When in Doubt: Arnica!

They say it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind.

Well, maybe so. But in this case, it is an experienced homeopath’s prerogative to digest additional information and reassess accordingly!

Continuing education is one of my passions in life. I’m always learning from other homeopaths and, of course, clinical experience. Sometimes, taking in new information nudges me to change my mind completely.

Such is the case with Nux vomica.

I used to say, “When in doubt, consider Nux vomica.” You can tell in how many situations Nux vomica is applicable by a simple search on my blog site. (Here, I’ve done it for you!) Nux was my go-to because we lived in a very medicated world. So, in more cases than not, Nux vomica could help push aside the ill effects of a person's lifetime of synthetic medication.

However, people are catching on now! More and more individuals have eschewed synthetic drugs — or at least reduced their dependency on them — so that prior drug-ingestion is not a large component in their case.

These days, I find that Arnica montana has an even greater sweeping ability than Nux vomica to address a wide variety of conditions.

How did I arrive at this conclusion? Well, it was two-fold. First, a major contributing factor was the rediscovery of my own notes! You may know that during the past year, I have been creating in-depth lessons for The Academy of Practical Homeopathy®.

Each week in The Academy, I present about a 40-minute lesson from the materia medica. I usually cover anywhere from 2-5 homeopathic medicines. Last semester, when I presented my lesson on Arnica, I could only cover that one medicine. Yet it took me an entire hour to get through all my notes! That’s right. I rediscovered how much information I had on Arnica.  I just needed to put it all together!

Most everyone (even those who do not study homeopathy) knows that Arnica is great for pain and injuries. But after going through my notes, it suddenly hit me … the list of conditions that Arnica addresses is so huge, it’s ridiculous!

Arnica can be used for:

• Longevity (Yes, some attribute their longevity to daily ingestion of Arnica!)
• Sleep (My mother taught me this!)
• Old dogs (This is based on clinical experience passed on from a seasoned veterinarian that Buster, the Bad Office Dog, wrote about last year in his article, New Trick for an Old Dog or Old Human.)
• Jet lag (‘Has worked for me countless times.)
• Chronic fatigue
• Alopecia
• Skin eruptions, i.e., eczema, psoriasis (And I plan to write a helpful hint on this for my Mighty Members later in the week.)
• Blood disorders
• Hematoma
• Head injury
• Old concussions
• Soft tissue injury (Plastic surgeons use it to help prevent and minimize ecchymosis.)
• Prophylactically, before surgery 
• Post-surgical pain
• Joint pain
• Menstrual pain
• Dental procedures
• Angina
• Arthritis
• Sepsis
• Myalgia
• Boils
• Gout
• Influenza
• Labor
• Malaria

And there’s even more! I could keep going, but unfortunately, we don’t have an hour to spend together here in this venue as I had in The Academy.

Remember that Arnica might be considered the Swiss Army knife of homeopathic medicines. And the beautiful thing is that it is readily available in almost any store. Arnica seems to be one of the few homeopathic medicines that has almost become — dare I say it — mainstream! So many people use Arnica cream or gel without even realizing that it’s homeopathy!

When employing this medicine, I should mention that the generally accepted potency may vary from condition to condition. But in general, for chronic conditions, I use it twice daily in the 30^th potency. Lately, I have been using it in the same manner that Joe DeLivera (you may know him and his method as Joepathy) uses Arnica.

I bought Arnica 30 in liquid form* (rather than pillules in a tube). It can be purchased either in water or alcohol. I then put one dose of the liquid in a bottle containing 15 ounces of water. When it’s time for me to administer a dose — making sure to shake the bottle 10 times before each dose — I take one capful (about one tablespoon).

Joepathy is the first homeopath to convince me to try this method, and I have seen a marked improvement in efficacy for some individuals in my practice. And I employ it for my husband, Buster and me.

So, yes, this homeopath has changed her mind! And that’s my prerogative. So now I say, “When in doubt: ARNICA!” And I think after perusing that list above, you will, too.

Pass on the good news of homeopathy!

Warmly,

* Arnica in liquid form can be purchased from Helios Pharmacy in the United Kingdom. Alternatively, it can be purchased here in the United States from a non-retail pharmacy, available only to my clients and students. It can be found on Amazon as well, but due to feedback I’ve received about inconsistencies with certain homeopathic medicines ordered through Amazon, I have decided not to link to them at this time.

P.S. Today’s blog post is a perfect example of how conversing with like-minded individuals can increase your knowledge and even occasionally change your thinking! What better way for you to learn about homeopathy than with others who will keep you on your toes?

If you haven’t already, I urge you to consider joining a Gateway to Homeopathy study group. The benefits of joining a study group are almost as extensive as the benefits of Arnica montana! You will never regret having a network of moms, dads, grandmoms, nurses, chiropractors and others who will walk beside you in lockstep as you head down the path of learning this sweeping medicine — homeopathy.

Look at these smiling faces from all over the globe. Zoom in. Doesn’t it look like fun? In case you can't tell, each is holding up their homemade signs indicating from where they hail. I might add, that they're from all over the world.  You, too, can join this exclusive group. Study groups are forming all the time. Don’t wait. Check out the available groups now on the Joette’s Study Group: Find your new Study Group Friends’ Facebook page.