Beginners Guide to Using Homeopathy at Home

What can you treat at home?

Homeopathy is a very safe form of medicine. However, it should be used with care, and with an understanding of when to seek professional help.

Home prescribing is usually recommended for what might be described as ACUTE ailments. These are illnesses and symptoms that given time would normally start to improve themselves.

Homeopathy can be used to speed the healing process and minimise discomfort.

However, some acute illnesses can come on very quickly and be very severe, such as pneumonia or meningitis, so if you are unsure – ALWAYS PLAY IT SAFE! Call your homeopath or your doctor to get a clear idea of what it is you are dealing with if you are in any doubt.

And trust your instincts – they are often right.

Chronic illnesses are long term ailments such as eczema, asthma, arthritis, or serious illness like heart disease. While there is much that homeopathy can do to help the vast majority of medical conditions, these are beyond the scope of the home prescriber and should be referred to a professional homeopath.

How to use Homeopathy at Home

How much? How often?

Homeopathy can be used in different forms. It comes in tablets, liquids and creams.

Home prescribing will usually use 6c or 30c potency. Higher potencies are available but mostly used by homeopaths.

As a general rule, the more severe the symptoms, the higher the potency and more frequent the dose. A single dose is a single pill.

For example, for severe pain such as earache, or accidents or shock, I would suggest a 30c remedy is given every 10-30 minutes for up to six doses, or until there are signs of improvement.

For a bad cough/cold, food poisoning or stomach bug I would advise 30c given every 1-3 hours until improvement is seen.

For a sore throat, mild cold or constipation a 6c or 30c remedy given every 3-6 hours until symptoms resolve.

For exhaustion, anxiety, muscular strain, I would suggest a 6c remedy 3 times a day.

How to take the remedies

Take one pill as one dose. Suck, crunch or chew the remedy, but don't swallow it with water. It is ideal to have a clean mouth to take the remedies, so take them away from eating, drinking and brushing teeth where practical.

This is a general guide. Use whatever potency you have. If it says 6c and you only have 30c give it a little less frequently, and vice versa.

If there is no improvement after 6 doses, look again and see if another remedy might be appropriate. If you can’t decide between 2 – try alternating them.

The dosages suggested here are only some of the approaches to giving remedies, and may be slightly different to what you might see in a book or on another website. With homeopathy there are no absolute right and wrong answers and people respond differently to the remedies, so please use this information as a guide, but do not feel you must stick rigidly to only these approaches.

It is essential to use common sense when you or someone you care about is unwell. Seek professional advice if you are at all worried that the problem is beyond home prescribing.

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