Homeopathic remedies: How to take them

So, you have decided to venture into the world of Homeopathy.  You have purchase a little vial of homeopathic medicine and want to know, “How am I supposed to take this?”  Let’s take a moment and learn the best way to take ‘remedies’, to insure they are most effective.  Most homeopathic remedies are sold in vials that contain pellets (little white balls).  Some remedies come in sprays and some in water, but for now we will discuss the most commonly used form which is pellets.  For the most common size pellets which are sold in health food stores, the typical dosage is three pellets at one time. For children, many homeopaths will use extra small pellets (size of poppy seeds) and the dosage can range from four to nine pellets, depending on the age of the child.  The pellets are administered under the tongue (sublingually), where they dissolve easily.  A person is asked not to touch the balls with their hands, rather pour the pellets from the container into the cap, and then dispense them directly under the tongue.  For babies and children under the age of three, it’s okay to let the pellets dissolve on top of the tongue but it is suggested to ask the child to suck on the pellets rather than ‘chew’ them.  A current study showed that homeopathic remedies only need to be under the tongue for thirty seconds in order to be effective. The thought used to be that a person was not allowed to eat or drink for twenty minutes before and twenty minutes after the remedy was given.  However, the current thought is that not eating five minutes before and five minutes after, is long enough, since our main concern is that your mouth should be clean when taking the remedy, rather than just after eating lunch.

The question always arises as to whether a person is allowed use mint products while under homeopathic care.  I would not recommend smelling camphor oil (which is purported to lessen or undue the effects of homeopathy), but most homeopaths these days don’t mind if clients use mint toothpaste or occasionally chew mint gum.