 We've never really talked about it, have we? I mean, I have mentioned Arnica in more than 35 previous articles, (too many to list here, go here or here and search “Arnica” if you would like to read those, or you can keep reading and I have linked to separate articles), but I haven’t really talked about Arnica specifically. I have always just sort of assumed that everybody reading Ruminating on Remedies already had a general grasp of Arnica. Maybe not, though. With that, let’s take a look at what is considered to be the “gateway” homeopathic remedy. Before it was made into a homeopathic remedy, it was used herbally. I remember Arnica being taught to me as a plant that was in a useful place — hikers would be tired and sore after climbing in the mountains and there sits the answer to their troubles, right at their sore feet. Excerpted from Encylopedia of Herbal Medicine (Chevallier 2000, p 172): Arnica montana, also known as Leopard’s Bane, grows in the mountain woods and pastures. It has been used extensively in European folk medicine and is an effective ointment and compress for bruises, sprains and muscle pain and improves the local blood supply and speeds healing. It is anti-inflammatory and increases the rate of reabsorption of internal bleeding. Generally the plant is now taken internally only as a homeopathic dilution, principally for shock, injury and pain. If taken as a decoction or tincture… it can be toxic even at low dosage and thus is rarely used in this way.  Interestingly, to me, Arnica often looks a little bedraggled in the photos… A little bent and rough around the edges and I think that is very fitting for this remedy. It looks like the Arnica plant could actually use a little bit of homeopathic Arnica itself.😄 “Due to the toxicity of the sesquiterpene lactones it contains, oral use of arnica must be avoided altogether” (Hoffman 2003, p 530). “The homeopathic preparation is entirely safe to take internally, especially when used according to homeopathic directions”(Hoffmann 2003, p 529). Let’s turn to the repertory. I have to say that repertory software makes searching all this so much easier and even more fun! (Look for an upcoming “Quickie” on software👀.) I searched for Arnica and level 4 symptoms, from Dr. Murphy:
A. L. Blackwood (2016) in A Manual of Materia Medica, Therapeutics and Pharmacology (originally published in 1906) says, “The [homeopathic] remedy is indicated following mechanical injuries, strains and wrenching of muscles, in hemorrhages from injuries, injuries of the soft parts that accompany fractures, and bruises, and ecchymosis, and in concussions of the spine and brain, and in inflammation of the skin and cellular tissues, with extreme tenderness to pressure.” Well, that sums up a lot of situations, actually. No wonder it’s the first remedy to think of following an injury. “… when the patient feels as if bruised all over, and everything upon which he lies feels too hard, compelling him to change his position on this account.” INJURIES: Now there’s a big topic… Sprains. Strains. Contusions. Fractures. Overuse injuries. Concussions. Dislocations. Guess what? Arnica would most likely be helpful in all these situations. Why? If for no other reason than they are all painful. Going back to 1855 to Dr. William Helmuth’s Surgery and Its Adaptation into Homoeopathic Practice: “Arnica is useful in all cases and ages to allay the extreme sensibility of the whole body, the general restlessness and intense pain in the seat of injury.” Let’s look again to Dr. Murphy to see where Arnica really shines —pain— using both level 3 & 4 rubrics:
BRUISING - also known as ECCHYMOSIS — is superficial bleeding under the skin or a mucous membrane; a bruise (Venes 2017). Arnica is the only level 4 remedy for skin, ecchymosis in Murphy. (Symphytum is the exception here, level 4 specific for eye injuries — black eyes — but I digress.) Bruising results when blood vessels (external or internal) are broken but the tissue surfaces remain intact (Venes 2017). As we saw above, Arnica in herbal form is known to increase the rate of reabsorption of internal bleeding and it does so also in homeopathic form. If I had a nickel for every time I have heard about an injury that looked like it was going to end up with an enormous bruise only to have disappeared to nearly nothing after taking Arnica… “Sore, lame, bruised feeling all through the body, as if beaten” (Allen). Feels as if been hit by a bus is another way of saying that. Another keynote of Arnica is they feel the bed seems too hard. Not only does the bed just seem hard, Arnica is useful for bed sores. Another injury, actually, in a strange sort of way — a localized injury, a sore, to the skin or the underlying tissue. What else to look for which may strongly indicate Arnica? They say they are fine… “nothing is wrong with me” when there is clearly something wrong with them. (rubric: Mind - IRRITABILITY, general - sends the doctor home, says he is not sick; Mind - REFUSES, general - treatment, every - very sick, in spite of being.) Massimo Mangialavori (et al. 2025) has a new book, Arnica and Similar Remedies. He takes the understanding of Arnica well beyond the gateway to homeopathy remedy for injuries. In Mangialavori’s Suggesta repertory (accessed through Radar Opus software), he shows a level 3 rubric: APATHY, INDIFFERENCE - anosognosia**, thinking that he is not ill. Back to his new book, Arnica & Similar Remedies (2025, p 4): Arnica tends to have a phobia about being sick. In fact, he is one of the most hypochondriacal remedies in the materia medica — and so he does not ‘allow’ himself to be ill… the revelation that he is susceptible is profoundly disturbing.” Prompted by Mangialavori, let’s return to Murphy and see what comes up for the mind rubrics with Arnica (again, using just levels 3 & 4):
SUMMING IT ALL UP: Jo Evans’ Asteraceae: remedies of the sunflower family (2020, p 11) gives us a nice little list of where Arnica is helpful — here are some standouts:
Arnica is without question my number one homeopathic remedy that I would not be without and now you know why. Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits Reference list
Allen, H. C., n.d. Keynotes and Characteristics. accessed through Radar Opus software. BLACKWOOD, A. L., 2016. A Manual of Materia Medica Theraoeutics and Pharmacology. accessed through Radar Opus software. B. Jain Publishing. Burt, W. H., 1896. Physiological Materia Medica, Containing All that is Known of the Physiological Action of Our Remedies. accessed through Radar Opus software. Chevallier, A., 2000. Natural health encyclopedia of herbal medicine. New York: Dk Pub. Inc. Evans, J., 2020. Asteraceae: remedies of the sunflower family. Harlem, NL: Emryss. Hellmuth, W. T., n.d. Surgery and Its Adaptation into Homoeopathic Practice. accessed through Radar Opus software. Hoffmann, D., 2003. Medical herbalism: The science and practice of herbal medicine. Healing Arts Press. KNERR, C., 2022. REPERTORY OF HERING’S GUIDING SYMPTOMS OF OUR MATERIA MEDICA. accessed through Radar Opus software. Mangialavori, M., n.d. Suggesta. accessed through Radar Opus software. Mangialavori, M., Heron, K., Sobraske, J. and Wood, B., 2025. Arnica & Similar Remedies. Independently Published. Murphy, R., 2006. Nature’s materia medica : 1,400 homeopathic and herbal remedies. accessed through Radar Opus software. Blackburg, Va.: Lotus Health Institute, November. Venes, D., 2017. Taber’s cyclopedic medical dictionary. Kindle. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company.
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 Head injuries can encompass many things: concussion, skull fractures, contusions, subdural hematomas, scalp wounds, or even injuries to the underlying tissues and blood vessels in the head. For this article, we’re going to address those head injuries which involve a real whack to the noggin (or, not, as it turns out!), generally resulting in a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or mTBI (mild traumatic brain injury). When I was a kid, you would hit your head and that was the end of that. Unless you hit it so hard you got a concussion — that got the parents’ attention. Turns out a concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury (Mayo Clinic 2022). And, it also turns out you don’t have to hit your head all that hard (if at all!) to get a concussion/brain injury. How could you get a concussion without hitting your head? Anything that can cause the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth… Sudden stops like car crashes, violent shaking, contact sports, even blast injuries (McKee and Robinson 2014). (I’m beginning to understand, all these years later, that a head injury is a head injury and probably shouldn’t be dismissed too easily.) How do you know if you or your child has suffered a concussion? John Hopkins Medicine tells us to look for:
What to do if you or your child suffers a mild concussion? Specific treatment will be determined by your doctor, but generally speaking may include:
How can homeopathy help? First Aid with Homeopathy (Ratera 2016, p. 199) talks about the “usefulness of homeopathic remedies as adjuvant to necessary conventional measures.” In case you didn’t already know, homeopathy works so well alongside conventional medicine! There are two major go-to homeopathic remedies for head injuries: Arnica and Natrum sulphuricum. Every book I looked in for homeopathic remedies for head injuries lists Arnica as the first remedy to use. Why? Number one, Arnica is pretty much the first remedy for any injury. Number two… well, it’s Arnica! So good for so many things!! Let’s see how Arnica and Nat sulph stack up in the following head injury rubrics†:  One might think looking at these two brief comparisons of the remedies* that Nat sulph would be the go-to remedy for a head injury. However, look a little closer… most of the rubrics say, “after.”
E.A. Farringon (2018, p 270-271) says, “Arnica is applicable to both the acute and the chronic effects of injuries. The acute injuries for which it is useful are the following: simple bruises… concussions of the brain or spine or of both. We have no remedy which equals Arnica in these last-named cases. Even compression of the brain comes within the range of Arnica, whether this compression be the result of a displaced fragment of bone in cranial fracture, or the result of effusion of blood within the cranial cavity. Arnica can not, of course, cure in the former of these cases; an operation is demanded in order to obtain permanent relief.” Richard Pitt (2015, p. 48) says, “as we know, all injuries basically start with Arnica. It fits the nature of so many injuries, especially at the beginning of an injury, but also very much for chronic consequences of injuries.” This is an important point in differentiating Arnica and Nat sulph. To sum it up too neatly, Arnica is more indicated immediately after the head injury and Nat sulph would come in later as a clean up crew. However, that’s not exactly true; there are more nuances to it, of course. But, it’s a good place to start. Let’s keep looking… (It is true that most home users of homeopathy have Arnica at hand — it is, after all, known as “the gateway” homeopathic remedy because it has such a huge range of uses in treating so many conditions, especially as related to trauma, injuries and surgeries. Arnica is included in virtually every basic homeopathic remedy kit.) Some of the keynotes of Arnica (Morrison 1993):
Some more Arnica keynotes from Morrison’s new book, Clinically Verified Materia Medica, Volume 1‡ (2025):
To clarify further on Arnica from Dr. Morrison’s new book (2025, p. 186), the “trauma created various defensive reactions — the first of which is denial… immediately declaring, ‘I’m fine.’… Other patients said that they were unable to ask for or accept help no matter how dire the circumstance… patients stated a need to remain in control by which they meant to hide or minimize the trauma.” Natrum sulphuricum keynotes (Morrison 1993‡):
Dr. Ratera (2016) says of Nat sulph: “Consequences of head trauma: vertigo, absences, blindness, coma, concussion, convulsions, headache, dullness, madness, sadness, suicidal thoughts, and memory loss.” (The key word to me, here, is “consequences.”) “Often, people who have suffered head injuries present immediately or after some time, with headaches, dizziness, memory loss, bouts of distraction, absences or epileptiform (brain activity that resembles that of epilepsy) seizures, and other disorders of concentration. These disorders can become chronic and be extremely annoying” — Nat sulph is his answer. But, once again, it’s not as clear cut as recent head trauma = Arnica and lingering effects of head trauma = Nat sulph. (That would be too easy!) Arnica, too, can be very helpful way down the road for old head traumas. (A quick search of “Arnica” and “ailments from” in Radar Opus software shows: “Head - injuries, head, blows, etc - ailments, after” and there sits Arnica in bold type. Nat sulph is there, too, in bold underline.) Back to Farrington (2018, p. 271), “In the chronic effects of injury we may use Arnica when diseases (which may even be entirely foreign in their appearance to the ordinary symptomatology of the drug) may be traced to a traumatic origin. No matter what that disease may be whether of the brain, eyes, lungs or nerves, if the injury is the exciting cause, the administration of Arnica is proper.” (See? not so clear cut, right?) So, what does Dr. Farrington (2018, p. 849) have to say about Nat sulph? “In the chronic effects of injury, especially to the head, Natrium sulph is almost indispensable.” … But, then again, it is as simple as what I wrote earlier. If you have hit your head, start with Arnica. If there are lingering effects of that head injury and Arnica isn’t taking care of business, swap to Nat sulph. … and, if years down the line you think, “you know, I haven’t felt right ever since I hit my head,” give Arnica a try. If you readily take part in “brain rattling” activities, you might want to keep both Arnica and Nat sulph handy. Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits Arnica and Nat sulph are not the only two well-indicated remedies for head injuries — they are just the most commonly available and well known remedies for head injuries. To read further on homeopathic head injury remedies, consider subscribing to Ruminating on Remedies: Digging Deeper. The first of the next two head injury comparisons will be out in the next week (or so). *Homeopathic repertories are laid out giving a number for each remedy and how well indicated that remedy is for the specific rubric. In Murphy, 4 is the highest (most well-indicated) remedy. **Be certain to seek medical assistance in these conditions! †All the remedies listed in these rubrics (sometimes a couple, sometimes dozens) are all potentially appropriately indicated — it’s just that some are more strongly indicated in a stand-alone rubric. For today, we are just comparing Arnica and Nat sulph. However, it’s important to remember that the right remedy in a case is the right remedy, regardless of how strongly indicated the remedy may be. Homeopathy is so full of nuance and minutiae! ‡This is a bit unfair to Nat sulph as volume 1 stops at Euphrasia! I wish I had the other volumes but they have yet to be published! |
Julia Coyte, CHomI am passionate about homeopathy and I love sharing this passion. Having a working knowledge of homeopathy shouldn't be kept a secret. If people have the ability to help themselves, their children and their friends when they have minor ailments, life just gets better for everyone. That is the purpose behind Ruminating on Remedies. Archives
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