The Preventable Aggravation

Aggravations are part of the homeopathic healing process. They can be mild or severe. And they can be managed so that they do not interfere with life so much. They can also be mismanaged and even created by improper prescribing. I will go over a  common mistake and how to avoid it.

Posology is the study of potency and the frequency of the dose. The selection of the remedy is based on the individual. The selection of the potency and how to apply it is also based on the individual. This is a slightly different process to select the correct posology.

I find that most cases are much easier to manage with lower potencies and daily dosing. A daily dose is in harmony with our own biorhythms. The sun rises each day and the sun sets each day. By giving a daily dose, one time per day, it is inviting the vital force to respond to the remedy based on our own biorythm.

Because lower potencies are traditionally less aggravating, they are much easier to manage this way. It is simply inviting the vital force to respond in a consistent and gentle fashion. If aggravations occur, it is easy to maintain the support of the remedy by having the client put the remedy in water or stopping it all together for some period of time.

Aggravations are to be expected and when they occur, there is room to alter the remedy application without altering the potency. I find that provings do not occur with daily dosing of low potencies, especially with chronic conditions. Higher potencies, 200C and above, have the potential to aggravate in a big way. When a higher potency is necessary, giving the remedy once and waiting is always best in acute or chronic conditions. The possibility of the vital force having a more severe aggravation and the ability to manage it become compromised the higher the potency. If there is an aggravation, there is really nothing to do but wait.

If the vital force is strong in its expression, it can be weeks to months before another dose is indicated. Remember, we always wait to see what the vital force is expressing before we can decide what to do. In the middle of a big aggravation, after a single higher potency, other than waiting the only other thing to do is to antidote the remedy. Giving coffee, camphor, or mentholated products can sometimes stop the aggravation. This is not the preferred action to take but, if it must be so, then it is an option. This will stop the vital forces expression of the dis-ease as it tries to push the dis-ease away. Having an aggravation is good, but if the suffering is great, it is not the most compassionate.

I see aggravations in children's cases most often after high potency prescribing. I remember a case from a long time ago when I was a student, of a fellow student mis-prescribing for her child. After successfully starting the case with low potencies, there came the aggravation. Putting the remedy in water was the next logical thing to do. But she stopped the remedy entirely. This in and of itself is fine. After the remedy was stopped, the child did better for a few months. Everyone was happy.

Then the child started to show signs of needing more support and the dis-ease was returning. The mom gave a single dose of 200C and the child went into an aggravation that was severe. Now there was nothing to do but wait. If the mother had given the child a daily dose of the next higher potency above the 12C (15C), the aggravation would be less likely to occur. If it did occur, putting the remedy in water or stopping it again would have been the best choice. The severe aggravation would not have occurred and the case would have been much easier to manage.

I can guarantee you that after experiencing this, my fellow student has never made this mistake again. Aggravations are to be expected. When giving higher potencies, expect them to happen more often and of greater severity. Daily dosing of lower potencies is much safer. Low potencies are more easily managed and the  response from the vital force is never as  extreme. Low potencies can lead to a more manageable or preventable aggravation.