Fourth Chapter HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES The Sources The basic material for the preparation of homeopathic remedies are always natural substances, of vegetable origin (Pulsatilla, wind flower, Lycopodium, wolf's claw club moss, etc.), animal origin (Lac canninum, dog's milk, Calcarea Carbonica, oyster shell, etc.), mineral origin (for inst. metals: Aurum, gold, Zincum, zinc), acids (Sulphuric acid), elements and their compounds (Phosphorus, Calcarea phosphorica), salts (Natrium muriaticum, sodium chlorate, salt), rocks (Hecla lava, lava from the volcano Hecla), etc. Sometimes it may even be some energy (Sol, solar radiation), radiation of some other stars, etc. A special category is formed by the so-called nosodes, products of pathological processes, such as Lysin, the saliva of a dog with rabies, or Carcinosin, produced from the cancerous growth, etc. Nosodes can be prepared from almost any pathology. Another type of nosodes are germs, such as Bacilinum, the bacterium of tuberculosis. All homeopathic remedies were tested in homeopathic dilution on healthy individuals and their effects were verified by the practice. Presently there are approximately two thousand remedies. In the pioneering times of homeopathy, the enthusiastic homeopaths would try out almost any substance they could lay their hands on - from the dust found in the living room, through kinds of plants, even to the North and South poles on the magnet. Only some substances displayed a complete picture during the testing of some human disease or ailment. The effects of these remedies were described and entered the Materia Medicas. The point of departure to further processing of plants is usually the mother tincture. This is prepared by grinding the whole flowering plant including the roots, such as the wind flower, and mixing it with the pure or slightly diluted spirit. Sometimes, as with Nux vomica, the tincture is made only from the seeds, or as in the case of Lycopodium (wolf's claw), from the spores or with Bryonia (wild hops), from the roots. As much as possible uncultivated plants are used, growing wild in a non-contaminated environment. The tincture should be prepared as soon as the plants are gathered, while the material is still fresh. The remedies of animal origin are made in a similar manner. The dog's milk, the snake venom, the sepia ink and other substances of this nature are mixed with the spirit, and the mother tincture is thus prepared. Apis melifica, the remedy often used to cure the effects of a bee sting, is prepared by grinding and mixing the body of the whole queen bee with the spirit. Some patients may view this as unethical, but we must realise that one bee can yield the remedy for millions of patients. The remedies of mineral origin are somewhat more difficult to prepare in the first phase of manufacturing. With the remedy Aurum, gold dust is mixed with lactine, sucrose, milk sugar, which like spirits is homeopatically neutral. With sucrose it is stirred in a bowl and after a time one hundredth part of the gold with sucrose is transferred into another bowl, where the mixing and stirring is repeated. This gives rise to the second remedial potency. In like manner, the third potency is reached. Only then follows potentiating, by a liquid diluting medium. Similarly the other metals are treated - and homeopathy uses many. The metals that would not be included in any of the homeopathic Materia Medicas are rather an exception. The salts are either dissolved in distilled water with spirit, or stirred in with sucrose. Remedies made by processing energies, the so-called "imponderables", form a special, rather curious, relatively little used and researched category. Sol was prepared by exposing a bowl of water with spirits for several days to the Naples sun, followed by potentiating. A peculiar thing, but a useful one. It quickly removes the after-effects of sunstroke, and persons oversensitive to the sun lose this sensitivity when given the remedy. What a useful remedy to have in the times of ozone holes! The remedy was made even in Australia, directly under the ozone hole. Potencies Relatively few remedies are used in the form of mother tincture. These are sometimes prescribed for local external use, such as Calendula, marigold, or Hypericum, St. John’s wort, for slight injuries of the skin. In an absolute majority of cases, the remedy is taken as homeopathic potency. The principle of dilution of homeopathic remedies was already described. The most common is centesimal dilution, where one hundredth part is transferred into the next dose. The remedy is then marked as C, occasionally CH, followed by the number of steps taken during the process of dilution. Such as Pulsatilla C30. This applies to the countries of European continent. In England the centesimal dilution is so prevalent that it is not usually denoted (for instance Pulsatilla 30). Another possibility is a decimal dilution, basically the same process, when only the tenth part is transferred into the next dose. in such case the full name of the remedy is Pulsatilla D30. If we compare the total dilution of the original substance, then the potency D30 is equal to the potency C15, i.e. always 2:1. The "D" potencies in England and America are marked as "X". Thus D30 = 30X. In both cases the medium used for dilution is distilled water, to which about 10 % of spirit may be added. Sometimes only distilled water is used. For each new dilution a clean, glass, previously unused vial is taken. After only one use this must be destroyed. Some authors assume and offer some practical examples, that glass can sustain the potential and thus also the effect of the remedy. Much glass is therefore used while processing remedies. When high potencies are prepared, loads of used vials have to be taken to the rubbish tip. Succussion An important part of the process is a thorough shaking and mixing of the medium. Hahnemann had another objective for this shaking; he assumed, partially influenced by the contemporary conceptions of physics and magnetism, that by vigorous shaking, or by hitting the vial against a firm, resilient pad (a book, for instance), some extra energy is added to the remedy. He called this vigorous shaking succussion. His explanation was that each successive dilution and succussion makes the remedy more effective. Some homeopaths to these days stress the importance of succussion, others grant it almost ritualistic significance, nevertheless lately this entire theory has been on the way out. Personally I am convinced that effectiveness of the remedy increases with a simple dilution and mixing, without any vigorous shaking. As we will see later, this controversy is deeply rooted and relates to the two differing explanations of why the remedies may be effective. One conception is of strength (the remedy transfers a certain energy onto the patient and this energy is given to the remedy by succussion), the other is of information - the remedy contains only information, increased vitality and effectiveness of the organism is a result of better organisational quality of the centre. Dilution and mixing can be done by hand or automatically by a machine. Here the homeopathic community is divided into three categories. The first favour manufacturing by hand, insisting that the remedies thus prepared are more effective. Some manufacturers even stress that their homeopathic products are prepared entirely by hand - such as the English Helios Pharmacy. The second group prefers mechanical production, particularly of the highly potentised remedies. The potencies CM (diluted one hundred thousand times) or MM (one million times) could not be prepared by hand even at the best of will. The third category of homeopaths and the largest do not differentiate between the remedies prepared by hand or by a machine. Both happen to work and no one has ever proved that there is any difference. The problem lies somewhere else. The correctly prescribed machine potentised remedy is always effective, while incorrectly prescribed hand potentised remedy would not do much good. Another way of preparation is the so-called Korsakov method, also extremely useful for the home manufacture of remedies, because of its low usage of diluting medium and glass. Only one vial is used. It is filled with the diluting medium and one percent of the mother tincture. It is then shaken and emptied. Filled again with the distilled water, it is shaken and emptied. This is repeated as many times as desired. It is assumed that each time the glass walls would hold about as much water from the previous step, that it approximates this one percent in the centesimal dilution. Thus potentised remedy is marked K, as in Pulsatilla K30. Naturally, the dilution is not exact, and it is not known if any role is played by the already mentioned "memory of glass". Some authors maintain that the effectiveness of K potencies stops at about C30 level and does not continue any further, regardless of the number of subsequent dilutions. Contemporary physical experimentation also proved that this dilution is not perfect. Its advantage, apart from the already mentioned savings on materials, is the possibility of maintaining greater purity of the process, as only one vial is continuously used. A completely different way of processing are the LM potencies. This is another of Hahnemann's inventions, which he made towards the end of his life and mentioned only in the sixth edition of the Organon, § 270. The substance is first ground, then potentised three times on the base of lactine. From thus prepared potency of the third order, one hundredth part is taken and this is diluted in five hundred parts of twenty percent proof alcohol. One part is taken and diluted in alcohol 1 : 100 and shaken by hitting against a firm resilient pad. In one drop a number of small balls of sucrose are then soaked. This results in the first degree LM I. To get to the next step LM II, one ball diluted in one hundred parts of alcohol, followed by vigorous shaking and another soaking of the balls of sucrose... Hahnemann recommends preparing potencies this way of up to LM XXX. We must add that this process was named LM only by further generations. It is the Roman numerical value 50 000. It is so because of the approximate dilution 1: 50 000 in each step. Form of Remedies The end product of manufacturing process are drops, however remedies are not too often used in this form. More common are tablets of various sizes, granules or globules, prepared from sucrose and saturated by potentised substance. The remedy is distributed in phials made of brown tinted glass, to protect it from light. In such casing remedies can be stored almost infinitely. Preservation of Remedies Recently, remedies from Hahnemann's First Aid box were tried out, 150 years old. They were effective. Some companies wrap their remedies in plastic - it is not yet known how long could remedies be preserved in this way without deteriorating. Remedies should not be exposed to direct light or any radiation. Their effectiveness could be harmed when exposed to strong magnetic fields (from various electronic devices and magnets). Damaging are the strong chemical odorous and also the smell of camphor. In pharmacies that stock homeopathic remedies no camphor should be stored, as it acts as a general antidote. The remedy should not be exposed to heat. The most suitable is an approximate room temperature. Intoxication by Homeopathic Remedies? One of the peculiarities of homeopathic remedies is that when substances are potentised, even those substances that in their natural state are ineffective and do not influence the organism at all, now gain curing properties. To this group belong for instance graphite, gold, platinum. Some substances are even common food ingredients in their raw condition - such as the cooking salt, NaCl. In homeopathy it is called Natrium muriaticum. It is an ancient name, inherited from the alchemists, who called chlorine muriaticum. However, the issue is not only the curing properties of potentised substances, but also their intoxicating effects. Almost any potentised substance causes certain changes in the organism, i.e. intoxication. This is the actual principle of provings on healthy individuals. The advantage of this form of intoxication, compared with an ordinary intoxication is that the former disappears after a time without any further effects. Paradoxically (there are many paradoxes in homeopathy) the participating person's state of health improves, after the symptoms have disappeared. Their vital forces were stimulated. An example, to take a truly famous case, is the life of Hahnemann, who had tested hundreds of substances on his own person, and still had enough vitality and health left to not only become the champion of the new method of treatment, but even to marry for the second time at the age of eighty. Proving Testing of remedies is conducted by giving unmarked pills of a lower potency (for instance C5, up to C30) to several individuals. None of the participants would know the name of the remedy. They take one pill several times a day at regular intervals. Their task is to carry a note book and to record any, even the slightest changes away from their normal condition, either psychological or physical. Thus the provers may experience a large range of changes - such as lower concentration, insomnia, increased of decreased level of anxiety, thirst or lack of thirst, chilliness or increased sense of warmth, they may feel pain in the joints or some other parts of their body, rashes of a particular appearance, connected with some other sensations, such as burning, itching, needling, etc. Every substance has its specific complex changes, its signs and symptoms. Those changes that repeatedly occur with the larger number of provers are then included in the picture of the remedy. During the trial period, the participants are not allowed to take any medication, spices or substances that in any way may influence their state of health, such as alcohol or nicotine. The results of the testing are then the most important building stones of the basic homeopathic diagnostic tool - the Materia Medica. The testing of remedies is also the simplest way for unbelievers to experience, without any in depth knowledge, the effectiveness of homeopathic potencies.
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