Processes

Homoeopathic remedies are prepared in two ways:

1. The original substance is mixed in alcohol, stored for a while and then extracted. This is called the Mother Tincture. Many remedies are used in this form such as Carduus Marianus for liver diseases. Eight to ten drops dissolved in water and taken by mouth are very useful in many liver disorders. The letter Q tells us that the homoeopathic remedy is a Mother Tincture.

Crude for Mother Tinctures
2. The Mother Tincture is diluted with alcohol or distilled water in a bottle, one drop in ninety-nine drops of the diluent and given ten uniform succussions. Thus prepared, the potency of the medicine is 1. For example, a drop of Mother Tincture of Aconite shaken well in ninetynine drops of the diluent, alcohol or distilled water is Aconite potency 1. A drop of Aconite 1 added to ninty-nine drops of alcohol and shaken well will make Aconite 2. A drop of Aconite 2 vigorously shaken in ninety-nine drops of alcohol will make Aconite 3 and so on. If the process is repeated thirty times, we have prepared Aconite 30. Most of the routine homoeopathic remedies are prepared in this way. The letter C written along with the potency indicates that in each dilution, the medicine is diluted one in a hundred. If the process consists of putting one drop of the Mother Tincture in nine drops of the diluent instead of ninety-nine drops, the medicine prepared would be potency 1D, which means ten. Biochemic medicines are made in this way i.e. serial dilutions of one in ten using a sugar substance Lactose, prepared frommilk sugar instead of alcohol or distilled water.

Analysis of the Crude
In the biochemical system, X is always written as a measure of potency such as 1X, 2X, 3X, 6X or 12X etc. The potency 1000 is sometimes written as 1M, the potency 10,000 is written as 10M and 100,000 is written as CM.

Bottling of Prepared Mother Tinctures

 

It must be remembered that in cases of well-established illnesses of long standing such as asthma and epilepsy, it is not right to prescribe a casual prescription. Instead, one must see the patient and have a detailed discussion with him or her to find out about the illness as well as the constitution of the person in order to reach the constitutional remedy. Both must match as precisely as possible. In my experience, many a time, the patient did not respond to the standard well known prescription but after a detailed personal examination of the patient, including his state of mind, the prescription given worked wonderfully well. For example, patients of epilepsy experience auras of a different nature before the actual attack. One such patient used to experience loud, unbearable noises and would not go to sleep out of fear. He felt as if his head and mind were squeezed in a vice. Based on his state of mind, Cactus was prescribed and it worked wonders. He started to sleep normally and the epileptic seizures also disappeared. Ironically, Cactus is not mentioned amongst the remedies for epilepsy. It is important that all such patients be observed for at least a few days. If a rush of blood to the head is noted and the blood pressure rises, Cactus would be the ideal medication.

Similarly, one should look for typical signs and symptoms of the illness before prescribing. In diseases of the gall bladder, a number of medications are useful. Once, A doctor tried almost all of them on a gall bladder patient, but none worked. After a personal examination of the patient, he found that he was a nervous, psychic wreck. He gave him Sepia and he got better the pain totally disappeared! In all cases of chronic illnesses, the patient should be studied in detail. On another occasion, a doctor gave Aconite and Belladonna to a kidney patient in view of the acute nature of the sickness but it simply did not work. Apparently, he had overlooked the constitution of the patient. Belladonna and Aconite would have worked if heat had been making him worse and if cold offered him relief. However, that particular patient felt worse with cold baths. As soon as the doctor gave him Magnesia Phosphoricum and Colocynth, he immediately got better. There are no quick fixes in Homoeopathy. One should get into the habit of forgetting the disease for a moment and give due attention to the individual symptoms and constitution of the patient. A list of hot and cold remedies should be kept mind. In a person of hot temperament, the medication designed for a cool-minded person will do harm instead of doing well. Some people tolerate heat better than cold and vice versa. Some like movement, while others like complete rest. All these factors form the constitution of the patient and should be kept in mind while prescribing a remedy. In a busy practice, the experienced homoeopath can prescribe a routine and well tried prescription for a particular ailment and it often works. However in case of chronic, long-standing illnesses, one must spend enough time on a detailed study of the patient as well as the illness. In general, the homoeopath avoids combining the remedies. That doctor also did the same initially but later on changed his practice. He did not have enough time to be able to arrive at one single remedy. On the basis of this knowledge and experience, the compounding of medicines worked very well. In some cases, he had to change the compounds and in certain obstinate cases, he carried out a detailed personal study of the patient’s constitution and his disease.

 

Secondly, more and more remedies are being added to the homoeopathic Materia Medica. New remedies are being found to be more effective. Some ailments are not amenable to just any remedy. Compounding of more than one remedy works like a new medication. Many of the old remedies are already natural compounds themselves, such as Nux Vomica, which is a combination of many natural constituents. While prescribing compounds, the doctor’s concern is about their final characteristic features. It is not necessary that the total effect of the constituted remedies must be the sum total of all. Some remedies annul some of the effects of the other. Thus at the end, the compound may have a totally different effect.

A virus is a rapidly evolving organism. In fact, nothing else changes its shape (or mutates) so quickly. It should be treated properly with homoeopathy. Antibiotics will fight some viruses but the remaining ones will go into mutation, proving extremely dangerous. This may eventually lead to the formation of cancer.

Generally speaking, chronic illnesses, which have gradually invaded and taken over the body systems over a long period, are amenable only to slow but progressively acting remedies. These remedies should be continued for six to twelve months. One should start with low potency 30 and when it stops working, advance to the next potency of 200 once a day for seven to ten days. After that, potency, 1000 is to be given every fortnight a few times. The last dose should be in potency CM to be repeated after six months or one year. Throughout this time, one should carefully observe the slowly evolving effects of the homoeopathic treatment.

With regards to the topic of potency, there has been extensive scientific research as to what kind of patients should receive which medications, administered in what potency. In the diseases of the stomach, low potencies work well. For neurological disorders, usually potency 200 or higher is useful. In profound mental illnesses, higher potencies are required. In some kinds of cancer, much higher potencies are needed. However, in some cases, if the patient is too sick, a higher potency medication may prove dangerous. In such cases, the physical strength should be restored first with supplements of food and vitamins. When general health has improved enough to tolerate the reaction, remedies should be given in gradually increasing potencies such as from 30 to 200 and 1000, as already indicated. Two entirely opposite remedies should never be given together. Would you drop ice cream into a hot cup of tea? There is no sense in it.

Potenticing Dr. Kent has warned against using some remedies in CM potency, especially Silicea, but in experience of many years Silicea in a potency of anything less than CM has not worked in patients of AIDS and some cancers. In homoeopathy, if an administered remedy does not show its desired effect, then there are two possible ways to proceed. It may either be repeated a few times, or its potency may be increased gradually. The other method is that the potency may be maintained and another remedy may be used in between the treatment for the enhancement of the body defenses.
Tuberculosis patient must never be treated with Sulphur in high potency. Rather, the treatment should always be started in low potency.

It is important to take the remedy at least half an hour before or at least half an hour after taking food for a better effect. It will still show some effect if taken during this period, though not optimal. It is better to take the remedy on an empty stomach i.e. first thing in the morning or two to four hours after dinner. In emergency situations, it may be used at any time.

In general, homoeopathic remedies last a long time. They may not even expire in a hundred years or more. In general, they should be kept in a dry temperate place with the covers of the bottles tightly closed. The temperature as such does not alter the effectiveness of the medicine, but, if the cover is not airtight, the remedy will evaporate. If the bottle has completely dried out, the remedy should be made afresh. If even a drop remains, it may be made up again by adding more of the diluent’s. In this way, the potency will increase by one, such as from 30 to 31 or from 200 to 201. This however, does not reduce the effectiveness of the remedy. As a caution, homoeopathic remedies should not be placed in direct sunlight. The rays of the sun may make the remedy ineffective. Empty bottles should be thoroughly cleaned, boiled in water and dried in the sun in order to destroy any residual effects. As a rule, all homoeopathic remedies must be kept in separate bottles but some remedies may be mixed without losing their individual effectiveness. Incompatible remedies should always be kept separately. It is better that the mixture be prepared fresh, when required. Homoeopathic remedies must be kept away from strong perfumes, especially Camphor. Camphor destroys the effectiveness of most homoeopathic remedies. One should also refrain from opening the bottle in a room sprayed with strong antiseptic or perfume.

It is not true that all homoeopathic remedies are completely harmless. Like a fast car, built to the highest standards of safety, it may still prove very dangerous in the hands of an untrained and inexperienced driver. The allopathic doctors, no matter how intelligent they may be, are helpless in this respect. Their medicines cure an ailment, but in doing so create another.

We must caution all physicians that continued indiscriminate use of biochemic medicines can severely disturb the electrolyte balance. Therefore, the electrolytes in the blood must be checked every now and then. The risk is obviously too high to take.