Stimulates the functional activity of all organs, increasing the nervous
and vascular activity. The drinking of coffee by the aged is likely to increase production
of uric acid, causing irritation of kidneys; muscle and joint pains, and with the increased
susceptibility of old people to the stimulating action of coffee and tea, their use should
be curtailed or carefully watched. Great nervous agitation and restlessness. Extreme
sensitiveness characterizes this remedy. Neuralgia in various parts; always with great
nervous excitability and intolerance of pain, driving to
despair. Unusual activity of mind and body. Bad effects
of sudden emotions, surprises, joy, etc. Nervous palpitation. Coffea is specially suited to
tall, lean, stooping persons with dark complexions, temperament choleric and sanguine. Skin
hypersensitive.
Mind.–
Gaiety, easy comprehension, irritability, excited;
senses acute. Impressionable, especially to pleasurable impressions. Full of ideas, quick to
act. Tossing about in anguish (Acon).
Head.–
Tight pain, worse from noise, smell, narcotics. Seems as if brain were torn to pieces, as if nail were driven in head. Worse
in open air. Sensitive hearing.
Face.–
Dry heat, with red cheeks. Prosopalgia extending to
molar teeth, ears, forehead, and scalp.
Mouth.–
Toothache; temporarily relieved by holding ice-water
in the mouth (Mangan opposite). Hasty eating and
drinking. Delicate taste.
Stomach.–
Excessive hunger. Intolerance of tight clothing.
After wine and liquor.
Female.–
Menses too early and long lasting. Dysmenorrhœa,
large clots of black blood. Hypersensitive vulva and vagina.
Voluptuous itching.
Sleep.–
Wakeful; on a constant move. Sleeps till 3 am, after
which only dozing. Wakes with a start, sleep disturbed by dreams. Sleepless,
on account mental activity; flow of ideas, with nervous excitability. Disturbed
by itching of anus.
Respiratory.–
Short, dry cough of measles in nervous, delicate
children.
Heart.–
Violent irregular palpitation especially after
excessive joy or surprise. Rapid high tension pulse and urinary suppression.
Extremities.–
Crural neuralgia; worse, motion, afternoon and
night; better, by pressure.
Modalities.–
Worse,
excessive emotions (joy), narcotics, strong odors, noise, open air, cold, night. Better, warmth, from lying down; holding ice in mouth.
Relationship.–
Incompatible: Camph;
Coccul. Complementary: Acon.Compare: Coffea tosta (Roasting
develops certain vitamin-like substances (P. T. Mattei). Pigeons which have developed
“deficiency” neuritis and paralysis on diet of polished rice lost their
disabilities on the addition of 8 cc to a 5 % infusion of coffee to their food. Unroasted
coffee was useless). Caffeine.–(A crystalline
alkaloid-is a direct heart stimulant and diuretic. Dropsy depending on cardiac
insufficiency. Myocardial degeneration. Cardiac insufficiency in pneumonia and other
infectious diseases. Raises the blood pressure, increases pulse rate and stimulates the
heart muscle; hence, a support in extreme feebleness or threatened failure. Stimulates the
respiratory center, nerve centers and increases diuresis.
One of the best stimulants of the vaso-motor centers. Acute pulmonary œdema. Brachialgia
and other neuralgias characterized by nocturnal exacerbations.
Jousset uses equal parts of caffeine and sachar lac. 3 grains taken in divided doses every
other day. Hypodermically, 1/4 grain. Excruciating facial neuralgia from decayed teeth); Acon; Cham; Nux; Cyp; Caffeine and plants containing it, as Kola, Thea, etc.Strong black coffee, drunk as hot as possible, is indispensable as an
antidote in a large number of poisons, especially narcotics. Hot coffee by rectum in cases
of extreme collapse.Antidotes: Nux; Tabac.
Dose.–
Third to two hundredth potency.
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