I have found that a lot of people do not know about this miracle wonder drug called Arnica. It's AMAZING. And it's not really a drug, but more a herb that has been formulated into gels, lotions and capsules. It helps when you have a sprain, a bruise and/or muscle soreness. (Some people swear by it for their arthritis, but since I don't have that problem yet, I cannot attest to it).
I use it when my bebe's fall and hit their head -- rub the Arnica on the spot and the bruising is minimal and hardly any, if any at all, swelling. This is a godsend when you have toddlers learning to walk, ride a bike or a scooter. They fall and you put Arnica on the spot and poof! Boo-boo all gone! I use it for sore muscles after exercising and we have used it for broken fingers and toes.
We first learned of Arnica when my husband broke two of his fingers playing basketball right before we went on a trip to Mexico. His entire hand swelled up and he was in a ton of pain. The doctor didn't do much more than tape his fingers together and give him some Ibuprofen for the pain. My neighbor, who is from Guatemala, suggested that we put Arnica on his fingers to reduce the swelling and the pain. We were very skeptical, but decided to try it anyway. It was like magic! His fingers almost immediately reduced in size, which in turn, reduced his pain. We were hooked!
The next time we used it was after our then 4 yr old bonked his head HARD on his new bed frame. Pottery Barn used to sell this cute looking bed frame that had low head and foot boards - you could sleep at either end or use it as a day bed. They stopped making it and I'm sure it's because so many kids bonked their heads on the headboard as they lay down to sleep. He hit his head so hard that it was indented where he hit it. I immediately grabbed the arnica and rubbed it in A LOT. There was no goose egg (nor did he have a concussion) and barely a bruise when we got up the next morning. A miracle cure!
When a friend sprained her calf muscle she was given arnica tablets to ingest as well as the gel to rub on her leg. It helped her as well.
I could keep going but I'll stop. But I wanted to share another of my most favorite things in the world. If you don't have Arnica as part of your first aid kit I highly recommend that you add it - quickly! It's amazing. That said, I don't recommend just using this and skipping the doctor's office for more serious bumps and bruises. But if you bump into your desk often and give yourself a nice bruise on your thigh -- arnica will help you. Don't ask how I know this one.... :)
Oh, and one more thing, you need to use it soon after you first bruise for this to really work well. The longer you wait to use it (I'm talking days here, not minutes) the better it will work on your bruise. My neighbor just borrowed my Arnica gel for her daughter who hit her head on the pool swimming. She had a huge goose egg growing on her forehead right before our eyes. We were at a pool party and after we all got home later that evening I ran over my tube of Arnica (she didn't know about it either) and told her to rub it on her goose egg. Well, she told me just today how helpful that was and how her goose egg is barely even there now.
I'm telling you - I have a bunch of these examples. I'll really stop now. Seriously. But I just LOVE it and I want to share it with the world! Ha...ha!
Hope you enjoy.
