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?

3 answers to “What type of Arnica works best?”

A: Arnica Montana is Essential for Procedures: Bruisestick Arnica Montana

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD

Bruising after a procedure can be minimized by standardized Arnica montana.  Pellets purchased in a grocery store or health food store are often not standardized. I recommend Bruisestick to my patients.  It is standardized and safely applied to the skin surface.  Bruisekare is also appropriate,... more

A: Arnica: Which Brand Is Best For Surgery: BruiseKare

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD

Arnica is effective for the reduction of bruising, edema, and inflammation associated with surgery. In our clinical experience, we have found the most effective brand of Arnica montana to be the Bruisekare brand available in a standardized chewable tablet that is taken three times daily before and after... more

A: Arnica montana pellets are more effective than arnica gel or cream

Laurie Polis, MD

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... more

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Michael Sinclair MD
141 posts
22 May 2008

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.

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