Classical homeopaths don’t have a cardinal rule when prescribing remedy potency. We do have guidance from former and current masters, but the final decision should be made by the practitioner in charge of the case, according to his or her careful observation of the person being treated. The physical location of the person’s symptoms is less important. We need to remember that we treat the person, not the disease.
J. T. Kent wrote: “The liver is not the cause of self-inflammation, it is under control of the vital force and it becomes what the vital force makes of it.”[JT Kent – Lesser Writings] So, essentially, the vitality and the level of health of the person is a critical consideration when we prescribe any potency of a remedy.
For example, children in general are given higher potencies than people older than 75 years of age (generally 200C or lower). When we recommend 30C or lower, most of the time the remedy needs to be repeated for 10 to 15 days or longer. The person being treated must stop taking the remedy if and when an aggravation occurs. If an aggravation does not occur, we cannot expect a cure unless the intensity of the symptoms were at the peak at the start of the treatment. Furthermore, if the person being treated experiences an amelioration of their symptoms without an aggravation, the symptoms are most likely to return, depending on their level of health.
In acute conditions, higher potencies (1M, 10M, 50M) are often used. In cases that are considered incurable, lower potencies are repeated. For people born with a healthy disposition but who have had negative events in their life that lowered their level of health, we can recommend higher potency. On the other hand, people born with pathology (that is, on a lower level of health) are more difficult to treat than people who develop illnesses later during their lifetime.
People under strong allopathic medication which suppresses symptoms (such as steroids and antidepressants) should take low potencies repeatedly until they feel well enough to function without the allopathic medication. In general, the lower the potency, the longer an aggravation will last; conversely, the higher potency, the shorter and more intense aggravation will be observed.
Below I present two of my successful cases to demonstrate the efficacy of homeopathy. Not all my cases are successful, however—or that all people can take only one remedy and become healthy. Indeed, in most cases today we need to give a series of correct remedies in the right sequence, to achieve a successful outcome.