Arnica montana
The premier trauma and injury remedy. Bruised, sore feeling throughout the body. Says they are well when they are not. Fears being touched or approached. Bed feels too hard.
Source
Prepared from the whole fresh plant of Arnica montana (Asteraceae), including root, at the beginning of flowering.
Available Potencies
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Keynote Symptoms
Traumatic injuries, bruises, sprains, overexertion. Bed feels too hard, body feels bruised and sore. Says he is well, refuses help, sends the doctor away. Fear of being touched or approached. Head hot, body cold. Everything on which he lies feels too hard.
Mind & Emotional Symptoms
Says there is nothing the matter, refuses medical attention, sends the doctor home. Fear of being touched or approached. Absent-minded, forgetful. Morose, wants to be let alone. Nervous, cannot bear pain. Horrors in the night. Indifferent, apathetic.
General Symptoms
Bruised, sore, lame feeling all over. Worse from touch, motion, rest, damp cold. Better from lying down (but bed feels too hard), lying with head low. Offensive discharges — breath, sweat, stool, flatus. Head hot, body cold. Ecchymoses from injuries or spontaneous.
Physical Symptoms
Head
Hot, with cold body. Meningeal haemorrhage. Concussion. Confused, heavy. Scalp feels contracted.
Eyes
Bruised, sore feeling. Black eye from injury. Retinal haemorrhage. Diplopia from trauma.
Face
Sunken, looks as if bruised. Red, hot. Herpes on the face. Swollen lower lip.
Mouth
Fetid breath. Dry, thirsty. Bitter taste. Sordes on teeth.
Stomach
Longing for vinegar. Appetite lost. Aversion to meat, broth. Eructations foul, like rotten eggs. Nausea, retching.
Abdomen
Stitching pain in spleen. Colic with flatulence. Distended. Offensive flatus.
Rectum
Offensive, involuntary stool at night during sleep. Brown, bloody. Straining.
Female Genitalia
Bruised parts after labour. Sore nipples. Threatened miscarriage from a fall or injury. Uterine haemorrhage from mechanical injury.
Respiratory
Cough from crying in children. Whooping cough with bloody expectoration. Dyspnoea with stitches.
Chest
Angina pectoris: stitches in heart, left arm numb. Bruised pain in ribs. Sore, bruised feeling in chest walls.
Back
Bruised, sore. Spinal injuries. Everything on which he lies feels too hard.
Extremities
Bruised, sore, aching. Gout. Limbs ache as if beaten. Cannot walk erect from soreness.
Skin
Ecchymoses, black and blue marks. Crops of boils. Bedsores. Symmetrical eruptions.
Sleep & Dreams
Sleepless from overexertion. Bed feels too hard, tosses about to find a soft spot. Horrors in the night.
Modalities
Better From
Lying down, lying with head low, contact (paradoxically may want pressure despite fearing touch)
Worse From
Touch, motion, rest, wine, damp cold, injuries, overexertion, jarring, sprains
Constitutional Type
Plethoric, red-faced, robust individuals. Hypochondriacal, nervous types who deny illness. Those who overexert physically.
Clinical Indications
Injuries, bruises, sprains, contusions, concussion, pre- and post-surgical care, overexertion, gout, boils, black eye, dental surgery recovery, labour pain
Comparative Materia Medica
Rhus tox is better from motion while Arnica is worse. Bellis perennis is for deeper tissue bruising (pelvic, abdominal). Hypericum for injuries to nerve-rich areas. Ruta for injuries to periosteum and tendons.
Safety Information
Camphor, Ipecacuanha, Ignatia. Coffee may reduce effects.
The whole plant is moderately toxic, causing GI irritation, tachycardia, and nervous symptoms. Mother tincture should not be applied to broken skin. Potentised forms are safe.
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