Meaning of reactions to remedies (Patient Guide)

One of the big problems in homoeopathy is evaluation of remedy responses and a consistent approach to this.

It can often be difficult for patients to judge what is happening, or to even know what to expect from homoeopathy.

In proper evaluation of the remedy, several questions need to be asked (and answered). Without these it is difficult to intelligently move on to redosing, new potencies or new remedies.

Any patient can help their prescriber by considering these questions when they report back after a prescription.

1. What exactly happened?

2. Did the remedy actually act? Can you be sure it actually did something? What is the evidence that it did act?

3. Has the patient's vital force changed, has it become weaker or stronger?

4. Have those symptoms which most characterize and individualise the patient's disease changed? If there has been change, exactly which symptoms have been altered?

5. Is the patient truly better, are they the same, or are they worse? What are the reasons thinking this?

6. Does the patient's response fit the accepted model for cure in homoeopathic philosophy? (this may be hard for those untrained in homoeopathy to answer of course, that is more for the homoeopath to answer)

7. Was the remedy an exact Simmillimum (perfect match) or was it merely a partial similar (imperfect match)? A partial similar will not complete the cure, whereas the Simillimum will produce profound change across all levels.

8. Was the prescription Curative, Palliative, or Suppressive?

Curative effects show improvement across all important symptoms, do not require constant redosing, do not easily relapse, are not affected easily by external influences, and create a sense of well-being in the patient (sleep, appetite, mental, emotional, stamina, creativity, interest in life etc). Cure is stable and deep.

Palliative effects often affect only one area or a few connected areas (all gut symptoms, all skin symptoms), require constant redosing, easily relapse, are often triggered by things outside the patient (has no strength to resist them), and do not specifically make the patient feel particularly better, except in that an annoying symptom or symptoms have gone. Palliation seems shaky, the benefits easily lost. Palliation often will only be effective for a short while, eventually the palliative remedy will cease to be effective.

Suppression will often show similarities to Palliation. Usually it is only one symptom or related group of symptoms, requires very frequent dosing, often daily or even many times during the day, and can make a reappearance as soon as the normal triggers are encountered. Unlike Palliation, Suppression can last a long time, because the outlet for the disease has been blocked without the underlying cause being cured. This causes new symptoms to appear in new locations, often more serious and painful, as the disease flows into new channels. Suppression can kill a patient, and is frequently seen in orthodox medicine. Where in Palliation the patient may not feel much better, in Suppression, the patient feels much worse, on a deeper level. More mental suffering, more emotional strain, disruptions to sleep and appetite and physical energy.


The specific way in which your symptoms change, will help the prescriber to decide which kind of remedy you have been given. Obviously a detailed description of the symptoms, as well as history of the patient, needs to have been taken to be able to make any reasonable judgement.

There are particular things we look for when assessing your response.

1. Are you better, in yourself, as a person? Are you reacting better to situations in your life, are you coping better with your disease, are you worrying less about your sickness, are you finding that life is beginning to open up and feel easier for you?

It has been widely noted by homoeopaths that very often the mental and emotional state of the patient improves first, before the physical symptoms do. This is often seen as a precursor to cure of those physical symptoms. It has also been widely observed that remedies that fit the mental and emotional state of the patient are more likely to cure the physicals than those that do not.

2. Are your symptoms better across the board or just specific ones? Are the symptoms that are better more important than the ones that are not? (we have a hierarchy of symptoms and levels in human health).

3. Have any old symptoms returned, out of the blue without any reason for it? Were those old symptoms suppressed by medication in the past? (return of old symptoms is often an excellent sign on homoeopathic treatment, and usually indicates a very deep acting remedy has been found)

4. Have any new symptoms appeared? Not just the same symptoms in a new location, but completely new ones never seen before? Are those symptoms definitely new and not just old ones that had been forgotten about? Have any other treatments been started that might be responsible for those symptoms? (new symptoms appearing is a very unfavorable sign, and either shows that the remedy has suppressed and is harming the patient, or that the disease is continuing to evolve unabated)

So to summarize,what can you expect from a truly curative remedy?

1. The person should feel better 'in themselves' - not just in their main complaint

2. The main complaint should improve - not just part of it, but the whole thing.

3. Other unrelated symptoms the person has should also improve - the pace at which that happens will depend on where the symptoms are and what kind of tissue change has taken place.

4. The person will feel less reason to complain, will begin to think less about being sick and more about living their normal life.

5. Symptoms will move from more important areas to less important ones. They should move from the centre of the body to the edges, from the top to the bottom.

6. The body will naturally attempt to use its normal excretary systems to rid itself of internal diseases - mucous membranes, bowels, urinary system, sweat, skin etc

7. Stabiltiy of the change - you will not need constant dosing nor will the first change of weather or appearance of your cycle (as examples) completely dismantle the improvement.

8. There should be a change in patterns, either of the disease or in those unhealthy habits of the person themselves. The disease will no longer be triggered by things it was, or will change (for the better) its frequency of appearance or severity or length of effect. The person will find new ways to approach things, will give up unhealthy behaviour with little trouble (smoking, gambling etc).


I will probably update this as I think of more things to add that may help patients make informed choices about their treatments.

David Kempson
Professional Homoeopath
[message edited by brisbanehomoeopath on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 23:13:13 BST]