In this short post I’ll give you a quick overview of how gunpowder has been used as a medicine historically, how it was used traditionally in homeopathy, and why it might be of use today in treating PANDAS (pediatric auto-immune encephalitis associated with Streptococcus infection)

Gunpowder was invented by the Chinese alchemists around 900 AD & quickly became used as a medicine for its ‘cooling & detoxifying’ properties. They used it for fevers, inflammation & skin issues. Traditional Chinese Medicine believed it had a balancing effect on the body’s energies. 

When gunpowder made it to Europe via the Silk Road & the Islamic world by the 1300s, again it was quickly taken up by alchemists & doctors and tested as a medicine. Again it was used to treat fevers, infections and wounds due to its antiseptic properties. It was used extensively as a battlefield medicine to prevent wounds becoming infected, sometimes packed into wounds or used as salves. I imagine that this would sting!

Gunpowder was also used as an internal medicine, often mixed with herbs & wine to make it more palatable. They used it for fevers, digestive issues, even the plague! The famous Paracelsus was a proponent in the 16th century, seeking to understand its chemical properties (gunpowder is a compound of potassium nitrate, also called Saltpeter, with a touch of graphite) 

Gunpowder was a popular folk remedy brought to the American colonies. It was used as a throat gargle & for digestive issues & wound healing. There are reports of it being widely used by the military during the American war of Independence & also in the Napoleonic wars. In fact, Admiral Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory, is still preserved in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyards. Here you can read about the wounds sustained by the sailors at the Battle of Trafalgar, and about their incredible rates of recovery from wounds after the battle. I suspect that this may have largely been down to the liberal use of gunpowder when treating their wounds. There are also reports of soldiers in World War 1, trapped & injured in No Man’s Land, using gunpowder to dress their wounds until they could eventually be rescued under cover of darkness. 

It was also used to treat boils, and the London police force recommended this to its officers. It was also used for Syphilis (bacterial), Gonorrhea (bacterial) & blood disorders generally. Shepherds used to sprinkle it on their cheese & bread to protect them from sheep rot (bacterial).

The great homeopath, John Henry Clarke, introduced it into homeopathic use. The main keynote was “blood poisoning”. He commonly used for abscesses, boils, chronic infections, septic tonsillitis amongst other things. 

I think it’s clear why it might make a great PANDAS remedy, often given in low potency alongside the appropriate nosodes (bacterial remedies such as Streptococcus), and/or the indicated remedies.

Unfortunately pharmaceutical medicine has abandoned these old medicines, but I hope that readers can see how useful they can turn out to be for something like PANDAS, especially when the antibiotics have failed, or only work palliatively. 

I’d always recommend speaking to a homeopath when wanting help with a chronic condition like PANDAS, however if you wanted to give Gunpowder as a ‘blood cleanser’, give it daily at the 3x or 6x potency for a few weeks.

If you’d like to book a free 15-min introduction call with me, please use this link: www.calendly.com/alanfreestone

Thank you

Alan Freestone

August 2025