It is difficult to imagine in our over-medicated society (by both conventional and alternative means) a physician who broke from tradition and prescribed one medicine at a time, at progressively smaller doses. While the intent of reducing the size of each dose was a humane effort to prevent side effects, it turned out that a medicine’s inherent curative properties became more and more powerful with each dilution.

This is what happened 200 years ago, when Samuel Hahnemann, homeopathy’s founder, temporarily returned to making his living by translating medical texts (he was a multi-linguist) in lieu of treating patients. Dr. Hahnemann closed his medical practice because he saw people get sicker over time, not better, as a result of mainstream medicine. Naturally, after discovering homeopathy, he reopened his office.

This article will describe the homeopathic remedy itself, including the least understood (even by homeopaths) aspect of homeopathy—potency. Potency refers to the number and letter to the right of every homeopathic remedy, such as 6x or 30c. The following information may equally be applied to basic and in-depth homeopathy.


Combination remedies

While combination remedies abound, a truly homeopathic remedy will contain only one substance. Combination remedies have labels such as Sinus Relief, Menopause, Teething Tablets, etc. and will list several remedies as ingredients. A combination remedy is a good introduction to homeopathy. (Certainly, the magic of Teething Tablets captures the attention of many.) In order for these products to be effective, however, the remedy a person needs must be one of the ingredients.


Single remedies

With a single remedy, the ingredient is its name followed by the potency, e.g., Arnica 30c, Ignatia 6x, Rhus toxicodendron 30x. These individual remedies are the ones used in basic homeopathy.


FDA approval

Homeopathic remedies have long been regulated by the FDA. Because remedies have been proven safe, they are available over-the-counter, with the restriction that each remedy be labeled with the condition it treats, whether as a combination remedy (e.g., Sinus Relief), or as a single remedy (e.g., Phosphorus 30c—Coughs). Despite the clinical information on a remedy’s label, for best results it is necessary to consult a self-help book on homeopathy.

Remedy sources

There are currently more than 2,500 individual homeopathic remedies available, in tens of thousands of potencies. The majority of remedies have been made from substances obtained from the plant, animal and mineral kingdoms. Many of these substances are toxic in their natural state or in physiological dose, such as Arsenic and Belladonna, but safe when prepared homeopathically.

The animal kingdom provides the fewest remedies, most being made from milks, venoms and excretions. Because of trituration (a process of preparing a potency from substances usually insoluble in water or alcohol), even metals and minerals can be made into remedies.

How remedies are made

Every homeopathic remedy goes through at least three steps of preparation. Let’s say we’re making a homeopathic remedy from Arnica montana, a plant. The following is a very simplified version of what actually happens in a homeopathic pharmacy.

First, a mother tincture is prepared. A mother tincture is, in essence, a 1x solution of any given material, because the original substance is combined at a ratio of 1:10 in a water/alcohol mixture.

The second step in preparing a remedy is the process of dilution. Imagine five small vials, each filled with ten drops of an alcohol/water mixture. Remember that the mother tincture of Arnica is already a 1x potency (1:10 dilution). One drop would be taken from the bottle of mother tincture and placed in the first vial. This would create a 2x dilution of Arnica. One drop of the 2x dilution would be placed in the second vial, creating a 3x dilution of Arnica. This process would continue with each of the remaining vials, so that the fifth vial would contain a dilution of Arnica 6x.

In order to transform our Arnica dilutions into potencies, there is a third step which must be taken after each dilution, and that is succussion. Succussion involves shaking each vial rigorously, each shake being firmly pounded against a solid surface. So, after placing one drop of mother tincture into our first vial, the 2x dilution would be succussed a measured number of times before continuing the process, as would the 3x, 4x, and so on.

The same process is followed for making a 30c potency, only the dilution ratio is on a centesimal scale ("c") of 1:100 rather than a decimal scale ("x") of 1:10.

Determining which potency to use in home care

In treating with basic homeopathy, it is best to start with the lowest potency (usually 6x). The actual potency is secondary to the correct remedy, and starting low gives you the option of changing to the next higher potency if and when the first no longer seems to work.

With a little bit of math, you can see why homeopathy is safe (not to mention raises the eyebrows of individuals for whom homeopathic ideas are new).