Remedy Potencies
For professional guidance with remedy potency and a remedies selection for a health issues with paid dosing advice please contact one of our associated Homeopathic Practitioners.
General Potency Selection Guide
The following guidelines apply to self-prescribing of homeopathic remedies for simple, self-limiting complaints.
- Low potencies are considered to be 6C and below.
- Low potencies such as 6C cover a wide range of symptoms, so are best used if you are not certain that you have chosen the best remedy for your symptoms for self-treatment.
- A 6C potency may need to be repeated every 1 – 2 hours for a period to improve symptoms while a 200C potency may only have to be given a few times per day in acute situations.
- Medium potencies are considered to be 30C and are a good choice for home prescribers who have some familiarity with homeopathy.
About The Higher Potencies
- High potency remedies are 200C, 1M, 10M and 50M.
- Higher potencies of 200C and above need to match symptoms more precisely if a curative response is to be triggered.
- A general guideline that that the higher the potency, the longer the effect.
- Megapotency remedies are 10MM and 50MM.
- Very High Potencies (VHP) are CM, MM and DM.
What is the difference between the CH and CK scales?
- The C or CH scale is the most used scale of dilution. Each dilution consists of: mixing 1 part of the previous dilution with 99 parts of solvent (usually 70% alcohol), followed by succussion (vigorous agitation during 7 seconds). Each dilution is prepared in a new vial. This process is repeated 6 times for a 6C and 30 times for a 30C. In Europe, the C scale is named CH – H for Hahnemannian, because Hahnemann created the method.
- The CK scale has been created by the Russian Simeon Korsakov. Each dilution is diluted 100 times, but only one vial is used through the entire process. Also, pure water is used instead of 70% alcohol. This process enables the manufacturing of higher dilutions, because it is more economical and faster. So, 30CK, 200CK, 1000CK (1M) are commonly used. The scale goes up to 100,000CK.
Comparing C and CK Scales
- C and CK scales are not prepared the same way, and can only be compared in terms of low, medium and high dilutions. For the C scale, 6C is low, 9C is medium, 30C is high. For the CK scale, 30CK is low, 200CK is medium and 100 000CK is high.
- Some homeopaths have experience in using certain scales and prefer prescribing in these scales.
- There is no valid method to calculate equivalences between scales, except for the very first dilutions (1C, 2C, 1CK, 2CK) where we can still measure the quantity of active ingredient in the dilution. After a few dilutions, we cannot make the equivalence anymore.
What about 200C? - A 200C is a Hahnemannian dilution, using 200 vials. This takes a lot of times to manufacture. Most of the time, 200C are mislabeled 200CK, far easier to prepare. Boiron doesn’t sell 200C dilutions anymore. For comparison between 200C and 200CK, see above.
