What is Adrenalinum?

Adrenalinum is a homeopathic remedy made from adrenaline, the hormone your adrenal glands make. Its Latin name is Epinephrinum, ex glandula suprarenalis. It is sold as a single homeopathic drug, not as a mix.

Homeopaths give it to people who feel faint, have low blood pressure, or feel their heart race. It is made by diluting the starting material again and again, with shaking at each step. At 30C, none of the starting material is left.

Trials have not shown it to work better than a dummy pill. Being used for a long time is not proof that something works. Traditional use and tested proof are two different things, and we report both here.

How does Adrenalinum work?

There is no known way a 30C dilution can act on the body, because no source material remains in it.

Homeopathy rests on the idea that a substance which causes symptoms in a well person can, in tiny amounts, ease those same symptoms in a sick person. Real adrenaline speeds the heart and raises blood pressure. So homeopaths pick Adrenalinum for people with a racing heart, faintness or collapse.

Careful trials have not set homeopathy apart from placebo (a dummy treatment). Any change people notice may come from time, from care and attention, or from the illness easing on its own.

What forms does Adrenalinum come in?

Adrenalinum comes as small sugar pellets, liquid drops, or tablets that melt under the tongue. Labels usually read 6C, 30C or 200C. A higher number means more dilution steps, not a stronger drug.

Potencies written with an X, such as 3X or 6X, have been diluted less. These may still hold traces of the drug itself, so treat them with more care.

Buy only from a pharmacy or maker that prints the potency clearly on the label.

Where it comes from:

Adrenaline was first made pure in the lab around 1900. Homeopaths tested it on healthy people soon after. They then wrote it into their materia medica, the book that lists each remedy and the symptoms linked to it.

So this is a newer remedy, not an old one. It has a known place in homeopathic practice for faintness, collapse and heart symptoms. It is not part of any older healing tradition, such as Ayurveda or Chinese medicine.

What does Adrenalinum help with?

• Faintness and low blood pressure: This is the main use homeopaths describe for Adrenalinum. It is based on the remedy picture written by early homeopaths, not on trials. No published human trial has tested it for low blood pressure or fainting. Sudden fainting needs a medical check, because the cause can be serious.
• Palpitations (a racing or pounding heartbeat): Homeopathic texts suggest it for a heart that pounds, flutters or races. There is no trial evidence to support this. A new or lasting change in your heartbeat should be checked by a doctor first.
• Anxiety with a rush of adrenaline: Some homeopaths use it for panic-like surges with shaking, sweating and a racing heart. This comes from tradition alone. Talking therapies and proven treatments for anxiety have evidence behind them; this does not.
• Breathlessness and asthma-like tightness: Adrenaline itself opens the airways, so homeopaths borrowed this idea for the diluted remedy. No trial supports it. Never use it instead of an inhaler during an asthma attack, as that delay can be dangerous.
• Hay fever and allergy symptoms: It is sometimes included in allergy protocols by homeopathic prescribers. Evidence for this use is absent. Antihistamines and steroid nasal sprays are tested treatments for hay fever.
• Tiredness blamed on 'adrenal fatigue': Adrenalinum is often sold for so-called adrenal fatigue. Mainstream medicine does not recognise adrenal fatigue as a diagnosis, and no trial supports the remedy for it. Lasting tiredness should be checked, since real adrenal disease, thyroid problems and anaemia (low iron in the blood) can all cause it.

Which foods are rich in Adrenalinum?

Adrenaline is a hormone your own body makes; it is not found in food in any useful amount.

What are the side effects of Adrenalinum?

• No direct effects expected from 30C or higher, as nothing of the source remains
• A brief flare of symptoms, which homeopaths call an aggravation
• Heart pounding, tremor, headache or restlessness if a very low potency still holds real adrenaline
• Reaction to lactose (milk sugar) in the pellets, if you are sensitive to it
• Stinging or upset stomach from the alcohol in liquid drops
• Harm from delaying treatment that works

Good to know:

The most likely harm from this remedy is not the remedy itself but what it replaces. Sugar pellets at 30C carry almost no direct risk. The real danger is using them for chest pain, fainting, an asthma attack or a severe allergic reaction instead of calling for help.

How much Adrenalinum should you take?

• Recommended daily: No dose has been set by trials, because no trials of this remedy exist. Homeopaths commonly suggest 3 to 5 pellets of a 6C or 30C potency, or a few drops of the liquid, taken two or three times a day. Treat these numbers as tradition, not as tested advice.
• Best time of day: There is no set time. Homeopathic practice suggests spacing doses evenly through the day.
• With or without food: Homeopathic custom is to take pellets on a clean mouth, about 15 minutes away from food, drink, coffee or toothpaste. This is tradition, not a tested rule.
• Time to effect: No reliable timeframe can be given, since trials have not shown an effect beyond placebo (a dummy treatment).
• How long to take it: Homeopaths usually suggest stopping once symptoms settle, and reviewing after about one to two weeks. If nothing has changed in two weeks, stop and see a doctor about the underlying problem.