Arnica Tablets

[flower1988]

After the birth .... do they actually help? I don't know whether to go and buy any or not so was wondering if anyone can shed any light on them - is it all a myth??!

Yes and the cream is fab too!

yes yes yes - start takingthem straight away afterwards

midwives were astounded at how quickly I healed

worked for me and dh tried them when he had his 2nd lot of wisdom teeth out and def said how much less painful it was.

Best to start taking them before you go into labour IME, although that's not always possible I know.

they didn't work for me when i had my c-section, and i had some incredible bruising - sorry.

Make sure you get actual Arnica tablets or cream. Homeopathic Arnica does not contain ANY arnica (it's unlikely to contain a single molecule) so the stuff often sold in kits to pregnant women is not actually Arnica!

Dammit, I bought some homeopathic arnica, thinking that was the right stuff - where can you get non-homeopathic arnica?

worked for me, but in my experience as it is speeding up the healing process and bringing out the bruising it often makes things a little more sore in the first instance, however this is worht putting up with as you feel better a lot quicker

I got arnica 10% solution from local chemist, next to the castor oil and other uncool stuff. Cost about £1.50. Seemed to help on the huge bruise on my thigh.

Loads of people I knew seemed to be trying to offload the homeopathic sugar pills having been given them...

Local chemists or health food stores will usually have it. Check to see that it has active ingredients - it should give a percentage of arnica in the preparation if its a gel/cream.

I hate how much the homeopathic kits are pushed at pregnant women, without any explanation of homeopathy and that none of the preparations will probably contain a single molecule of whatever ingredient is on the label! Those kits are expensive too!

If you believe in homeopathy, then it's your choice, but most people haven't got a clue and assume the preparations contain, e.g. arnica!

I bought the homeopathy pills by mistake and I didn't realise until I read the instructions that said not to touch the pills with your hands (will that stop the magic from working?). They did precisely sod all but that's to be expected from sugar sweets. This time I will make sure I get the real stuff!

Not touching the pill is part of the "magic" of making think they'll do something - just like how doctors hundreds of years ago might have said "take this by the light of the moon and it'll work better". Touching a sugar pill could only mean you get sugar on your fingers if you hold them long enough so they dissolve.

you see Im confused now too??? I bought some Arnica pills from Boots a while back and have had them packed in my bag ready for my section (2 days ARGH!) Anyway, from reading this Im thinking I've got the wrong ones too? Just the sugar things? Where do you get full on arnica from and how do you know? Any advice? Ive only 2 days to get some! Thanks

Right, thanks everyone. I am off to Holland and Barrett tomorrow will get some - along with my Raspberry leaf tea (sick of having a bump and no baby!!!) x

Just so everyone who is looking for 'real tablets' is aware, arnica as a tablet is solely a homeopathic remedy. Real arnica is a poisonous plant and should not be taken internally. You will not find arnica in oral form with an active ingredient in unless you go to a very specialised herbalist who knows exactly what they are doing. The poison is particularly potent in pregnant women, so even if you find a herbalist ready to use arnica they would not use it in a pregnant or breastfeeding woman.

If you are going to take arnica, you are going to be taking sugar pills. That's what arnica is!

backinthebox cheers, I was starting to get very muddled (blonde and pregnant is a bad combination!) and I was sure arnica was a poisonous plant that you shouldn't eat except in the pills. Boots sell them in different strengths so I am guessing they will be the ones to have?

Oops, yes, sorry, I've only ever used the topical cream so wasn't previously aware that it isn't available in tablet form for a very good reason!

Hevster - the Boots Arnica "tablets" in different "strengths" are all homeopathic. The number, e.g. 6C, 30C, is a measure of how dilute the homeopathic preparation is. One of the key principles of homeopathy is that homeopaths belive that the more they dilute their preparations, the more they will work - which is obviously the opposite to normal medicine/chemistry. So actually those "strengths" are weaknesses.

Check with a doctor or midwife before applying gel near/on a cut/tear - it's supposed to be used on bruised but unbroken skin afaik.

Thanks so much backinthebox! I, like Hevster, am blonde and pregnant and was getting a tad confused with it all I will stick with my nelsons arnica pills that I bought in Boots. Anything worth a shot I think.

Well, let's put it like this; unless you are allergic to sugar, they can't do any harm! I know they have nothing but sugar in them, but I'll be taking them anyway.

homeopathy categorically does not work. Any benefit derived is coincidental, or due to a placebo effect.

Don't take my word for it, if you are interested read:

www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/pdf/SenseAboutHomeopathy.pdf

Or Simon Singh's book "Trick or Treatment" about complementary therapies, in which he reviews all of the available evidence about numerous complementary therapies and concludes that some work (e.g. accupuncture) and some just don't, e.g. homeopathy!

Homeopathy is complete rubbish - don't waste your money.