Arnica and bruising
What 4 graded rows on arnica agree on for bruising, and where they differ. Counted side by side, never averaged.
Consensus finder Rows from the Arnica page, reviewed Oct 21, 2026 How it decides
What the rows agree on
Each block and row is one graded row from the Arnica page, with its PubMed record.
Your question
Arnica and bruising
4 rows · 206 peopleSplit. 2 rows found no difference and 2 had mixed results.
- DGrade D× 3
- ∅No effect× 1
- Rows
- 4
- Trials
- 4
- People
- 206
What the rows share
From the rowsThe best-graded row, grade D, is a randomized trial of 29 people (2006) and reported mixed results. 1 row is graded No effect, our grade for adequately powered trials that found no effect.
The rows run from 19 to 136 people, published from 2002 to 2016: 4 single studies.
The rows
2 no difference · 2 mixed- DGrade DLaser-induced facial bruising (topical gel) · No difference
RCT · n 19 · 2002 · Patients with facial telangiectases treated with a pulsed dye laser
Twice a day · 2 weeks before or 2 weeks after the laser
Bruising scores did not differ between arnica and vehicle, whether the gel was used before (P = 0.496) or after (P = 0.359) laser treatment.
- ∅No effectBruising, swelling and appearance after upper eyelid surgery · No difference
RCT · n 136 · 2016 · Patients having bilateral upper blepharoplasty, with one untreated eyelid as internal control
Applied to one periorbital area after surgery · Assessed at 3 days, 7 days and 6 weeks
There was no difference between arnica and placebo in overall appearance, swelling, bruising, redness, pain or satisfaction at any time point; untreated eyelids did as well as treated ones.
- DGrade DBruising after face-lift surgery (homeopathic) · Mixed
RCT · n 29 · 2006 · Patients having rhytidectomy at a tertiary care centre
Perioperative, as directed in the trial · Up to postoperative day 10
Patients and staff saw no difference, and colour change did not differ; the bruised area was smaller with arnica, significantly so on 2 of 4 days measured.
- DGrade DBruising after rhinoplasty (oral arnica) · Mixed
RCT · n 22 · 2016 · Patients having rhinoplasty with nasal bone osteotomies by one surgeon (9 arnica, 13 placebo)
Perioperative, as directed in the trial · Measured on postoperative days 2/3, 7 and 9/10
Bruise extent was 16% to 33% smaller with arnica, with significance claimed on day 7 using a P < 0.1 threshold (P = 0.097); intensity differences were mixed. One person had itching and rash.