''Remedy'' is a technical term in homeopathy that refers to a substance prepared with a particular procedure and intended for treating patients; it is not to be confused with the generally-accepted use of the word, which means "a medicine or therapy that cures disease or relieves pain".. Homeopathic practitioners rely on two types of reference when prescribing remedies: Materia medica and repertories. A homeopathic ''Materia medica'' is a collection of "drug pictures", organised alphabetically by remedy, that describes the symptom patterns associated with individual remedies. A homeopathic repertory is an index of disease symptoms that lists remedies associated with specific symptoms.
Homeopathy uses many animal, plant, mineral, and synthetic substances in its remedies. Examples include ''Arsenicum album'' (arsenic oxide), ''Natrum muriaticum'' (sodium chloride or table salt), ''Lachesis muta'' (the venom of the bushmaster snake), ''Opium'', and ''Thyroidinum'' (thyroid hormone). Homeopaths also use treatments called ''nosodes'' (from the Greek ''nosos'', disease) made from diseased or pathological products such as fecal, urinary, and respiratory discharges, blood, and tissue. Homeopathic remedies prepared from healthy specimens are called ''sarcodes''.
Some modern homeopaths have considered more esoteric bases for remedies, known as ''imponderables'' because they do not originate from a material but from electromagnetic energy presumed to have been "captured" by alcohol or lactose. Examples include X-rays
and sunlight.
Recent ventures by homeopaths into even more esoteric substances include thunderstorms (prepared from collected rainwater).
Today there are about 3,000 different remedies commonly used in homeopathy.
Some homeopaths also use techniques that are regarded by other practitioners as controversial. These include ''paper remedies'', where the substance and dilution are written on a piece of paper and either pinned to the patient's clothing, put in their pocket, or placed under a glass of water that is then given to the patient, as well as the use of radionics to prepare remedies. Such practices have been strongly criticised by classical homeopaths as unfounded, speculative, and verging upon magic and superstition.
Preparation
In producing remedies for diseases, homeopaths use a process called ''dynamisation'' or ''potentisation'' whereby a substance is diluted with alcohol or distilled water and then vigorously shaken by ten hard strikes against an elastic body in a process called ''succussion''. While Hahnemann advocated using substances which produce symptoms similar to those of the disease being treated, he found that material doses would intensify the symptoms and exacerbate the condition, sometimes causing what amounted to dangerous toxic reactions. He therefore specified that the substances be diluted. Hahnemann believed that the process of succussion activated the vital energy of the diluted substance. For this purpose, Hahnemann had a saddle maker construct a special wooden striking board covered in leather on one side and stuffed with horsehair. Insoluble solids, such as quartz and oyster shell, are diluted by grinding them with lactose (''trituration'').
Dilutions
Three logarithmic potency scales are in regular use in homeopathy. Hahnemann created the ''centesimal'' or ''C scale'', diluting a substance by a factor of 100 at each stage. The centesimal scale was favored by Hahnemann for most of his life. A 2C dilution requires a substance to be diluted to one part in one hundred, and then some of that diluted solution diluted by a further factor of one hundred. This works out to one part of the original substance in 10,000 parts of the solution.A 6C dilution repeats this process six times, ending up with the original material diluted by a factor of 100−6=10−12 (one part in one trillion)(1/1,000,000,000,000). Higher dilutions follow the same pattern. In homeopathy, a solution that is more dilute is described as having a higher potency, and more dilute substances are considered by homeopaths to be stronger and deeper-acting remedies. The end product is often so diluted that it is indistinguishable from the dilutant (pure water, sugar or alcohol).
Hahnemann advocated 30C dilutions for most purposes (that is, dilution by a factor of 1060). In Hahnemann's time it was reasonable to assume that remedies could be diluted indefinitely, as the concept of the atom or molecule as the smallest possible unit of a chemical substance was just beginning to be recognized. The greatest dilution that is reasonably likely to contain one molecule of the original substance is 12C.
Homeopaths generally begin with detailed examinations of their patients' histories, including questions regarding their physical, mental and emotional states, their life circumstances and any physical or emotional illnesses. The homeopath then attempts to translate this information into a complex formula of mental and physical symptoms, including likes, dislikes, innate predispositions and even body type.
From these symptoms, the homeopath chooses how to treat the patient. A compilation of reports of many homeopathic provings, supplemented with clinical data, is known as a ''homeopathic materia medica''. But because a practitioner first needs to explore the remedies for a particular symptom rather than looking up the symptoms for a particular remedy, the ''homeopathic repertory'', which is an index of symptoms, lists after each symptom those remedies that are associated with it. Repertories are often very extensive and may include data extracted from multiple sources of ''materia medica''. There is often lively debate among compilers of repertories and practitioners over the veracity of a particular inclusion.
The first symptomatic index of the homeopathic materia medica was arranged by Hahnemann. Soon after, one of his students Clemens von Bönninghausen, created the ''Therapeutic Pocket Book'', another homeopathic repertory.
The first such homeopathic repertory was Georg Jahr's ''Symptomenkodex'', published in German (1835), which was then first translated to English (1838) by Constantine Hering as the ''Repertory to the more Characteristic Symptoms of Materia Medica''. This version was less focused on disease categories and would be the forerunner to Kent's later works.
It consisted of three large volumes. Such repertories increased in size and detail as time progressed.
Some diversity in approaches to treatments exists among homeopaths. ''Classical homeopathy'' generally involves detailed examinations of a patient's history and infrequent doses of a single remedy as the patient is monitored for improvements in symptoms, while ''clinical homeopathy'' involves combinations of remedies to address the various symptoms of an illness.
