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Home Remedy for Bruise Pain

When you get a bruise, small blood vessels to break under your skin and blood leaks out to the tissues around it. As a result, white blood cells are released, causing inflammation and swelling, which causes pain. The Mayo Clinic suggests taking over-the-counter drugs for the pain and swelling of bruises, such as ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil) and acetaminophen (Tylenol). Home remedies can effectively reduce pain also.

  1. Apple Cider Vinegar

    • Apply apple cider vinegar to your bruise using a cotton ball. The vinegar will speed up healing, relieving bruise pain. You can also soak gauze or a cotton ball in the apple cider vinegar, then tape it to your bruise, adding more vinegar when it dries out. Use regular apple cider vinegar from the grocery store or purchase the organic variety from a health food store.

    Apply Herbal Compresses

    • Use arnica (Arnica montana), as a home remedy for bruise pain. Make poultices and compresses with arnica by adding 1 tsp. of dried arnica flowers to 1 cup of boiling water. Arnica soothes the pain of bruises, reducing inflammation and swelling. Avoid applying arnica on broken skin. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, taking arnica internally without direct medical supervision can result in heart irregularities and even death. Safely take arnica internally as a homeopathic remedy, an extremely diluted solution.

      Comfrey (Symphytum officinale), used in ancient Greece to help heal skin problems, contains a chemical called allantoin which repairs your skin. In a 2002 study at Merck Selbstmedikation GmbH in Darmstadt, Germany, patients with bruises or joint pain received one to three external comfrey preparations daily for two weeks. Pain improved 45 to 47 percent and over two-thirds of the patients reduced or stopped taking anti-inflammatory drugs and medication. Mash comfrey roots and leaves to create a compress and apply it to your bruise or purchase an ointment containing comfrey. You can purchase dried comfrey at health food stores and online. Find ointments containing comfrey in drugstores or health food stores. Avoid drinking comfrey tea as it can cause liver problems.

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