HOMOEOPATHIC MEDICINES AS A WOUND HEALER - A CRITICAL REVIEW
*Dr. Tushita Thakur
ABSTRACT
A wound is loss of cellular and anatomic continuity of epithelium, with or without loss of underlying connective tissue caused by physical, chemical, thermal, microbial or immunological agents; surgery or as a result of disease, such as leg ulcers or carcinomas.[1] Wound healing is a natural phenomenon and is divided into four sequential, yet overlapping phases that include haemostasis, inflammation, tissue formation and tissue remodelling.[2,3] Failure to progress through these stages of healing due to a postponed, incomplete, or uncoordinated healing process leads wounds to enter a state of pathologic inflammation and results in delayed acute wound or chronic wounds. This may be due to factors such as venous or arterial insufficiency, pressure necrosis, physical agents, infection and cancer. Skin ulcers including venous leg ulcers and diabetic foot ulcers are the most common types of chronic wounds.[3,6] Standard Homoeopathic texts describe several medicines to be therapeutically useful in wound healing. This review was conducted to summarize the available scientific information from standard homoeopathic literature, medical databases, laboratory studies and clinical studies on commonly used homoeopathic medicines- Arnica Montana, Bellis perennis, Calendula officinalis, Echinacea angustifolia and Hamamelis virginica for wound healing. These medicinal plants have important pharmacological properties such as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, anti-oxidant capacity, scavenging activity over free radical and/or non-radical reactive species, metal-chelating capability and inhibitory activity over radical-generating enzymes that are known to promote wound healing. The homoeopathic preparations of Arnica montana 6cH has shown significant role in wound healing and cicatrisation process in rat models[25,26] and has proven clinical efficacy in post-operative healing.[27,28,29] However, scientific data on wound healing efficacy of other Homoeopathic medicines is lacking. We need to strengthen research based evidence for Homoeopathic medicines in chronic wounds like diabetic foot ulcers, venous leg ulcers etc. which are a major burden on healthcare resources.
Keywords: Arnica montana, Calendula officinalis, Echinacea angustifolia, Homoeopathy, Wounds.
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