Homeopathy 101


I’m going to start where I wish someone had when I first became interested in this subject.

Homeopathy looks at disease in a very different manner than allopathic (AMA-practiced) medicine does. Where allopaths have medicines to suppress disease (to push it further inward), homeopathy seeks to change the field. An infectious disease is viewed as a disruption of normal body function that can occur when a micro-organism enters the body; multiplies; and thrives where it is not normally present. In order to determine the "cause" of an infectious disease, you need to look at both the virulence of the infecting agent and the resistance of the person’s defense system. These are called "states of susceptibility," or "host resistance." Stress plays a very large factor here as well.

Homeopathic remedies can not only help a person recover faster but to become more resistant to other infections as well. While antibiotics may rid the body of an infecting organism, they cannot change the field in which the invader took up residence and homeopathy can and often does accomplish this.

There are 5 basic steps to using homeopathy in the home: 1) Case taking which involves keeping a detailed record of each family members’ medical history; surgeries; medications; allergies. When an illness manifests you jot down all of the leading factors that may have led to the illness. Everything is written down to assemble later on when looking through the Materia Medica (a big compilation of all symptoms that fit all remedies on the market today). Each case is meticulously built upon a number of symptoms.

A symptom here is any change that is experienced or observed during the course of an illness. For instance is it better with hot; cold; air; no air; warmth; coldness; bright; dark- we look at all factors surrounding the person. This is all notated. Next emotional states are taken into account as they are part of each case. This is done in as much detail as possible.

Particular symptoms refers to manifestations in a certain part of the body: (i.e., there is a pounding on the "right side" of my head only.)

General symptoms are those felt by the entire body. (i.e., I ache in the mornings). These symptoms are weighed first because it allows you to see how the whole system is reacting to this invasion.

Peculiar symptoms are those manifestations that do not usually occur in most people with this manifestation. (i.e., I got a red rash, but my cousin didn’t).

So first we look at obvious symptoms; then at manifestations in other parts of the body; then we make note of the details affecting the whole bodily reaction to the illness.

We look at: contributing causes; onset of the illness; character of the symptoms; location of particulars; modalities of symptoms (things that help or hurt the situation); and general symptoms.

2) The second big thing we accomplish is a case analysis where we take all of the above and put it together. So for particular symptoms we note: the character of the pain or sensation; patterns of symptoms; description of any discharge or changes in urine or stool; factors that make each symptom better or worse;

  • certain times of day
  • temperature or weather variations;
  • bathing
  • rest or motion
  • position
  • external stimuli (touch)
  • eating or drinking
  • sleep
  • urination, defecation
  • sweat or other discharges
  • emotions
Then we look at general physical symptoms:
  • strength & energy level
  • temperature reactions
  • sleep
  • thirst and appetite
  • sweat
Then we look at general psychological symptoms such as:
  • how are they with people
  • without people
  • generally depressed
  • solitary
  • impulsive
  • indecisive
  • confused or dull
  • fearful
  • anxious (all psychological things that manifest in the mind)

3) We analyze the case and choose the remedy. If you have been meticulous about steps 1 and 2 this step is fairly simple. You will need a Materia Medica, and one of the first ones I had was the small Boericke Book. Now I have a Kent’s too. There are also computer programs you can run with the information input in and it will repertorize it for you. Finding one medicine that fits every symptom is impossible. We would first assess the key symptoms (those that stand out to you) to try to match the symptoms to the medicine rather than the medicine to the symptom.

In step 3: choosing the correct remedy.

We have our Materia Medica or (MM), and you have taken the case, so to speak. You then take your keynote symptoms, those that are either unusual or speak out to you. Each symptom is listed within the MM and has several remedies under it. You begin your list. You do this for each keynote and then each symptom noting which remedies crop up most frequently. Also in many MMs the most important remedies are printed in darker ink, and those are the ones you should look at first. I usually make a small table of them so I can keep a running talley of which remedy is beginning to stand out.

You then begin to narrow down your remedies and may even go back over the case to see if the few you have left still fit in. There may be some juggling about this too.

In choosing the remedy you will try to find the one that stands out the most for as many symptoms as possible; and most of your key symptoms. Taking the time to read the descriptions can be invaluable here for each remedy. Each MM has an outline of each remedy and this is the section you should now turn to.

Sometimes you may feel that two or more medicines will fit into your choice equally well; or that none do. Then you go to the lesser symptoms and begin again. There will always be something that can lead you into the final decision. You have to be the detective to find it and it takes infinite patience at times. My intake sheets for some clients go as long as 14 pages. You are cultivating an art as much as a healing modality here. You then end up matching the greatest number of symptoms from the complete case as you can.

4) We then administer the remedy. For home use there are several potencies:

6x, 6c, 12x, 12c, 30x, or 30c. Medicines that have been diluted as 1 part of the remedy to 99 parts water or alcohol are called centesimal and have the "c" designation. Medicines that have been diluted 1 part medicine to 9 parts dilutent are the decimal potencies and are labelled the "x" series. One of the differences in homeopathic remedies is the succussion (rapid shaking) that goes into making the preparations.

The 30x or c strengths generally can act pretty deeply without seeing a homeopath. Homeopaths work with the larger numbers because of their deep tissue work and constitutional considerations. Many homeopaths also feel that choosing the right remedy is a bit more important than choosing the correct potency; yet others do not agree, so it becomes a matter of art and preference.

You begin with the minimal dose. I give mine a bit differently. If you buy one of the commercially prepared bottles of small pellules you are directed to take 3 under the tongue. Because I feel the energetics are so very important here, I make the patient part of this assembling process. I use the 30x level at work. I take 1 pellule and place it in a bit of spring water that the client pours into a juice glass. I then have the client stir it until the pellule is dissolved. They are adding in their own energetics and further potentizing it for themselves. Then they drink it down. I usually give this only one time. And we are doing this with our lyme disease patients, successfully I might add.

Giving more does not usually mean it’s best. Remedies should be given with any water except tap water as the chlorine and flouride can destabilize them. Nor do I like distilled water as it is energetically dead from my point of view. Spring or mineral water seems to do best here. One should generally avoid eating or drinking anything else for 15 minutes or so after a remedy is taken. Pellules should not be dropped into your hand but delivered from the small tops on the bottles made for this kind of thing, or done as we do in the juice cups. Do not touch them. Keep your remedies away from sunlight and strong odors which can also destabilize them. Camphor fumes, coffee, and mint all have an antidoting effect, as do other strong cleansing fumes and sunlight.

When the patient returns you usually begin again and re-take the case, considering a change for a deeper level of healing. Healing sometimes occurs in the layering method and it is important to peel away as many layers as one can for each condition.

5) Repeating or changing the remedy. You would not consider this step until there are no more changes taking place within the client. Close observation is the best way to determine if a repeat or a change is necessary. Or if the condition begins to worsen then one considers re-administering the remedy. You do not have to change strengths; but if your keynotes change then you do have to begin again. Some remedies are followers and some leaders, and as you learn them you get to see how this works.

There are some general guidelines though.

1) the more severe the acute symptoms, the more often you may have to dose. For intense pain remedies can be given as often as every 10 or 15 minutes; and then every 1 to 4 hours.

2) continue the remedy for no more than 1 or 2 days. If the symptoms keep returning then you should reconsider the case.

3) Allow enough time for the remedy to work before switching to another remedy. This is extremely important. Each body is different, and will work on it’s own time. Observation and communication come in very strongly here.

4) Don’t try too many remedies for one illness. There is one that will fit, the art is in the matching up and this really does take years to do.

One of the things that is now available is constitutional homeopathy, where a homeopath will take your whole constitutional case. I had this to eliminate migraines last year. If the proper match is made most of your worst symptoms will disappear. Constitutional healing may take years of layering and should only be done with a professional. I don’t attempt to do it. Within the scope of this discipline is something called a "healing crisis" whereby the patient begins to shed some of the illness. This manifests as various discomforts within the body and usually goes away within 12 to 24 hours. It is important to know this because you may think a symptom is returning when in fact it is leaving for good.

We can also precipitate healing crises through the acupuncture regimes we do that are more cleansing routines for some organs. We then tell the client what is going on, and they report back to us. In this manner we know there is activity going on within the body and that something else needs to be observed and recorded.

Homeopathy is one of the best regimes we have at our disposal today. Personally I have been able to have Washington Homeopathic prepare the anthrax nosode for us when there was an alert on Washington last year for anthrax. And I have used it to dissolve blood clots last year. I can personally attest to it’s strength and art.

O.K. let’s do dosing.

Practically every homeopath you speak with will have his/her own preference, but there are some guidelines. One thing you will hear in homeopathy pretty regularly is the "minimum dose." Hahnemann believed that a persons inherent healing powers were so strong that only a small stimulus was needed to begin the healing process. Homeopaths feel that once this process is begun it is best to do nothing more and to let the body heal from the inside out on it’s own schedule. This is why I do single doses with our lyme clients.

Classical homeopaths do not feel a second dose should be needed, but, if you see no more healing and there is not total improvement, they may grudgingly give another dose. They feel these remedies should act as a catalyst only to activate the body’s own defenses. When treating chronics they sometimes wait months or years before giving another dose. My own homeopath waited 2 months between doses. BTW my constitutional remedy is aurum (gold) - fit for a Leo. It is only when symptoms present in a changed manner that one needs to consider the use of another remedy separate from the first administration.

Again you look at symptoms. I find it hard to see how folks can do treatments over the internet. You would need to look at a client for the following: a change in face color; skin color; perspiration; the movement of the eyes; tongue; how they sit; fidget; stare off into space; if they are alert or not with you. All of this is done through observation and just relying on a client’s "reporting" ability is to slight the client, and to leave yourself open to a lawsuit. If someone wishes to prescribe for you over the internet tell them no. They are then only going by stock remedies and not looking at the whole picture.

When taking a homeopathic remedy it is best not to take any other while your body is working with the one. You can potentially stop the healing within and then will have to re-take the case.

HERINGS LAWS OF CURE

Homeopaths look at healing on three levels: physical, mental, and emotional, and I add in spiritual and so do others. The more serious symptoms, we have found, effect the deeper more vital parts of a person. When doing an evaluation a homeopath first looks at the mental component; then the emotional; then the physical. The homeopath is often not satisfied if the presenting symptoms have gone away, but must then look to see what has changed, and whether the person’s overall vitality has increased or decreased. Following the administration of the right remedy, symptoms on the deeper levels improve, while those on the more external levels temporarily worsen. Cure then progresses from the inside out. Details about these important trends in healing were codified by Constantine Hering, and are thus called "Herings Law of Cure."

Law #1 - Healing occurs from the deepest part of the organism (the mental and emotional levels, and vital organs) - to the external parts such as the skin and extremities. A cure is in progress when a person’s psychological symptoms lessen, and the physical ones increase. Eventually as this healing moves outward, even superficial symptoms are helped. However, if the physical symptoms improve and the psychological worsens the person is said to be deteriorating.

Law #2 - As healing progresses symptoms appear and disappear in the reverse of their original chronological order of appearance. This mainly happens when you are attempting to work with the chronics; but even during an acute phase of illness retracing can occur. This does not always happen but is interesting to watch and chart when it does occur.

Law #3 - Healing progresses from the upper to the lower parts of the body. As these symptoms change one might become worse than they had been before treatment. These are called "aggravations" and are usually welcomed because they are an indication that movement is taking place, as long as there is improvement on the deeper levels. If healing is really going on, the person will quickly feel stronger and generally better in spite of the aggravation.

Ultimately you are aiming at having the person experience an overall increase in health and freedom.

From time to time I am asked what diseases are helped with homeopathy. So we should look at how homeopathy views disease. It sees tissue changes as a manifestation or the result of disease, rather than the disease itself. However, certain pathology in the client is so far advanced that homeopathy can do little to help, so knowing a disciplines limits can only help you. In today’s world we see many illnesses rising out of our unhealthy environment: stresses in business; inadequate dietary habits; too little sleep; and poor environmental conditions all can contribute to ill health. A good homeopath will seek to correct these first before repertorizing for a proper remedy that matches the ongoing symptoms.

One of the hardest manifestations a homeopath may see are the kinds of diseases that arise from improper use of allopathic medicines, such as vaccinations; antibiotics; and other drugs used in the suppression of illness. Some cases have been so badly layered, or mixed up that through the use of drugs, it is impossible to cure them, but some symptoms may be alleviated.

Homeopaths can also act in a preventative manner attempting to eliminate elements of the client’s life that derange health. They may counsel on diet, exercise, and changing habits that are contributing to dis-ease. So even before the homeopath looks to his repertory of remedies he has done some good.

A repertory is a huge directory of all of the provings done, so far, on certain remedies. Remedies have been made from the animal kingdom; and mineral and plant sources. Remedies use substances that in their natural state may be extremely toxic but prepared correctly in homeopathic potencies, they acquire medicinal properties.

The homeopath needs to know which remedies contain what curative powers. The repertory is always being added to as new remedies are proven and recorded. Unlike allopathic medicines which are made from observing their effects on animals and tests on sick patients; homeopathic remedies are "proved" on healthy subjects. It is believed that only in a healthy person is a remedy able to express itself in pure form, uninhibited by the disease process.

Let’s look at vital force a moment since it is one of the underlying concepts of homeopathy. Hahnemann in his "Organon of Medicine," defined his concept of vital force as..."in he healthy condition of man, the spiritual vital force (autocracy), the dynamis that animates the material body (organism), rules with unbounded sway, and retains all the parts of the organism in admirable, harmonious, vital operation, as regards both sensations and functions, so that our indwelling, reason-gifted mind can freely employ this living, healthy instrument for the higher purposes of our existence...the material organism, without the vital force, is capable of no sensation, no function, no self preservation..."

Every medicine produces a different set of symptoms, just like all species of plants differ from one another in their structures, and the minerals they uptake from the soil. In the cases of very toxic substances tiny doses are given to the provers. Milder remedies may be administered to develop the full picture of the remedy. Then the data is gathered and placed in a large repertory or Materia Medica. There are several repertories on the market, and some online. At work I have a Kent’s and in the car I have a Boericke (much smaller) Materia Medica.

In health -

Mary L. Conley, MNH, N.D.

Professional Consultations/Online Classes;
Botanical Pharmacy, Burtonsville, Md.
Specializing in Substance Abuse/Addictions Counseling

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Comments are instructional only; Please be sure to seek the care of a practitioner.