not hemorrhagic, If you take a vasodilator, you take the chance of lowering your blood pressure. When the brain has an area that isn't receiving oxygen, it raises your systemic blood pressure to squeeze more blood (oxygen) into the affected area. If you lower the blood pressure, you are possibly starving that area of oxygen. This quickens cell death. We dont lower bp unless it is insanely high, then we do it cautiously.

maybe there are new studies that I'm not aware of, but that is what we are being told by our regions level 1 stroke centers. ymmv

eta. if you are taking it just to lower blood pressure, then it's a great alternative to try, I would just advise caution if you are experiencing stroke symptoms.

 

[summerthyme]

Snettrecker... I hear you, but while cayenne does work somewhat as a vasodilator, it works on strokes (and heart attacks) by actually dissolving the clots. While it's true that it's impossible to know *for sure* if a stroke is being caused by a brain bleed or clot, unless I'm badly mistaken, the clot type stroke is much more common.

Also, wouldn't a brain bleed cause a severe headache?

In the people I know who have used cayenne for stroke symptoms, they all said they experienced improvement within minutes (under 10) While everyone must make their own decisions, I personally would use it- at least in part because we're far enough out in the boonies that getting to medical help in time to prevent major permanent deficits is a problem.

But it's absolutely true that nothing is 100% safe...

Summerthyme

 

[dhelman47]

you can buy cayenne pepper in pill form. It is as high as 100,000 hu to as low as 450. Would it help to take some daily as a preventitive measure?

 

[Reborn]

You can also buy some good liquid cayenne tincture. I've got a 90,000 and a 10,000 (scoville units) that I bought online.

 

[summerthyme]

I don't know about taking it daily, unless you have a propensity for clots. In that case, I'd think maybe 2-3 drops (it's POTENT) once a day might be useful. Hubby uses it for Reynauds' Syndrome... he's gotten enough worse that the Ginko Biloba isn't enough on the really bitter days. Cayenne keeps his blood vessels in his hands and feet from going into spasm, and keep the circulation going. He actually had frostbite on fingertips before taking it, because the blood flow was so poor. He only takes 3 drops in his morning coffee...

Summerthyme

 

[thumper]

As an immediate response to a stroke, would it be advisabe to also use an asprin under the tongue? Perhaps alternating asprin and cayenne?

 

[summerthyme]

Well, for sure, the aspirin is the "official" standard treatment for heart attack or stroke. Don't they recommend chewing one up if you're having symptoms? I don't see any reason to not combine the two... you probably are going to get more of a blood thinning/clot busting effect, and if you are having a brain bleed, rather than a clot, it could make things worse.

Summerthyme

 

[jed turtle]

the wife and i both take our own capsules (size 00 ) we fill ourselves with 90,000 heat unit cayenne. she takes it to eliminate vericose veins (she picked that up from a book called "Be Your Own Doctor" by a mennonite woman), and i finally started taking 1 capsule a day (with cereal and milk at breakfast) after having an "event" the day before last new years eve. no problems since.
last september, my elderly folks were visiting us before heading home to FL and my dad had a stroke at the dinner table. we prayed over him immediately then broke open a capsule and had my mom rub the contents on his gums. 2 hrs later, at the intensive care unit, where they still hadn't given him any medication, he was fully recovered and cracking jokes with the doctors and nurses...
they decided to put a pacemaker in him just to be on the safe side. and adjust his many medications... he's had a heart attack (at 42), two triple bypasses, a stroke 15 yrs ago, and now he's just turned 89.
i'm 62 and i don't take any medications, just the usual natural vitamins, minerals, and supplements (fish oil, vit D3 in winter)
and astragulus during tick season to upgrade the immune system, as i come into contact with ticks on a regular basis.