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DEFINING HOMEOPATHY
It was a German-born physician, Samuel HAHNEMANN (1755-1843), who discovered the treatment system that he baptized “HOMEOPATHY” in 1807.

Homeopathy is a medical system based on three principles:

• The Law of Similars
• The Principle of the “Totality of Symptoms”
• The Principle of the “Infinitesimal Dose”.

The Law of Similars
“Any substance capable of inducing specific signs or symptoms in a healthy person will be able, at low dosages, to alleviate these same signs and symptoms in a sick person suffering from them”.

Let us consider, for example, strong coffee when drunk by a healthy person. This will induce sleeplessness (insomnia), but not just any kind of sleeplessness. In fact, the coffee-drinker will not be tired but quite mentally, alert if not somewhat overexcited.

But in homeopathic doses, coffee, here called by its Latin name, COFFEA, becomes a homeopathic remedy for sleeplessness.

When treating a patient, the Law of SIMILARS is invoked; by close observation and analytical study of the signs and symptoms, the most similarly acting homeopathic remedy will be prescribed. In other words, that remedy which, in large doses, would produce, in a well person, the patient’s signs and symptoms.

The “Totality of Symptoms” Principle
In addition to the signs and symptoms due to the illness, a patient will present further signs and symptoms, unique to her/his person, and different in every individual, so that each person will respond to his/her illness in a unique way.

Together, the signs and symptoms (individually specific to each patient) constitute the “globality” of the patient’s reaction to the illness.

We must therefore note all the signs and symptoms the patient displays in order to determine the most suitable remedy.

Take, for example, the cases of two children, both suffering from “fever”.

• The first child has a temperature of l00°F, is pale-faced with periods of flushing. The child is thirsty but the condition does not prevent it from playing.
• The other child has a fever of 102° F and a red face; there is much sweating and the whole body radiates heat; the child is sensitive to noise and wants only to be left alone in its room.

At first sight, both children present with the same sign, FEVER, but we soon note that their individual reactions to these fevers are quite different.

When treated by homeopathy, these two children will be given different medications. The first will be treated with FERRUM PHOSPHORICUM, while the second is given BELLADONNA; each medication, in fact, actually induces the signs and symptoms particular to the specific patient.

THE HOMEOPATHTHIC REMEDY
Homeopathy uses, for its base materials, natural substances made from plants, animals and minerals.

Products derived from plants or animals are extracted from their sources by a water-and-alcohol mixture and then filtered, to yield a so-called Mother Tincture.

This mother tincture is then diluted in successive steps and the final dilution is used to manufacture the medication.

Mineral products are ground up and then diluted.

Dilution Nomenclature
A dilution of 1 C (or 1 CH, "Hahnemannian centesimal") is obtained by diluting the Mother tincture one hundred-fold (to 1/100)

A second dilution, or 2 C, is obtained by diluting the mother-tincture twice, yielding a ten-thousand-fold dilution (1/10.000 = 1/100 x 1/100) of the Mother tincture.

A 3 C medication has been diluted three times, etc.
If the dilution is made to 1/10 rather than to 1/100, an “X” rather than “C” would be the designation.

How Homeopathic Remedies are Named
Example: ARNICA 6C
6C is the sixth centesimal dilution, i.e. 6 successive 100-fold dilutions, to 1 in 1 trillionth).

Homeopathic medications are always named according to the Latin name of the original substance, followed by a number indicating the frequency of succesive dilutions and letters (e.g.C or X) indicating the method of dilution (e.g. C = x 100 = centesimal)

The most common format of the final pharmaceutical product is the tube of granules (one tube contains about 80 granules, in all, weighing 4 grams), but medications may also come in the form of drops, tablets, unit-dose tubes, etc.

Homeopathic medications are prepared according to the dictates of the French or United States Homeopathic Pharmacopoeias.

PRACTICAL HINTS-SUGGESTIONS FOR USE

• Take homeopathic medications either just before a meal or at bedtime.
  
• Avoid mint and coffee near periods of treatment.
  
• Do not touch the granules with your fingers; to count out the required number of granules for one dose, use the dose-measuring stopper provided with the medication’s container.
  
• Allow the granules to melt under the tongue.
  
• When treating infants, dissolve the granules in a little water, then administer the solution in small sips.
  

DOSAGE
In acute conditions (e.g. fevers), take the medication every half-hour or hour. As soon as there is improvement, reduce medication to 3 to 4 times per day. When all signs and symptoms have disappeared, discontinue it.

For prolonged, i.e. chronic, treatment (e.g. acne, warts, etc.) take the medication 2 to 3 times per day.

Usual dosages are listed with each medication and for each indication.

...note: this information describes the most common illnesses treatable by self-medication and in no way replaces the medical consultation needed whenever symptoms persist or worsen.