Classical Homeopathy and Commercial Homeopathy: The Interface

“Classical homeopathy” refers to the use of homeopathic medicines according to the original principles of homeopathy, including:

— the use of a single homeopathic medicine at a time;
— the strict individualization of a medicine to the person, not simply to the disease that they have; and
— the use of the minimum dose necessary to elicit a healing.

Early in the development of homeopathy, some practitioners and pharmacies chose to combine several homeopathic medicines together in a formula that would then be given to a wide variety of people who had the same disease.
Called “combination medicines,” “complexes,” or “homeopathic formulas,” these remedies are commonly available in health food stores and pharmacies. These products are usually marketed based on the name of the condition that they treat (that is, cold, flu, colic, teething, allergy, sinusitis, headache, arthritis, etc.), while single remedies are marketed by the specific ingredient that it is.
Typically, a homeopathic manufacturer chooses two to ten of the most common remedies found to be effective in treating people suffering from a specific ailment.

Because homeopathic combination remedies do not follow the original principles of classical homeopathy, some homeopaths assert that this is not “real homeopathy.”
Whatever one’s attitudes about homeopathic combination remedies may be, it is clear that they often provide relief to people suffering from various complaints. Also, they are considerably safer than conventional drugs. While these combination remedies may not provide a deep cure of the person, the vast majority of single homeopathic medicines that are prescribed for acute ailments do not truly cure a person, but simply provide safe and effective relief.
Homeopathic combination remedies are only available for conditions that are considered nonlife-threatening. It is commonly acknowledged that a single remedy will tend to act longer and deeper than a combination remedy, but there are specific instances when a combination remedy may be appropriate:

1. When a person is suffering and he or she cannot figure out which remedy to give, a homeopathic combination remedy should be considered. While it is true that people can guess which remedy to give, they may be better off doing a “shotgun” approach with a combination remedy than giving a single remedy that has a smaller chance of being the correct one.

2. When you know which single remedy to give, but that remedy is not immediately available at the local health food store or pharmacy, a homeopathic combination remedy should be considered. Because many single homeopathic medicines are not always available locally, one must sometimes rely upon combination remedies.

The limitations of homeopathic combination remedies should also be acknowledged. Combination remedies should not be taken by people with serious or life-threatening problems, unless one’s professional homeopath approves of such care. Combination remedies should not be prescribed for people who have chronic problems that continually return once the homeopathic medicine wears off. If and when a combination remedy doesn’t work after 48 hours, it is rarely worthwhile taking for a longer period of time, though one could consider trying another company’s combination remedy because it may have within it the remedy that is needed.1
It should also be noted that some classical homeopaths incorrectly assert that combination remedies are suppressive. There is no evidence that this is true, and further, it makes no sense. Every plant and animal product is a combination of various organic and inorganic substances, and it is therefore patently impossible that combination remedies inherently have a suppressive effect.
Readers should know that there are people who get involved in homeopathy who, like in every other field, become fundamentalists, who see their world in black and white, and who assume that there is only one way to do homeopathy (or anything else). There are many ways to make homeopathic medicines work. Indeed, there may be certain methods that make homeopathic medicines work more effectively (and here is where classical homeopathy is so important); however, simplistic and dogmatic thinking has no place in the art and science of healing.