Do copper bracelets help arthritis?

No. A 2013 randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial by S. J. Richmond and colleagues in PLOS ONE put seventy osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis patients through a copper bracelet, two magnetic straps and a demagnetised placebo for five weeks each, tracking pain, function, disease activity and blood inflammatory markers. The copper bracelet was indistinguishable from placebo on every measure. Reported benefits are attributable to placebo and to the natural fluctuation of chronic pain.

Why does copper turn skin green?

Copper reacts with sweat, air and skin acids to form green copper salts, which transfer to the skin. It washes off and is harmless. How much it happens depends on your sweat chemistry and the humidity, which is why it varies so much between people.

Why is copper the metal of Venus?

Partly a pun. The Latin cuprum derives from aes Cyprium, the metal of Cyprus, and Cyprus was a principal cult centre of Aphrodite. The metal's warm colour and its use in polished mirrors, Venus's emblem, reinforced the link afterwards.

Is copper antimicrobial?

Yes, on contact surfaces, and by a well-documented mechanism. Hospitals have trialled copper and brass fittings for exactly this reason. That surface property does not translate into a health benefit from wearing a bracelet.

What is a Venus talisman used for?

In the classical and medieval sources: attraction, beauty, art, friendship, reconciliation and the settling of quarrels. It is made of copper and worked in an hour of Venus, traditionally on a Friday.

Talismans · Materials

Copper

Also called: Venus, cuprum

The metal with the longest run of medical claims in this library, and the least support for them.

At a glance

Planet: Venus
Named after: Cyprus, the island and Aphrodite's cult centre
Property: The best affordable conductor
Skin: Greens it, from a harmless salt reaction
Claimed for: Arthritis, circulation, inflammation
Evidence: A 2013 double-blind crossover trial found no effect

Venus, Cyprus and the name

The Latin cuprum comes from aes Cyprium, the metal of Cyprus, which supplied much of the Roman world's copper. Cyprus was also a principal cult centre of Aphrodite, and the goddess and the island and the metal are tangled together in the ancient sources.

So the assignment of copper to Venus in the planetary metal scheme is not arbitrary symbolism. It is partly a pun on a place name, reinforced afterwards by the metal's warm colour and its use in mirrors, which are Venus's own emblem. Copper alloys polished to a mirror surface are what most classical hand mirrors actually were.

In talismanic practice copper is therefore the metal for Venusian work: attraction, art, reconciliation, friendship, beauty, and, in the older texts, the settling of quarrels.

The bracelet

Copper bracelets for joint pain are one of the most persistent folk medical practices in the English-speaking world, and they are worth taking seriously as a case study in how a belief survives testing.

The claim is that copper absorbed through the skin reduces inflammation and eases arthritis. The mechanism is not implausible on its face, since copper is an essential trace element and copper compounds do have anti-inflammatory activity in laboratory settings. The visible greening of the skin gave the belief something to point at: users could see the metal apparently going somewhere.

It has now been tested properly. S. J. Richmond and colleagues ran a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial published in PLOS ONE in 2013, in which seventy patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis wore four devices in turn for five weeks each: a copper bracelet, a standard magnetic wrist strap, a weak magnetic strap and a demagnetised placebo. Pain, physical function, disease activity and inflammatory markers in blood were tracked throughout. The copper bracelet produced no statistically or clinically significant difference from the placebo device on any measure. Earlier trials had reached the same conclusion.

The honest summary is that copper bracelets do not treat arthritis, that the reported benefits are attributable to placebo effects and to the natural fluctuation of chronic pain, that they are cheap and harmless, and that people continue to find them worth wearing. This library reports all four.

Why it turns your skin green

Copper reacts with sweat, air and the acids on skin to form copper salts, chiefly carbonates and chlorides, which are green. The stain transfers to the skin, washes off, and is harmless.

It is sometimes read as a sign the body is absorbing what it needs, or as the charm drawing something out. Neither is right. The reaction depends on your skin chemistry, your sweat and the humidity, which is why some people green heavily and others not at all in the same bracelet.

The same reaction is what gives bronze and copper roofs their verdigris patina, and it is the reason copper alloy objects survive in the ground with a green crust that archaeologists use to date and identify them.

The part that is real

Copper is genuinely antimicrobial, and by a well-documented mechanism. Copper and copper-alloy surfaces kill bacteria on contact, which is why hospitals have trialled copper door handles, bed rails and taps, and why brass fittings outperform stainless steel in this respect.

This is a surface effect on the metal, and it does not become a health benefit for the wearer of a bracelet. But it belongs in the entry, because it is the same kind of quiet material fact that sits underneath silver's reputation, and it is a reminder that folk associations are not always baseless even when the specific claim fails.

How copper is used

Talismanic practice and folk practice, which barely overlap.

For Venusian talismans, work in copper, in an hour of Venus, traditionally on a Friday.
Polish it to a mirror surface where the tradition wants Venus's own emblem.
For the folk bracelet, wear it against the skin on the wrist; the greening is expected and harmless.
Clean copper with salt and an acid, traditionally vinegar or lemon, which removes the salts without abrasives.
Alloy it for strength. Bronze is copper and tin, brass is copper and zinc, and both are used for cast charms.

Copper is an essential trace element in the diet and toxic in excess. Copper vessels for storing acidic foods and drinks, and copper-based supplements taken without medical advice, are where actual harm has occurred.

What copper belongs with

Its planetary purposes and its folk medical career.

Questions for reflection

A belief that has been tested and failed continues anyway. What keeps it alive?
The metal really is antimicrobial, just not in the way the folklore claims. How often is that the shape of these stories?
Would you wear something that demonstrably does nothing, if it cost nothing and you liked it?

Frequently asked questions

: No. A 2013 randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial by S. J. Richmond and colleagues in PLOS ONE put seventy osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis patients through a copper bracelet, two magnetic straps and a demagnetised placebo for five weeks each, tracking pain, function, disease activity and blood inflammatory markers. The copper bracelet was indistinguishable from placebo on every measure. Reported benefits are attributable to placebo and to the natural fluctuation of chronic pain.
: Copper reacts with sweat, air and skin acids to form green copper salts, which transfer to the skin. It washes off and is harmless. How much it happens depends on your sweat chemistry and the humidity, which is why it varies so much between people.
: Partly a pun. The Latin cuprum derives from aes Cyprium, the metal of Cyprus, and Cyprus was a principal cult centre of Aphrodite. The metal's warm colour and its use in polished mirrors, Venus's emblem, reinforced the link afterwards.
: Yes, on contact surfaces, and by a well-documented mechanism. Hospitals have trialled copper and brass fittings for exactly this reason. That surface property does not translate into a health benefit from wearing a bracelet.
: In the classical and medieval sources: attraction, beauty, art, friendship, reconciliation and the settling of quarrels. It is made of copper and worked in an hour of Venus, traditionally on a Friday.

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