The Farm Guide

Arnica montana

There is some confusion surrounding Arnica so I would like to help clear a few things up......
The dried or fresh flowers are used in many TOPICAL preparations for sore muscles or bruising and trauma to the body that dose NOT have open wounds. Arnica should never be put on broken skin or taken internally. That being said the HOMEOPATHIC version can be taken internally, you would use it for many of the same reasons as the flowers, especially good after giving birth for you and the baby, also great after a bad fall or accident. I am sure to keep it with me at all times because my little ones have been known to take a few dives now and then.

As a testament to Arnica when my Grandmother was remolding her home she fell from a ladder detaching her alkalis tendon, she refused pain meds and continued taking homeopathic Arnica before and after the surgery to reattach the tendon. She made a full and speedy recovery. Now I don't suggest refusing pain meds but that seemed to work for her.

I would suggest keeping homeopathic Arnica with you at all times especially if you are accident prone or have children. If you are a massage therapist I would try infusing Arnica flowers in your massage oils for those clients who complain of muscle pain or who have just experienced trauma.

A few words on Homeopathic and Herbal...

I have a pet peeve maybe I am a snob but here it goes…People who use the words "Herbal" and "Homeopathic" interchangeably, they are not the same! . The other day I was reading a woman's description of her products and ingredients. She said she uses "rare homeopathic ingredients" in her soaps and scrubs. I was intrigued to know what they were because I thought "hey that's neat!" but none were to be found. She seemed well versed in herbs and claimed to have studied them for many years. But her miss use of the word made me question her credentials. So to all my friends I wish you not to make the same mistake.

Because others are a tad more eloquent in their definition I will quote them…

"Homeopathy, or homeopathic medicine, is a holistic system of treatment that originated in the late eighteenth century. The name homeopathy is derived from two Greek words that mean "like disease." The system is based on the idea that substances that produce symptoms of sickness in healthy people will have a curative effect when given in very dilute quantities to sick people who exhibit those same symptoms. Homeopathic remedies are believed to stimulate the body's own healing processes. Homeopaths use the term "allopathy," or "different than disease," to describe the use of drugs used in conventional medicine to oppose or counteract the symptom being treated.

Origins

Homeopathy was founded by German physician Samuel Hahnemann (1755–1843), who was much disturbed by the medical system of his time, believing that its cures were crude and some of its strong drugs and treatments did more harm than good to patients. Hahnemann performed experiments on himself using Peruvian bark, which contains quinine, a malaria remedy. He concluded that in a healthy person, quinine creates the same symptoms as malaria, including fevers and chills, which is the reason why it is effective as a remedy. He then began to analyze the remedies available in nature by what he called provings. Provings of homeopathic remedies are still compiled by dosing healthy adults with various substances and documenting the results, in terms of the dose needed to produce the symptoms and the length of the dose's effectiveness. The provings are collected in large homeopathic references called materia medica or materials of medicine.

Hahnemann formulated these principles of homeopathy:
Law of Similars (like cures like)
Law of the Infinitesimal Dose (The more diluted a remedy is, the more potent it is.)
illness is specific to the individual

Hahnemann's Law of Similars was based on thinking that dated back to Hippocrates in the fourth century B.C. It is the same thinking that provided the basis for vaccinations created by Edward Jenner and Louis Pasteur. These vaccines provoke a reaction in the individual that protects against the actual disease. Allergy treatments work the same way. By exposing a person to minute quantities of the allergen, the person's tolerance levels are elevated"

Note:

While homeopathic medicine uses some plant "based" remedies many are derived from animal and mineral. They are also diluted to the point where the original "material" is not detectable . There are different dilutions 12C, 30C etc……

Herbal medicine

"use of natural plant substances (botanicals) to treat and prevent illness. The practice has existed since prehistoric times and flourishes today as the primary form of medicine for perhaps as much as 80% of the world's population. Over 80,000 species of plants are in use throughout the world.

Herbs may be used directly as teas or extracts, or they may be used in the production of drugs. Approximately 25% of the prescription drugs sold in the United States are plant based. "

I don't feel either one is better than the other but I do feel different situations warrant different approaches . Many times if using homeopathic medicine you have avoid certain herbs and foods also if you use acupuncture your homeopathic will not work . My children go to a homeopathic pediatrician and I have found it very useful !
Now I will get off my soap box :)