Earlier today I was at the gym, and I got off one of those stepping machines a bit the wrong way and got a big nasty ol' bruise on my ankle. I didn't have any pain killers on me, and my ankle was starting to get all bruised and was swelling really fast, so a friend of mine there gave me an Arnica pill to take for the swelling. when I got home today I decided to do a bit of research on arnica, and a whole bunch of websites I saw said for external use only. Is anyone familiar with arnica pills? Are they different from the kind that is gfor external use only?

I am not familiar with this. Was it a prescription pill? Did you get a chance to see the jar it came in? If you are not familiar with the drug, you shouldn't take it -especially if you are on other medication.
Use Tylenol and ice for the swelling and pain, don't try something strange until you have more information about it.
Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

Actually, Arnica is a homeopathic medication that helps your body heal after trauma (e.g. bruising, cuts, surgery, etc). Yes, you can take Arnica in pill form and it is very effective. For your injury, it should have helped reduce the bruising and should have sped up the healing process.


Follow The-Natural-Path to good health.

I used to take arnica for a sore throat... it was homeopathic strength pills to be swallowed whole. Seemed to work for mild to medium complaints.