• Hot head with cold body; icy coldness of the nose.
• Putrid foul discharges
• Ribbon-like stools due to enlarged prostate or retroverted uterus
• Fears being struck by those coming near him

Source: Vegetable kingdom

Synonyms: Leopard’s bane, Mountain tobacco

Family: Compositae

Prover: Dr. Hahnemann in 1805

Duration of Action: 6 to 10 days

Miasmatic Background: Psora

Temperament: Nervous

Diathesis: Haemorrhagic

Thermal Relationship: Very chilly patient

Introduction and History: It is popularly known as the injury remedy. Arnica is the king of traumatic remedies. It is very well known to the world since ancient times. This drug is very beneficial in the most severe wounds; by bullets and blunt weapons; also trauma and injuries due to falls. The name ‘arnica’ is derived from the Latin word which means lambskin – the appearance of it’s leaves is like a lambskin that is, wooly; montana means mountains, from the place where it grows.

Habit and Habitat: It is found in Europe, Russia and Siberia. It is a perennial creeping plant. Roots are 2-5 cms long and 5 mm thick. Stem is 25-30 cms in length. The stem and leaves are hairy. Flowers are yellowish in colour.

Preparation and Parts Used: The whole plant is used in the preparation of the mother tincture. Higher potencies are prepared from the mother tincture.

Constitution and Physiognomy: It is best suited to nervous, sanguine, plethoric persons with a very red face. Persons remain long impressed even by slightest mechanical injury.

Ailments From: Fall or blow, mechanical injury, inhaling charcoal vapours, anger, fright, confusion, doing hard work, from spirituous liquors, etc.

Seat of Action (Pharmacodynamics): Blood vessels and capillaries, muscles, blood, nerves, hair, skin, digestive organs, etc.

Active Principles (Chemical Constituents): The main alkaloid is arnicin which is bitter in taste and acrid, having a yellowish colour. It also contains arnicinic acid, tannin and insulin, betaine, cnoline, scopoletin, eupatofolin and arnifolin.

Physiological Action: Arnica probably has some direct action on the heart and blood. It is also said to be the ‘homeopathic asprine’, as it helps in stopping platelet aggregation. Hence, it can be used in thrombosis.

1. Arnica is an irritant, stimulant, depressant, antipyretic, diuretic and vulnerary.
2. It irritates the gastrointestinal tract.
3. In some cases the alcoholic preparation of the flowers has excited the erysipelatous fly which sometimes infests the blossoms. Small doses internally increase the action of the heart, raise arterial tension and stimulate the action of the skin and kidneys.
4. In large doses, Arnica produces a transient excitement followed by depression of circulation, respiration and nerve centers.
5. It has produced headache, unconsciousness and even convulsions with lowering of body temperature, dilatation of pupils and muscular paresis. A poisonous dose paralyses the sympathetic nervous system, causing collapse and death.
6. It acts upon venous capillaries and stimulates the absorption of exudates at the site of blunt injury.
7. It also stimulates the terminal ends of sensory and motor nerves, and muscular fibres at the junction of tendons, and may result in paresis and myalgia.
8. It also acts on cardio inhibitory centers, serous membranes and skin.

Physio-pathological Changes (Pathology)

1. It acts on the cerebrospinal nervous system. It acts on the skin producing vesicular and erysipelatous inflammation.
2. It acts on the venous system and stimulates absorption of extravasated blood and prevents sepsis, thus helping in the part to recover.
3. It acts on the muscular system and tendons producing paresis and myalgia.
4. It acts on digestive organs and produces gastrointestinal inflammation.
5. It acts on serous membranes and produces inflammation with effusion.
6. It acts on circulation and accelerates it with high temperature.
7. Due to its action on blood, it produces haemorrhage and anaemia.

Characteristic Mental Symptoms (Psychology)

1. Patient is forgetful and absentminded.
2. Patient is in a state of consciousness, delirium and stupor but the patient answers correctly when arosed and then again relapses.
3. Fear of being touched or struck by people coming towards him.
4. Low muttering type of delirium; patient is irritable, sad and despondent.
5. Feels he is all right and nothing has happened to him.
6. Wants to be alone, greatly depressed and gloomy.
7. Patient is fearful, easily frightened.

Characteristic Physical Guiding Symptoms

Soreness: Sore, lame, bruised feeling is very characteristic. Great soreness of the back muscles and joints. Bruised feeling all over the body as if beaten.

Oversensitiveness: Everything seems to be hard on which he lies. Whole body is oversensitive to touch. Fear of being approached or touched.

Haemorrhage: Haemorrhage from injury of any part of the body. When capillaries and small vessels are involved there is bleeding of external and internal parts.

Prostration: General prostration; progressive weakness.

Putridity: Putridity, sepsis and offensiveness are very well marked, Stools are foetid with dark blood.

Relaxation: Bladder and bowels are relaxed that is why involuntary urination and evacuation takes place.

Hot and cold: The head is hot but the body is cold.

Constipation: Rectum is loaded, stool will not come out, ribbon-like stool.

Hairfall: Local application of Arnica helps to grow and check hairfall.

Boils: Tendency for small painful boils, one after the other.

Injury: Arnica is very useful in cases of recent and remote injuries.

Gases: Belching and eructations, smell like rotten eggs; gases pass up and down.

Important Characteristic Features

Injury: Arnica is very useful when the injury is from blunt instruments, falls, blow, trauma, contusion, etc. It is also useful for recent or remote mechanical injuries even if received years ago. Sore, lame, bruised feeling all over the body as if beaten. The affected parts become bluish and blackish with extravesation of blood. Very painful and sensitive to touch. Compound fractures with profuse suppuration. Meningitis may occur after mechanical or traumatic injuries. Soreness, swelling, inflammation and paralysis of ocular muscles with diplopia. Haematemesis with a sore, bruised feeling after a blow on the stomach.

Fever: It is generally indicated with the onset of fever, Typhoid fever is slow and gradual; shivering over the whole body. Heat and redness of head with coldness of rest of the body. Sore, lame, bruised feeling all over the body. Internal heat. Feet and hands cold, sweating at night. Everything seems to be hard on which the patient lies. Low muttering type of delirium. Consciousness when spoken to; correctly answers but unconsciousness and delirium return at once. Patient says that there is nothing wrong with him. Profuse thirst in the chilly stage. Pain in muscles. Wants to cover up the body. Sour, offensive sweat, gives no amelioration. Great restlessness. Symptoms aggravate from cold, damp weather, motion and touch. Patient feels better by lying down.

Oversensitive: Extreme sensitiveness runs throughout the remedy; especially felt in the abdominal viscera, in the uterus and pelvic region; sensitiveness to the motion of the foetus; sore and bruised. This oversensitiveness is characterized by soreness. Children have an aversion to being touched, and scream out every time the mother takes hold of the legs or arms. On looking into the history, the soreness is discovered. Chronic cases have soreness of joints and oversensitiveness. Patient does not want to be touched or approached due to extreme sensitiveness.

Abortion: It is a very good remedy for threatened abortion. In cases of shocks, falls, bruises or concussions, a pregnant women should always take Arnica at once, more particularly if she commences to flow, with or without pain, or to have pains without flow. She has a bruised feeling, so that it hurts her to move.

General Modalities

Aggravation: From motion, exertion, rest, touch, damp cold weather, wine and a flowing nose.

Amelioration: Better by lying down and lying with head low, open air, uncovering.

Remedy Relationships

Complementary: Hep, Acon, Ip, Rhus-t, Verat.

Follows well: Ip, Apis, Acon, Verat.

Compare: Bapt, Acon, Bell, Rhus-t, Chin, Pyrog.

Antidotes: Camph, Ferr, Ign.

Comparison

Nose bleeds when washing the face: Am-c, Arn, Mag-c.

Nose bleeds from injury: Acet-ac, Arn.

Cough with rawness and soreness in chest, inability to expectorate: Arn, Caust, Kali-c.

Black eye from injury or cough: Arn, Led, Nux-v.

Ailments from spirituous liquors or charcoal vapours: Arn, Am-c, Bov.

Confusions: Arn, Con, Rhus-t.

Hastens absorption of intraocular haemorrhage: Arn, Calen, Ham.

No desire to pass urine after labour: Arn, Hyos, Op.

Haemorrhage of mechanical origin: Arn, Mill.

Cough after a fall from a height: Arn, Mill.

Potency: 3x, 6x, 12x, 30, 200, 1000.

• In all recent affections it may be given in lower potencies, but for the remote effects of injury we must ascend the region of infinitesimal (Hughes).
• In lower potencies, Arnica is a tonic and stimulant for the depressed, apathetic, rheumatic, gouty, maniacal and melancholic states.
• Higher potencies are found useful in nausea and vomiting with disgust for food, diarrhoea and dysentery.

Repetition

• To be repeated in recent injuries till a favourable response is noticed.
• For injuries long ago, single dose of higher potency, for example, 200c.
• In apoplexy, lower potencies must be repeated for some days.

Therapeutic Value: Abscessess, Apoplexy, Boils, Bronchitis, Diabetes, Dysentery, Fever, Haematemesis, Haematuria, Headache, Heart affections, injury for blunt instrument, Meningitis, Paralysis, Post-partum haemorrhage, Rheumatic fever, Skin diseases, Trauma, Typhoid, Urinary affections.