Single Remedy or Combination?
Is using a single remedy the only way to use homeopathy?
The definition of homeopathy is like cures like, so for a substance to be homeopathic to a case, it has to cover the symptoms displayed by the body. We can only know this for individual remedies. When you combine them, the result is no longer homeopathic to the person’s particular set of symptoms.
A lot of debate goes on about whether taking multiple remedies mixed in a formula is a good thing and perhaps is better than the single remedy. Often finding the correct single remedy can be elusive because the symptom picture given by the client is not clear so a blend seems easier. However this is not homeopathy, it is using potentised remedies but they are not prescribed in a homeopathic manner. This is why the remedy has to be repeated frequently and for long periods because it may be hiding symptoms and not curing.
A remedy doesn’t need to be potentised to be homeopathic, a herb can be administered in a homeopathic way. For example Andrographis is an Asian herb used in India and China, now popular in Western countries with a reputation for supporting the immune and digestive systems. In the back of Boericke’s Materia Medica there is a chapter called “50 Homeopathic Indian Drugs” with an entry for Andrographis. The symptoms listed include
throbbing pain in the head
redness of the eyes
watery discharge of the nose
sneezing
Fever with chilliness, heat over the the body, disinclined to move during fever.
Does this describe having a cold? Is this why this herb is so beneficial for upper respiratory tract symptoms?
When a herbal tincture is prescribed homeopathically, usually small doses are given, this could be drop doses of only a few drops in a glass of water, 3 times a day. Many old materia medicas will describe this type of prescribing.
In herbal medicine, tinctures are commonly used as a blend and the dose maybe 5-30mls twice a day, with upper limits for each tincture listed in herbal materia medicas. I once treated a young boy who had adverse effects from taking herbal tinctures from a naturopath because he had consumed too much alcohol.
Herbs, being on the material plane, may suppress symptoms. In practice, if someone has had Chinese herbs for example, they may have seen a reduction in the their physical symptoms, only to see them return under homeopathic treatment because the herbs had suppressed disease. Homeopathy triggers the energy body of the person to heal itself, from the inside out. This may result in a worsening of symptoms before they get better, however if you do experience this, understand the body will be healed this time around.
Using potentised remedies as part of protocols such as taking 2 remedies at one time, either in alteration or together may have a place in the beginning of treatment to help mitigate distressing symptoms. These symptoms may even disappear following this method. But it is important to follow up with “what next”. Has the person’s level of health increased? Taking this remedy for that disease diagnosis is working on a superficial level, it is not targeting the “essence” or the specific disturbance that the organism is experiencing.
This is not to say that one remedy is all anyone ever needs. No. One remedy is given and then after the symptoms change, another remedy is given. Homeopathy is not about finding THE remedy, it is about observing what is happening and giving the right remedy in the right sequence to raise the level of health of an individual so they may become the best that they can be.
This brings in the concept of Layers where a different remedy may be required for each layer of disturbance, as it is revealed. Professor George Vithoulkas said in one of his lectures “as long as you are alive, there will be another layer to treat”. It won’t be immediately. Once healing is on the right tract, a remedy may “last” for a year or more and then a new set of symptoms arises that directs towards another remedy.
Disclaimer: This information is supplied for educational purposes only. Sources include published literature and anecdotal experiences of myself and other men, women and animals. The information is not intended for the treatment of any particular individual person or disease. If you are suffering any particular complaint please consult professional help.
Always interesting, Jayne.
Very interesting article.