Chapter 2: Preparation of Homeopathic Remedies

     Homeopathic remedies are prepared via a series of increasing dilutions, known as potentization. Typically when a homeopathic practitioner prepares a remedy, he or she will take a portion of whatever natural substance the patient requires, and dilute one amount of that substance in 99 parts of water. This ratio is known as 1C, sometimes referred to as 1x. One portion of that solution is again mixed with 99 parts water to form a 2C solution. A 2C solution has 1/10,000th of the original starting amount of natural substance. This process is repeated until solutions of 100C are created. Most of the homeopathic remedies available over the counter or doled out by homeopaths are of a 6C dilution.

     
     The idea that solutions of an increasingly dilute amount of a substance could somehow be stronger or more effective than a concentrated dose of the same substance seems counterintuitive to the average person. After all, ask someone if they would rather come in contact with concentrated sulfuric acid or sulfuric acid that’s been diluted 1000 times, and the answer becomes clear. Mathematically speaking, if at 2C, the original substance is diluted 1:10,000, then the original substance should be present at 0.0001% of the total solution. At the commonly sold homeopathic dose of 6C, the dilution is 1:10^12. At 12C, what is known as the Avogadro's Limit is crossed, and the likelihood of a single molecule of the original substance still being in the solution is called into question. Avogadro's Constant (6.022x10^23) expresses the number of molecules of a substance in one mole of that substance. For example, one mole of pure alcohol (ethanol) has a mass of 46.068g and has 6.022x10^23 molecules in it. If you were to take that alcohol and combine it in 1L of water, you would have a 1M solution of alcohol. If this solution is to be then diluted in a homeopathic method, at 12C the dilution would be 1:10^24, which is higher than Avogadro’s Constant and a single molecule of alcohol may not remain in the solution. Now consider that homeopathic remedies are often diluted to 30C or even 200C.
     
     The instructions on a UK homeopath’s website states as a general rule, "Chronic illnesses (i.e. those that you've had for a long time) should be treated with low potencies (i.e. 6x or 6C) and Acute conditions (i.e. those that are relatively new) with high potencies (i.e. 30x - 200c.)” This would seem to indicate that the most set-in and aggressive conditions are to be met with the least diluted remedies, and conditions which have yet to fully set-in with the most diluted doses; ultimately working against the homeopathic principle of serial dilutions. It is further explained that especially strong flavors or chemicals, such as mint or caffeine prevents the remedy from taking effect.

Sources:

https://abchomeopathy.com/help/potency.htm
http://www.nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org
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