Start learning homeopathy

I encourage everyone to start learning homeopathy because it's a great way to take charge of your health. But which book should you buy first? The question is daunting because there are many homeopathic books, some better than others, so I'm happy to make some suggestions.

Learning homeopathic first aid is a wonderful place to start. It's relatively easy and comes with an added bonus: You can buy many of the first-aid remedies in your local heathfood store. I recommend getting Dr. Dorothy Shepherd's Homœopathy for the First Aider. (*) She not only covers every concievable remedy for first-aid situations, but she also shares cases from her many years in practice.

But if you're ready to go beyond first aid, what then? You will need to understand the philosophy behind homeopathy. George Vithoulkas' Homeopathy—Medicine of the New Man (*) is a concise but thorough introduction that is written in easy-to-understand language. Vithoulkas is still alive today, so the antiquated language of the 19th century homepaths is bypassed, removing that barrier to learning.

Once you understand homeopathic philosophy, you will be ready to get your first repertory so that you can begin to group symptoms and see which remedies fit that grouping. Which Repertory should you buy? I personally love Boericke's Homeopathic Materia Medica and Repertory since it contains not just symptoms, but a detailed description (materica medica) of each remedy. It also contains a therapeutic index, connecting ailments to remedies to consider, and so much more! The book was written in the 19th century, which means that it doesn't contain the newer remedies—those that have been added to the homeopathic materia medica since then. But it contains hundreds of remedies—all those tried and true remedies of Hahnemann, Hering, and Lippe's time, which successfully treated a multitude of conditions—everything from toenail fungus to tumors.

What do you do with the symptoms that you gather from the repertory for a particular case? If you're not ready to invest in a software program that will organize the symptoms for you, you will need to enter your gathered symptoms into a chart by hand. I have a chart that I used before I got a software program, and I'm sharing it with you HERE (you will need to print it out). The "Case" is the name of the person for whom you are repertorizing; the "Rubrics" are the symtoms you have found to use for the person's particular problem.

(*) If you don't feel like buying a book, you can also search the internet to find information about homeopathic first aid and philosophy. There's a lot of free information to be found.

I hope you have fun exploring homeopathy! If you have even half as much fun as I've had over the years (and continue to have), it will be well worth your time and effort. And don't hesitate to write to me if you have any questions about anything you've read here today.

Table salt vs Natrum muriaticum

James Compton Burnett, homeopath

James Compton Burnett is one of my favorite homeopaths from the 19th century. He attended medical school in Vienna and Glasgow, graduating in 1872. Four years later, he turned to homeopathy after observing a peer who used homeopathy at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh, and after conducting his own experiments. He wrote:

"Those ignorant of homœopathy laugh at it: the writer went through this laughing stage of ignorance, but did not find it very blissful, and so was constrained to put the doctrine of similars to the test of scientific experiment, and found it a true one of great practical value. Almost all homœopaths have come that way. Hence disbelieving a thing does not disprove it."

The homeopaths of Burnett's day were bitterly divided. They all believed in the fundamental philosophy of similars, or "like cures like," but there were those who could not believe in the need for dynamization—the process of dilution and succussion (shaking) that takes a substance to its infinitesimal state. The disbelievers of dynamization gave remedies that were not properly diluted, and even spoke against dilution. Burnett quotes Dr. Kidd, who infamously said, "Truth is greater than Hahnemann (*), and of late years his speculations about ... infinitesimal doses have been tacitly given up by all the most skilful and intelligent of his followers." Burnett rebutted with, "We are very apt to lose sight of the fact that our beliefs have nothing to do with truth. Truth is truth whether it be believed or not."

Burnett has written many books, one of which is a book on Natrum muriaticum (Nat-m), which is a homeopathic remedy made from basic table salt. In the book, he not only gives clinical observations about the curative effects of the remedy, but he also makes a strong case that it is the dilution of the substance—the infinitesimal dose—that brings about the cure.

He describes one case of a woman, aged 50, who had the hiccups morning, noon, and night—attacks that were very distressing and would last ten minutes at a time. They were brought on by quinine, a drug she had taken for a complaint ten years previously. The woman regularly salted her food, so had had plenty of exposure to the undiluted substance. Burnett prescribed homeopathic salt—Nat-m—since it is known to antidote the effects of quinine. By the third day, the hiccups of ten year's duration had stopped completely. Burnett comments in his book that the dynamization process "does so alter a substance that it thereby acquires a totally new power."

Burnett gives other examples of cures from Nat-m in his book, and below I've listed three more to give you a little insight into the remedy, which covers many conditions. I also want to point out that table salt (Nat-m in its raw form) is pretty much used by everyone all the time, whether they are actively salting their own food or eating a dish that someone else has salted.

Case one: A man in his mid-thirties had poor circulation (which led to chronic chilliness), sleepiness after eating, a sour taste in his mouth and black spots before his eyes. He was cured of all by Nat-m in about two weeks.

Case two: A boy, 12, had "caught a cold" in his eye and it was still painful and inflamed a month later. He had photophobia (could not look at bright light) and lacrymation (watering of the eyes). Nat-m was given three times per day and the eye was completely healed in a little over a week.

Case three: A woman in her 60s had chronic gout on her left big toe and foot. Nat-m cured her gout in four days. She was very fond of beer, and Burnett asked her to limit it, which she didn't do. But she kept the Nat-m powders on hand, and called them her "gout powders." Burnett learned from her daughter that they promptly relieved two or three similar attacks that occurred afterward, probably due to her inability to limit the beer.

Nat-m covers many conditions and has been a widely recommended homeopathic remedy since Hahnemann's time (*). Like all homeopathic remedies, it has certain characteristic keynotes that guide a homeopath to choose it over another remedy that covers the same condition. Some of the most common characteristics of Nat-m are feeling WORSE between 9-11 AM, in the sun, at the seashore, lying down, from mental exertion, and/or from consolation. The person can feel BETTER in open air, with cold bathing, going without regular meals, lying on the right side, having pressure against the back, and/or from tight clothing.

*Hahnemann is the father of homeopathy, and it would not be in existence today without him. His first book, "The Organon of Medicine," was published in 1810.

Interested in homeopathic treatment? Please seek a professional homeopath for chronic and complex issues, and do not interpret anything read here as a recommendation to take Natrum muriaticum.

Food choices can help homeopaths choose a remedy.

The foods you choose to eat matter ... they are pieces of the whole-person puzzle, and can help a homeopath choose the best remedy.

Just as a regular physician encourages good eating habits, so does a homeopath. However, a homeopath notices what a person likes to swallow (or not swallow) for reasons other than nutrition.

Keeping track of food, drink (and inedible) preferences can lead a homeopath to the correct remedy choice or, at the very least, can confirm one. The remedy must fit the person otherwise—a homeopath would rarely recommend a remedy based on one such meager symptom.

For the purposes of this blog, I went in search of single-remedy symptoms related to eating and drinking. They were easily found in my homeopathic repertories—those gigantic tomes that systematically house every symptom imaginable. To give perspective, single-remedy symptoms do not occur in the repertories that frequently, but they are powerhouse clues—since no other remedy is connected to that symptom. For instance, in the Reliable Repertory there are 36 remedies under the symptom "desires apples." However, there is only one remedy under "desires apples in the middle of the night," and that remedy is Tellurium metallicum. So ... if eating apples in the middle of the night is a symptom a client reports, Tellurium should be examined closely to see if it fits the entire picture of the case.

I've listed several more examples below, giving you the remedy name, what it's made from, the symptom that it (and it alone) is tied to, and some of the characteristics of each remedy. I hope you enjoy them!

Allium cepa (red onion) desires onions, but also feels better after eating them. Other indications for the remedy are acrid discharges, many sneezes, feel worse in a warm room, and feel better in the open air.

Lac caninum (dog's milk) desires fish and everything except fish makes her worse. Other indications for the remedy are cold, including cold drinks, make her feel better, and there might be dreams about snakes.

Sulpher (Sulpher) desires pickles when she has a headache. Other indications for the remedy are feels worse at 11 AM, symptoms worsen after bathing or getting warm in bed, and she feels better in dry, warm weather.

Ignatia amara (St Ignatius Bean) feels better from eating raw food. Other indications for the remedy are feels worse after coffee and in the morning, has spasmodic tendencies, and feels better while eating but not after.

Crotalus cascavella (Brazilian rattlesnake) wants to eat snow. Other indications for the remedy are clairvoyance, clothing feels irritating, and symptoms occur on the right side of the body.

Argentum nitricum (silver nitrate) craves salty foods during a fever. Other indications for the remedy are fear of heights, strong cravings for sugar but it makes her feel worse, and worse from warmth of any kind.

Magnesium carbonicum (carbonate of magnesium) is indicated for a child who can only tolerate eating meat. Other indications for the remedy are worse warmth of bed but better walking in warm, open air. Worse from changes in weather.

Nux vomica (Poison nut tree) thinks that water does not taste right. Other indications for the remedy are worse from stimulants and dry, cold weather, and better from resting and strong pressure.

Platina metallicum (Platinum) has aversion to meat during the menses. Other indications for the remedy are worse sitting and in the evening, and better from walking.

Interested in homeopathic treatment? Please see a professional homeopath and do not interpret anything read here as a formal recommendation to take a remedy.