Arnica has a special place in homoeopathy. It is prepared from tobacco grown on the mountains, and has long since been used in the treatment of blunt injuries. To fall and get hurt is common in hilly areas, no wonder that the Gracious God has provided the appropriate remedy right there!
In homoeopathy, Arnica is used in the treatment of new as
well as old injuries. Its main symptom is the clotting of blood (resembling Alumen);
thus, it is an essential ingredient in the treatment of heart diseases. Arnica,
in homoeopathic form, liquefies the clotted blood. Yet, unlike allopathic medicine, it does not make the blood too
thin to clot when needed. In the case of heart
attack, Arnica is given in combination with Lachesis. Lachesis is a
remedy for snake venom, which causes the blood to clot in the arteries
supplying the heart and causes heart attack.
Some snake venoms affect the nervous system instead of the
blood. Naja is one such example. Its venom affects the heart
musculature. Arnica and Lachesis, both
are closely related to the coagulation of blood. They must be given together,
and not one after the other, so that their action does not conflict with each
other. Administration of two to three medicines, together or in sequence,
demands a special skill based on deep knowledge and long experience about the
nature of the medications to be used. I usually give Arnica and Lachesis together
or just one of the two. If the heart attack has been precipitated due to coagulation
of the blood, Arnica will adequately dilute the blood, and re-establish its
flow.
Arnica is the best remedy for accidents and blunt injuries, causing the
injured part to turn blue or black due to the accumulation of clotted blood.
Once, a patient had been badly beaten with a club and his entire body was black
and blue. His condition was critically serious and I thought he would not
survive. I gave him sufficient supply of Arnica and prayed for him. By the next
evening, I was very worried because I had received no information about his
condition..On inquiry, I was told that he had become well enough that
night and he was even up and about by then. Alhamdolillah. part is a
natural response to the physical insult. In Arnica alone, local blood flow is not enhanced and there is no
unusual swelling. In the case of increased swelling, Belladonna or Aconite should
also be administered. This general prescription may be used without any
hesitation or fear of harm. It can simply work to one’s advantage. Arnica works equally well in low as well as high
potencies. However, in deep-established illnesses, it should be administered in
high potency. Once an army officer, Major Mumtaz, slipped off the snowcovered cliff
during military exercises and landed in an abyss 75 feet deep in the Himalayas.
He was seriously hurt with no apparent hope of survival. I gave him Arnica 1000
and Natrum Sulph 1000 twice on the first day and then once a day. By God’s
grace, he recovered astonishingly well.
One of my patients had been badly hurt and his backbone
had also fractured. The doctors told him that he would not survive, if he luckily
survived, he would be bed-ridden or bound to a wheelchair for life. I
prescribed him Arnica, Ruta, Hypericum, Calcarea Phos and Symphytum, all in
potency 30 to be taken 3 to 4 times a day. After some time, he showed up in my
office in London walking on his own, without any support. I failed to recognize
him, although I remembered his face. It was unbelievable to see him walking independently.
He smiled and told me that he had used the homoeopathic prescription suggested
by me and that I had prayed for him, and given him hope. His recovery was
indeed miraculous. Hence, this
prescription is the best remedy in all injuries causing swelling, inflammation,
pain and stiffness. In the first patient, I had also included Natrum Sulph
1000, which in my opinion is the best for injuries of the nape of the neck.
Over many years of practice, I have found a triad of homoeopathic medicines
that are very effective in the treatment of broken bones. This consists of
Symphytum, Ruta and Calcarea Phos. It virtually doubles the speed of healing of
a broken bone, even when there is a gap due to the loss of bone. The bone starts
growing from both ends of the fracture to fill up the gap.
Apart from physical trauma, Arnica is also very useful for fatigue and discomfort following physical exertion. If the aching is severe, Arnica and Bryonia together will offer sure relief. Arnica
is very
useful in various women’s diseases. At the time of childbirth, unusual straining can
tear apart the pelvic muscles and tissues, resulting in chronic pain. Arnica 1000 given a few days
before childbirth will prevent against such happening. The puerperal sepsis and fever
are very amenable to Sulphur and Pyrogenium.
Prophylactic use of Arnica 1000 will most probably preclude their use or
Arnica can be given also with Sulphur and Bryonia. As a matter of principle, the more medicines are mixed, the less
their individual beneficial affect would be. The medicines similar in action but
not analogous to the illness will lose, rather than gain any beneficial effect.
I personally resort to mixed prescription due to the shortage of time at my
disposal. I have used them over the years and found them uniformly effective in
all the patients. The rigid types of homoeopaths still stick to the practice of
using only one remedy for a particular illness, I do not agree with them. I
would rather advise the use of well-tried and tested combination prescriptions
rather than letting the patient remain untreated and suffer. One, if not more,
of the combinations may happen to be a truly analogous remedy. The Arnica patient does not usually fear
during the day but has nightmares during sleep. The pregnant women feel lower
abdominal pain due to the foetal movements, which intensify as the pregnancy progresses.
At night, the pain being suppressed by sleep expresses itself in the form of
scary dreams. In the case of chronic, deep-seated illnesses, the Arnica patient
may also develop a fear of
death. In Opium, the person experiences such fear irrespective of
the severity of the illness or timing of the day and night. In Arnica, however,
he does not fear much in the absence of severe illness. The bleeding is dark and
smelly. The Arnica patient exhibits the early symptoms of malaria and typhoid
i.e. the body aches. The skin feels raw and uncomfortable and the skin is very
sensitive, even to touch. So are the joint pains of Arnica.
Arnica given in high potency cures the sprain and the strain of theankle effectively. In spite of being given repeatedly, low potency will not be very effective. Even soft bedding feels unbearably hard to Arnica patients. They change side frequently to get relief, but in vain. In Arsenic and Rhus Tox, tossing about in bed is secondary to restlessness.
Arnica resembles other homoeopathic medicines also. Like Belladonna,
the head is warm but the body is cold. The fever suppressed inside the body can
be dangerous. One dose of Arnica high potency will induce gradual warming up of
the body and the suppressed symptoms of the disease will start manifesting
externally and thus give time for the appropriate treatment. In case the
diagnosis is already made, the appropriate analogous remedy can be administered
without the intermediary use of Arnica.
Once, a lady suffered from severe sprain of the ankle and was unable to
walk. She took homoeopathic remedies but at the same time continued massageing
the injured ankle. I gave her Arnica, Bryonia and Causticum and strictly
forbade her from doing massage, because the massage caused recurrent injury to
the tissues. She got better in a week. The other remedies were combined with
Arnica because sometimes it is not a superficial injury, rather some muscle has
also become weak. Bryonia is effective for the deep muscular injuries and is
also a muscle tonic. In Causticum, the muscles are flabby and may predispose to
hernia.
If the symptoms are on the right side, a combination of Arnica, Belladonna
and Bryonia will do the job, while the symptoms on the left side respond better
to a combination of Arnica, Ledum and Lachesis.
Arnica is the best remedy when the joints get twisted and sprained badly
during a fall or an accident. It will offer visible relief in a few hours.When the back
gets sprained or
strained as a result of jerky movements, it can settle down after a
while. Sometimes, it becomes chronic. The previously damaged muscles and ligaments
become weak and stiff or flabby further. Arnica is quite helpful in such a condition;
although it does not have a direct effect on the muscles. Cimicifuga is more appropriate for
deep-seated muscular conditions. If the
backache becomes chronic, initially Arnica should be combined with Bryonia.
However, if the relief is only temporary, Arnica should be combined with Rhus
Tox. Rhus Tox is very effective in deep seated muscular ailments. Rhus Tox is
very beneficial is cases of muscular
paralysis. It strengthens and invigorates the muscles. It is useful
in case of a dilated heart also. In chronic paralyses, it is given along with
Sulphur. Calcarea Carb, being chronic of Sulphur and Rhus Tox, may also be
indicated to prolong their useful effects.
Arnica is very useful in herpes.
The common kind of herpes is related to the nervous weakness or infection. The
other kind is related to venereal diseases and is very resistant to treatment.
Herpes due to nervous weakness responds well to Arnica, which is more effective
when combined with Arsenic and Ledum. The triad of Arsenica, Arsenic and Ledum
offers cure in all kinds of poisonous insects/animal bites. In Arnica, the
inner lining of the gut is as irritable as the skin is in malaria and typhoid.
There is a tendency to bleed
from the ruptured small vessels. If there is bleeding in the vomiting,
stools or sputum and the appropriate analogous remedy cannot be thought of,
Arnica may well be tried. If the disease has advanced, the mucous membranes of
the intestines may disintegrate, leading to offensive smelling, blood mixed stools. The
specific analogous remedy has to be sought after in such a case, since Arnica alone
will not be of much use. The patient of Arnica sometimes presents with the
offensive breath and sweat, smelling like that of Baptisia.
When the disease becomes severe, the Arnica patient, like
that of Arsenic, becomes fearful of death. His head feels warm. He
wants his body to be warmed up but not his head. The Arsenic
patient likes the head to be cooled and the body warmed. Being constantly
cold, the Arsenic patient resembles that of Psorinum, though in
Psorinum, the patient is cold from head to toe. Lachesis is very
useful, especially if the feet are cold after going to sleep. The feet are cold
on and off and not all the time. The excreta or the discharges are not
offensive smelling, unlike Psorinum. The Psorinum patient smells
terrible, and feels intense cold.
Sometimes the skin is covered with ugly-looking, thin
scales like Arsenic. If the scales and scabs smell awful, Arsenic and
Psorinum should be given together. If the fever prolongs, the Arnica patient may
involuntarily pass urine, as well as stools, in their sleep. The urine is deep
coloured and contains blood.
The bladder feels full and tense, the kidneys ache. There is tendency of chills, nausea and vomiting. The stools are
dark and reddish in colour and frequent. The frequency
of stools is associated with severe griping pain in the intestines.
The patient feels progressively weak after every motion and likes to retire. Arnica is a good remedy for whooping cough also. The
child screams before or after the bout of cough. Excessive straining can rupture
the small capillaries and cause them to bleed. If Arnica is not given, the
patient may go blind due to bleeding in the eyes. The whole body feels badly
beaten up due to increased internal pressure.
Arnica is not a cure, but offers sufficient relief of symptoms so that the
serious after-effects of whooping
cough can be minimized. Drosera
is very effective in whooping cough and similar coughs. One dose of potency 30
taken at night, works extraordinarily well.
The Arnica patient is irritable, sad and distressed only during the ailment,
even though he is not of this nature. When the symptoms progress, the pain is
ameliorated and the drowsiness prevails. The mind, however, remains clear. On questioning
the patient will respond clearly. In the heart diseases associated with Arnica,
the heart feels as if squeezed into a vice. The patient’s heart beats out of
fear. The pulse is irregular. The
heartbeat becomes fast in response to physical exertion and exercise, and slows
down with rest. The patient wants to move
to a new place, hoping that he may feel better. Arnica combined with
Bryonia and Iris Tenax is very useful in Appendicitis. Arnica 1000 given prior to a surgery or
childbirth prevents many complications.