What is Tela araneae?

Tela araneae is a homeopathic remedy made from spider's web. It is a single drug (Homeopathy), listed in Latin as Aranea (web of the spider), and also known as Spider's web. Homeopaths have reached for it mainly for nervous restlessness, twitching muscles and spasmodic coughing.

The web is soaked in alcohol to make a starting tincture. That tincture is then diluted over and over, with vigorous shaking between each step. At the common strength of 30C, essentially none of the original spider's web remains.

What you actually swallow is the carrier: water, alcohol, or a small sugar pellet. Traditional standing and proof of effect are two different things, and this remedy has some of the first and none of the second. Controlled trials have not shown homeopathic medicines to perform better than placebo (a dummy treatment).

How does Tela araneae work?

The honest answer is that there is no accepted explanation for how it could work in the body.

Homeopathy is built on two ideas. The first is "like cures like" — a substance that causes symptoms in a well person is thought to relieve similar symptoms in a sick person. The second is that repeated dilution with shaking makes the remedy act more strongly, not less.

Neither idea matches what chemistry and pharmacology have shown. At 30C the dilution has gone so far that no molecule of spider's web is likely to be present in your dose. There is no measurable substance left to act on nerves, muscles or airways.

Some people do feel better after taking it. That is best explained by the placebo effect, by careful attention from a practitioner, and by the natural tendency of many complaints to settle on their own.

We describe this openly rather than offering a mechanism that the evidence does not support.

What forms does Tela araneae come in?

Tela araneae is sold in the standard homeopathic forms:

It comes as small sugar pellets or granules that dissolve under the tongue. It also comes as liquid drops in a water-and-alcohol base. Less often you may see soft tablets or a combination product where it is one of several listed ingredients.

Strengths are written as 6C, 12C, 30C or 200C. The higher the number, the more times the material was diluted, and the less of it remains.

Where it comes from:

Spider's web has a long folk history that came before homeopathy. Country healers across Europe packed cobweb onto cuts to stop bleeding, and dosed fevers with web rolled into a pill.

Homeopathy took the material up in the 1800s, during the spread of Hahnemann's system. Provings — the homeopathic practice of giving a substance to healthy volunteers and recording what they feel — placed it among remedies for trembling, restlessness and night-time coughing.

It has always been a minor remedy. The related spider remedy Aranea diadema is used far more often in homeopathic practice.

What does Tela araneae help with?

• Nervous restlessness and fidgeting: This is the main use homeopaths describe, and it rests on tradition alone. Provings record a picture of jumpiness and an inability to sit still. No clinical trial has tested Tela araneae for restlessness. If your restlessness is new, severe, or comes with a racing heart, see a doctor rather than self-treating.
• Spasmodic or tickling night cough: Traditional homeopathic texts list a dry, spasm-like cough that worsens at night. That is a prescribing note, not a tested result. A cough that lasts more than three weeks, brings up blood, or comes with breathlessness needs medical assessment. Never swap an asthma inhaler for this remedy.
• Twitching or trembling muscles: Homeopathic sources connect this remedy to trembling hands and small involuntary jerks. Again, this comes from provings, not from trials. New or spreading tremor can have serious causes, including thyroid and nerve conditions. Get it checked.
• Intermittent fever with chills: Old texts describe a chill that returns at the same hour, an idea borrowed from the era before malaria was understood. There is no evidence supporting this use. Any fever that repeats, or passes 39C (about 102F), belongs with a doctor.
• Trouble settling to sleep: Some practitioners suggest it for a body that feels wired at bedtime. No trial has tested it for sleep. If poor sleep lasts more than a few weeks, talk to your doctor about causes such as pain, stress or breathing problems during sleep.

What are the side effects of Tela araneae?

• No physical side effects are expected from 30C and higher strengths, because no starting material remains
• A brief flare of symptoms in the first day or two, which homeopaths call an aggravation
• Mild stomach upset from the sugar in pellets if you take many at once
• A stinging mouth or a warm flush from the alcohol in liquid drops
• Rare allergic reaction: rash, itching or swelling — to an ingredient in the carrier
• Wind or loose stools in people who cannot digest lactose (milk sugar) well
• Delayed diagnosis and worsening illness if it is used instead of needed medical care

Good to know:

Direct harm from this remedy is very unlikely at usual strengths, simply because there is nothing measurable in the dose. The realistic risk is not the pill. It is the time lost when a treatable condition goes unexamined.

Stop taking it and speak to a pharmacist or doctor if you get a rash, itching, swelling of the face or mouth, or any trouble breathing.

How much Tela araneae should you take?

• Recommended daily: No dose has been established by clinical testing, because no clinical testing of this remedy exists. What homeopaths typically suggest: Pellets: three to five pellets of a 30C strength, allowed to dissolve under the tongue. Liquid: three to five drops in a little water. Frequency: once to three times a day for a short-term complaint. These figures come from customary practice and product labels, not from evidence of effect. Follow the label on the pack you bought, and do not exceed it.
• Best time of day: Any time of day. Homeopaths usually advise taking it away from strong flavours such as coffee, mint toothpaste or menthol, so first thing in the morning and last thing at night are common choices.
• With or without food: Take it on an empty mouth — about 15 minutes before or after food, drink or toothpaste. This is a homeopathic custom rather than a rule based on absorption.
• Time to effect: No reliable timeframe can be given, since the remedy has not been shown to outperform placebo. People who report a change usually say it came within a few days.
• How long to take it: Keep it short. Homeopathic practice is to stop once symptoms settle rather than take it on a schedule. If nothing has changed after about seven days, stop and reassess. Long-running self-treatment is the main risk here, because it can delay a proper diagnosis.