Homeopathic Remedies: Understanding the sugar pills
-
How the remedies are made
A homeopathic remedy is generally prepared by diluting and shaking a substance multiple times. The shaking process is called succussion. A remedy made from an herbal tincture is prepared by taking a drop of the tincture and diluted with 99 drops of alcohol. The bottle is then succussed or shaken, and one drop of this mixture is added to 99 drops of alcohol and succussed. This process continues until the desired dilution is achieved. Solid compounds are made into remedies using a process called trituration. One part of the solid compound is mixed with 100 parts milk sugar and ground together with a mortar and pestle. The process is then repeated three times and then the powder is added to water and a liquid remedy is created by the same process above.
-
What the numbers on the bottles mean
The numbers on remedy bottles (commonly 6C, 12C, 30C, 200C, 1M and others) indicate how many times the substance has been diluted. The C-scale indicates a dilution of 1/100. So a 6C has been diluted down 6 times, each time one part previous tincture, 100 parts water or alcohol. In other words you start with an herbal tincture or something similar, then put one drop of that into 100 drops of water. Then you shake/succuss the mixture. Then you take one drop of that mixture and put it into 100 drops of water and shake. You continue until you have done it 6 times to create a 6C. Once you reach a thousand, the letter switches to M. So a 1M is the same as a 1000C. In the cases of teething tablets and some combination remedies found in health food stores, the substance is diluted 1x or 6x which is 1:10, or one drop of mixture in 10 drops of water. The remedies are therefore not as highly diluted as the C or M scale.
-
What the letters on the bottles mean
Over the years, other people and manufacturing companies have developed slightly different methods, which mostly change the ratio of tincture/triturated substance to water, and/or the amount of succussion, or method of succussion. These other methods are denotated by different letters after the number (e.g. F for Finke, K for Korsakoff). However, the centesimal scale (donated by C or CH on the bottle) is the most common. The C scale denotes a dilution of 1/100. The goal is always to make the medicine as gentle, but also as effective, as possible.
What could the mechanism of action be?
The dilution process has been one of the most criticized practices in homeopathy. Based on the basics of chemistry, the high dilutions homeopaths use are indeed perplexing. My personal view is that if it works, I don’t necessarily care why. However, we are also starting to see interesting studies published that show possible mechanisms of action on why diluted remedies have such large effects.
Substances called nanoparticles have recently become the object of study, as nanoparticles of multiple remedies have been found at 200C equivalent dilution, a dilution high enough that no molecules of starting material should be present. Nanoparticles are what they sound like – very tiny particles of matter! A sheet of paper is generally 100,000 nanoparticles thick, so these particles are 1/100,000 of a piece of paper thick! The presence of these nanoparticles indicate that the process of dilution and succussion in someway creates materials that could have systemic effects. The researcher Dr. Iris Bell has hypothesized based on her and other researcher’s results that nanoparticles trigger massive amplification processes in the body that improve the resilience of the system. In other words, these small particles trigger massive changes in the body that improve health.
Still Curious? Here’s more:
-
The medicines are diluted for two reasons. First, because homeopaths use substances that are often toxic in high doses (e.g. Arsenic, Foxglove). By diluting the remedies down, these substances are made safe enough that you could take the whole bottle (or a few bottles) and not get arsenic poisoning or foxglove poisoning. Remedies diluted this way have been given to pregnant individuals, infants, and the frail/terminally ill for hundreds of years without evidence of “poisonings” from the remedies. In fact, the cases of adverse events in the US due to teething tablets were cases of poisonings because the remedies hadn’t been diluted enough.
The second reason for dilution is that homeopaths for centuries have observed that paradoxically, the more a remedy is diluted, the stronger the healing effect seems to be. Again this is strange, but has also been documented by professions outside of homeopathy. Digoxin (aka Lanoxin) is a pharmaceutical product given in low doses for heart failure and arrythmias, however in high doses it also causes those conditions. Ambien (zolpidem), has recently been found to be helpful in waking people from comas at low doses, whereas in high doses it causes sleep.
-
Remedies have been made from plants, minerals and animal sources. Because of the use of high dilutions, homeopathy is one of the most sustainable medicines that exist. Very little original substance is needed to create many remedy bottles, and the remedies are completely shelf stable so they do not need to be thrown out if you haven’t used them in a while.
-
Remedies can come as pellets (which dissolve in your mouth, you don’t need to swallow them) or as liquids. The liquids are alcoholic to prevent spoilage, so let me know if you can’t have alcohol-based remedies. The liquid is usually prescribed in number of drops and comes in a dropper bottle (e.g. take 2 drops daily). The pellets come in a bottle that needs to be rotated to get the pellets out. If the pellets drop on the floor, throw them away and get new ones.
You can watch how to take a remedy on my YouTube channel, or read more on my blog.
Sometimes if the dose needs to be more gentle, I will have patients put the pellet or drop of liquid into a glass of water. This dilutes the remedy down farther and prevents adverse reactions in sensitive individuals. If that is the case for you, I will give you detailed instructions with your prescription on how to do that.
-
Remedies should be stored away from direct sunlight, extreme temperatures (be careful about keeping them in a hot car for too long or storing them in the kitchen above very hot appliances like a kettle or oven). Electromagnetic waves also seem to weaken the remedies, so avoid storing them on top of or right next to a router or microwave. Keep the cap of the remedy closed at all times.
-
If you are familiar with homeopathy, you may have heard practitioners advise not drinking coffee during the course of treatment and/or not using any peppermint products because they interfere with remedies. In my experience, coffee and peppermint sometimes interfere with treatment, but not always. Any strong external influence – strong emotions, strong smells (e.g. coffee or peppermint, aromatherapy), strong medical treatments (dental work, chiropractic adjustments, chemotherapy, etc) have the potential to slow down progress with homeopathic treatment or reverse some of the progress. This phenomenon is individual however – everyone reacts differently to these life stressors. Therefore at the onset, I do not suggest stopping coffee or peppermint. If you are sensitive to certain stimuli, I also may be able to adjust the dose of your homeopathic remedy such that the progress can continue. So yes! You can keep your coffee!
Blog posts on Remedies
There are 3 basic ways to prevent aggravations (other than just taking less of the remedy!): dilute a remedy down, olfaction, and changing the timing of your dose.