Arsenicum album
Quick Facts
- What it is: A homeopathic remedy made by watering down arsenic trioxide (white arsenic) many times over.
- Main uses: Food poisoning with vomiting and diarrhoea, Traveller's diarrhoea, Colds and hay fever, Night-time restlessness and fear
- Best for: Traditional home use for sudden stomach upsets, People who want a homeopathic option alongside, not instead of, real care
- Active ingredients: Arsenic trioxide (none left at 12C/24X and above), Lactose and sucrose in the pellets
- Forms: Sugar pellets, Sugar tablets, Liquid drops, Common strengths: 6C, 30C, 200C
- Time to effect: Homeopaths expect hours; trials show no effect beyond a dummy pill.
- Side effects: Rare at 30C and above; the main risks are low strengths that still hold arsenic, and delayed care.
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What is Arsenicum album?
Arsenicum album is a homeopathic remedy. It is made from arsenic trioxide, also called white arsenic. The raw material is a poison, so it is watered down again and again before it is sold.
People use it at home for stomach bugs, food poisoning, colds and hay fever. Homeopaths also give it for fear and restlessness at night. These are traditional uses, not proven effects.
Here is the short verdict. Trials do not show it works better than a dummy pill. Its place in homeopathy is old and wide, but long use in a tradition is not proof that a remedy works.
How does Arsenicum album work?
There is no known way for this remedy to act on the body at the strengths most people buy.
Homeopathy rests on an old idea called 'like cures like'. A substance that causes symptoms in a well person is said to treat those same symptoms in a sick one. Raw arsenic causes burning gut pain, watery stools, thirst and dread.
To make the remedy, arsenic is mixed with water or alcohol and shaken. That step is done over and over. At 30C it has been done 30 times, each step one part in a hundred.
At that point almost surely not one atom of the arsenic is left. What you swallow is a sugar pellet or plain water. Homeopaths say the liquid holds a 'memory' of the arsenic; chemistry and physics do not support this.
In trials, the remedy does not beat a placebo (a dummy pill).
What forms does Arsenicum album come in?
It comes as small sugar pellets, sugar tablets, and liquid drops in alcohol. Common labels are 6C, 30C and 200C. Some shops also sell 6X and 30X.
The pellets are the usual home form. Drops are more common in Europe. It also turns up inside mixed 'combination' products for colds and stomach upsets.
Buy only from a pharmacy or a known maker, with the strength printed on the label.
Where it comes from:
Samuel Hahnemann, the German doctor who founded homeopathy, added Arsenicum album to his list of remedies in the early 1800s.
He built the picture of the remedy from 'provings'. In a proving, healthy people take a substance and write down what they feel.
It soon became a polychrest (a remedy homeopaths use for many different complaints). It is still one of the most used remedies in homeopathy and sits in most home kits. Arsenic itself was used as a medicine and a poison long before Hahnemann, in Greek, Arab, Chinese and European practice.
If this is an emergency
Some reactions to Arsenicum album need urgent care. Call your local emergency number or go to an emergency department straight away — do not wait to see whether it passes.
Who should avoid Arsenicum album?
- Do not use Arsenicum album in place of medical care for food poisoning, bad diarrhoea, asthma or any serious illness.
- Do not buy or take strengths below 12C or 24X, such as 3X or 6X, because they may still hold real arsenic.
- Never give it to a baby or young child instead of fluids, salts and medical advice for vomiting or loose stools.
- Do not use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, unless your doctor agrees.
- Do not use if you already take arsenic trioxide (Trisenox) for cancer.
- Do not use if you drink water known to be high in arsenic, or if tests have shown arsenic build-up in your body.
- Do not use if you have kidney or liver disease, unless your doctor agrees, since these organs clear arsenic.
- Never swallow raw arsenic, or any unlabelled 'arsenic' powder or traditional medicine sold outside a pharmacy.
- Do not take the pellets if you react badly to lactose (milk sugar).
- Do not stop or cut back a prescribed medicine in order to try this remedy.
When should you see a doctor?
Get medical help the same day if you have watery diarrhoea for more than two days, blood in your stool, a high fever, or you cannot keep fluids down.
Go to an emergency department or call emergency services now if you or your child are very drowsy, passing little or no urine, have a dry mouth and sunken eyes, have severe belly pain, have trouble breathing, or have chest pain or a pounding heart.
Get urgent help if anyone swallows raw arsenic or a product that may contain it. Signs include burning in the throat, heavy vomiting, rice-water stools and a garlic smell on the breath.
See your doctor if you feel numbness or pins and needles in your hands or feet, or dark patches on your skin, after long use of a low-strength product. Tell your doctor about every remedy you take.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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