American Materia Medica, Therapeutics and Pharmacognosy

often when other remedies fail. It acts in perfect harmony with belladonna
and strychnine in such cases.
Its diuretic influence has rendered it an important remedy in many
cases of dropsy, the entire train of symptoms being quickly and
satisfactorily relieved with its use. In those cases where the heart seems
feeble and irregular in its action, its power and strength has increased
and a cure resulted.
It increases the appetite actively, and improves digestion and
assimilation to a satisfactory extent with a large percentage of the
patients taking it, and may be given for this purpose in gastric atonicity.
In some cases, in which the author has prescribed it, the agent has
induced an almost inordinate appetite. It stimulates the entire function
of digestion, in certain cases, to a satisfactory degree, correcting torpidity
and functional inactivity of the glandular organs of the entire intestinal
tract, increasing the peristaltic action of the intestines, overcoming
constipation, and inducing normal and satisfactory bowel movement. It
is curative in intestinal catarrh and in hemorrhoids.
Dr. Sherman, of Ohio, confirms the statements I have made, in previous
editions of this work, concerning the influence of kava-kava upon the
stomach and digestive apparatus, which I first observed in 1882, and
adds to that the benefit of his own experience in the treatment of
intestinal indigestion. There is a train of symptoms present when this
condition has been of long standing which is promptly met with kavakava.
He gives the following symptoms as immediately benefited with this
remedy: There is scantiness and irregularity of the flow of urine, the
patient's face looks full, sometimes pale, all the tissues seem to be
slightly edematous, the feet and the legs more so than other tissues. The
tongue is full and pale, the bowels regular or slightly constipated, with
loss of appetite, and poor gastric or gastro-intestinal digestion. The
patient feels languid, claims that he must force himself to do anything,
and presents many of the appearances of Bright's disease, and yet the
analysis of urine fails to find evidences of that disease. If this patient be
put upon kava-kava, from twenty to thirty drops in water, four times a day,
an improvement of all of the symptoms will be observed within the course
of perhaps ten days. This improvement will continue until the patient is
restored to perfect health.
Ellingwood’s American Materia Medica, Therapeutics and Pharmacognosy - Page 349