Most of you know by now that almost two months ago now I had a rather nasty accident involving my wrist. When the bandages came off the area was badly swollen and bruised, not to mention scarred. To try and help with this I have been using several products, one of which is this - arnica.

I have used Nelsons arnica gel and cream before on bruises and it has always worked well, although I've found that the gel tends to be better then the cream. However, this time partly because my mum thought they would be better and partly because I happened to have them lying around anyway, I have been using the Nelsons 30c arnica pillules. The bottle tells me that they can be used for the "symptomatic relief of muscular aches, swelling and bruising after contusions" so in theory exactly what I was after.


How To Take
~~~~~~~~

The directions say to press down the bottom of the tube without taking the cap off in order to release two pillules into the cap, then tip these directly into your mouth. This is important as touching the pillules may reduce their effectiveness. Once in your mouth you are told that you should either chew them or place them under your tongue until they dissolve and that they should be taken between meals. The dosage is two every two hours for the first 6 doses then four times a day after that for no more then 7 days.


My Experience
~~~~~~~~~

Taking the pillules is easy, they taste almost like sugar, certainly very sweet and so they should present no problems if you're trying to give this to a child as the taste won't be off-putting at all. Chewing them is probably the easiest way. I did try placing them under my tongue to dissolve but they take several minutes, far too long for me especially considering the fact that they're tiny! So I usually just gave in and chewed them in the end anyway. They're not especially hard to bite into and due to both their tiny size and sweet taste are very easy to take like this - if a little moreish!

I was taking this with the intention of reducing the bruising and swelling of the injury and so that's all I can really comment on. The bruising had completely gone away within two days and although the swelling was still there after I had finished the seven day course it was noticeably reduced, more so then I would have expected had I not been taking anything. So it had definitely made a difference to me, especially in regards to the bruising I experienced. This is especially impressive as I only actually took the pillules when I remembered which worked out to at most twice a day so half of the recommended dose.


Warnings
~~~~~

As with any product of this nature this comes with some warnings. Namely, keep out of reach of children and if symptoms persist after 7 days or you experience any side effects then you should see your doctor.

Also, these contain lactose so you should probably avoid if you're sensitive to that and although the outer case is plastic the pillules themselves are contained within an inner glass tube so the container should be handled with care. The container should also be stored below 25 degrees.


Other Uses For Arnica
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arnica has become famous for its use with bruising but besides that and the swelling I've mentioned in this review it can also be used for sprains, problems with either your muscles or joints and insect bites. When used for insect bites applying the gel directly to the area will be more effective.

Also, if you can get it in diluted form then it can be used as a mouthwash to help with swollen gums or ulcers.


Price, Availability And Recommendation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These clearly had more of an effect on the bruising then it did on the swelling, however it did make a noticeable difference to both problems. The tube I have says that it contains a minimum of 84 pillules and the price tag on it is £5.19. I've had this a while so can't remember exactly where I got this from but there are 30 pillule tubes available in Holland and Barrett for £5.99, this seems a little expensive for me but larger tubes are available online.

They are expensive especially when you consider, if you take the full amount a 7 day course consists of 60 pillules! However, they do the job well and these are the only product I have used to reduce bruising and swelling so I can confirm that the results achieved are solely due to these pillules.

If you can find the larger 84 pack online then I'm happy to recommend them and give them the full 5 out of 5 as they do the job and do it well, however I don't think the £11.98 for one seven day course is worth it.