What type of Arnica works best?
What type of Arnica works the best for bruising after a cosmetic surgery procedure- Arnica Montana, Arnica gel, Arnica tablets, or something else? What makes one type better than another?
Asked by: Shannon from Little Rock, AR
Answers (2)
Arnica montana pellets are more effective than arnica gel or cream
As a cosmetic Dermatologist, I recommend my patients prepare for their filler appointments by beginning 4-5 arnica montana pellets sublingually (under the tongue) every few hours for two days before their appointment, and following again for another two days.
This harmless homeopathic, widely available nontoxic preparation can be easily found in health food stores. It is known to help decrease the potential bruising that can come with filler injections and speed healing.
We also recommend stopping the intake of aspirin-containing compounds for 10 days prior to filler sessions also to decrease bruising. And if the patient is a known "bruiser", we recommend ceasing the intake of extra vitamin E as well as garlic for a week before the injection session.
Arnica also comes in a gel or cream form, which is helpful as well, but not quite as effective as the sublingual pellets.
Does Arnica help with bruising? Which brand of Arnica is best??
SinEcch, made by Alpine Pharmaceuticals, has been studied and found to be more effective than placebo. As far as I know, SinEcch is the only brand of Arnica that has been formally tested and found to be better than placebo.
I have had patients that have tried Arnica Gel made by Boiron and they claim that it helps with bruising.
Having said that, I still find it hard to believe that Arnica products can work at all. Arnica is used in Homeopathic Medicine. I don't claim to know much about Homeopathy, but I do know that many of the products that are recommended are so diluted that not even 1 molecule of the original material remains in the product you are buying, and those highly diluted products are supposed to be stronger than less diluted products. To me, this does not make any sense.
When you buy a product that contains Arnica, you will see some abbreviations, usually a number and a letter.
- The letter X indicates a 10:1 dilution
- The letter C indicates a 100:1 dilution
- The letter M indicates a 1000:1 dilution
That means that if you buy a product that is labeled 30C, the original "mother tincture" (original full strength product) has been diluted 1 part of mother tincture to 99 parts water (or other inert carrier) and this dilution was repeated 30 times in a row!
I have no idea why such a massive dilution, which would not leave even 1 molecule of Arnica in the product, would do anything at all. At least it is not very likely to have any side effects since the product contains none of the active ingredients that it was made from.
I have yet to see any other studies that confirm the effectiveness of Sinecch, but it seems harmless, albeit expensive.
A lot of my patients buy Arnica products at the health food store and feel that they work. Most of them buy Boiron Arnica gel and it is usually less than $10.
Check out more Q+A about Arnica
Is Arnica Montana FDA approved?
Answered by Maria Imbesi, PA-C, Seattle Physician assistant
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