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Institute for Homoeopathic Medicine. P & W OpenRep, Eastbourne (2026)

03/06/2026

A few thoughts on random topics.

Firstly rational thinking and evaluation was given to all mankind. If we choose to follow a certain path and thinking process it is important we have examined it against everything we know and determined it is the right path for us and truth. Many people choose a path for themselves and not truth. It is very important that truth is in your choice.

Homeopathy is not medicine. It is a branch of medicine. It works with the vital force or as I think of it the immune system in a living creature. Where there is a spark of vitality and the ability to be affected by a remedy, there is nothing better. Where surgery is required or a suppressive measure and in the absence of immune response we must sadly accept the patient is outside of the realm of homeopathic treatment that they came for. This is not always a failure on our part but the reality of non-response by a deficient immune system. For the sake of a patient well-being or indeed life, reluctantly we might have to give over treatment to another therapy to keep them going. It does not mean we give up trying but sometimes we have to accept it's not working. We see this a lot in the patient who has had long or heavy allopathic treatment which has blocked natural curative response to remedies. We see it in patients who are missing chemical or hormone physical necessities which cause a problem.

If you still use centesimal potencies as your main medicine prescription, it is important to know that hahnemann said to alter the dose when required. He did not say to go up in potency. He said alter. In his own casework he often started at 30c and went down... Also he used intermittent potency such as 29 27 21 19 etc. do not forget it is the medicine that cures and the potency is just fine tuning to enable the body to receive the action.

The only potency scale that he said to use in ascending doses is the LM. It is my experience that medications are used until they no longer work. For example if I give lm1 I have noticed if I go up to LM 2 too soon the action does not continue to work. I have kept many patients on lm1 noticing improvement every day until one day it ceases to work. Sometimes this can take several weeks! Only then do I move to the next potency. I give all medicine's in water (C potencies) as evidence has proved more efficacious in this manner. If the reality of the prescription is the remedy, then the potency adjustment is fine tuning. Many people will say I do not give LMs n the prescribed manner,. I would answer this by saying hahnemanns methodology was experimental and he had found it beneficial in one manner of giving, and I have tried it several ways, and maintain the methodology in making and preparing but vary the delivery of the medication slightly. It is the medicine of experience and this is my experience.

There is no evidence to compare the power of centesimals against LMS. 30c will never Equal LM1 or 200c will never Equal LM6 ... My experience shows an overall lessening of primary remedy reaction to the medicine's, but to be fair I have seen some massive reactions in which I had to dilute the prescription LM by about six glasses! The power of the medicine's cannot be underestimated and must also be given in accord with the individual reaction.

23/05/2026

A reader noted that giving LMs to patients could be difficult for them to make up each dose using the one teaspoonful to seven method.

Over the years I have developed a method of giving the medicine in a very easy manner which they can cope with. In Organon of Medicine, LM potencies are prepared and dispensed with a highly diluted liquid dosing method. The references to “200 drops,” “400 drops,” or “600 drops” usually relate to how much water is used in the dispensing bottle when preparing a dose from an LM potency.
The idea was not that one number is universally correct, but that the amount of dilution and succussion (shaking) could be adjusted according to the patient’s sensitivity and condition.
Basic LM dispensing method
Hahnemann’s general method in the 6th edition was roughly:
One small poppy-seed–sized globule of an LM potency is dissolved in water/alcohol mixture.
Before each dose, the bottle is succussed (shaken firmly several times).
A small spoonful is taken as the dose.
Often that spoonful was further diluted in another glass of water before taking.
What the “200, 400, 600 drops” means
These numbers refer to the quantity of diluting liquid in the dispensing bottle.
Historically:
About 20 drops ≈ 1 mL
So:
200 drops ≈ 10 mL
400 drops ≈ 20 mL
600 drops ≈ 30 mL
The more water used: the weaker/gentler each dose becomes, and the less aggravation Hahnemann expected.

Why different amounts were used
200 drops
Used when:
patient was stronger,
less sensitive,
chronic disease needed more active stimulation.
400 drops
A more moderate dilution. Often considered gentler and commonly used later by practitioners.
600 drops
Used for:
very sensitive patients,
weakened or elderly people,
cases where aggravations occurred easily.
The principle was:
increase dilution to reduce medicinal intensity.
Important principle in LM prescribing
In Hahnemann’s LM method:
potency was changed gradually,
dose strength was adjusted by:
number of succussions,
amount of water,
frequency of dosing,
further glass dilution.
So the “200 vs 600 drops” issue was part of dose adjustment, not a completely different potency system.
Historical context
Different later homeopaths interpreted Hahnemann differently. Some modern LM prescribers:
use 120 mL bottles,
others use 15–30 mL bottles,
some give daily dosing,
others weekly.
So there is variation among schools of practice.

My method of dispensing for patients.

To make a stock solution. Using 400 drops. In a 20 mil bottle place one or two grains of the LM. Add one drop of water add 400 drops vodka {20mls} Shake well.. this will be your pharmacy stock bottle. To prepare a dispensing medication use a 10 mil bottle and place a 80/20 mix of water/alcohol. Add 1 to 4 drops of the stock mixture. I use dropper bottles. I tell the patient to shake the bottle 10 times and take 3 drops in the mouth daily. Adjust if necessary.. in my experience I rarely adjust either the amount of drops taken or the strength. When needing to go up the potency I make the lm2 or 3 or 4 whatever is needed the same way.

I have used AI to make it easier to copy certain information about the drop system and measurements. I have disclosed this to be transparent. have used it because it is easier for me in assembling this post with the disadvantage of only being able to use one hand and it is not my writing hand to boot! The information presented is fully my own.

09/05/2026

Know what you are treating!

In the Organon of Medicine, Aphorism 5 discusses what the physician should investigate in order to understand disease fully.
A commonly translated version reads:
“Useful to the physician in assisting him to cure are the particulars of the most probable exciting cause of the acute disease, as also the most significant points in the whole history of the chronic disease, to enable him to discover its fundamental cause, which generally depends on a chronic miasm.”

In simpler terms, Samuel Hahnemann is saying the practitioner should look at:

1. What triggered the illness
2. The patient’s history
3. Maintaining causes (lifestyle, stress, environment, habits, etc.)
4. Underlying chronic tendencies.

It emphasizes understanding the cause and context of illness, not just the symptoms. I am sure that the average person reading these instructions will say they understand. However on reflection after teaching many hundreds of students I think I can say conclusively that a lack of medical training gives me the answer that only a few do. On saying this I am not decrying the fact that many students are not doctors. However I am saying that a lack of real understanding will Hinder you in making a good prescription..

Essentially this means where possible you should know what you are treating. By knowing what the problem is you will be able to see what is common to the disorder in front of you and know the pattern or progress or results that pertain to the problem. By knowing the problem or disease you can utilise the phrase “strange, rare and peculiar” refering to symptoms that are especially characteristic of a patient’s illness and therefore most valuable in selecting a homeopathic remedy.
This idea is most strongly expressed "Aphorism 153" by Samuel Hahnemann.
Hahnemann says that the physician should pay particular attention to:
“the more striking, singular, uncommon and peculiar (characteristic) signs and symptoms…”
These are symptoms that:
are unusual for the disease,
individual to the patient,
and help distinguish one remedy from another.
Examples:
A headache better from tight bandaging.
Joint pains better from motion.
Thirstlessness during fever.
Symptoms appearing only at a certain hour.
Emotional states linked with physical symptoms.
Ordinary/common symptoms (like tiredness in flu or pain in arthritis) are less useful because many remedies share them. The “strange, rare and peculiar” symptoms are considered the guiding features for remedy selection.

Conversely if you don't know what you are treating you will not know what is common to the problem in front of you and you will not know what is strange or rare or peculiar. Strange rare or peculiar is a difficult thing to grasp, it can be a symptom elevated beyond what is normal, it can be a modality that is unusual given the disorder, it can be a common symptom out of proportion to the problem. However generally it helps to know the disease or disorder to start to differentiate. Without this knowledge of what you are treating everything will be seen to be strange rare or peculiar. There are times no diagnosis are available and in those times we have to be particularly observant what is in front of us.

25/04/2026

To be a better homoeopath....

Over my 40 years of practice I was often asked what was needed to be a successful practitioner. My advice was to learn the writings of Hahnemann And follow his Directions and suggestions. The sad reality is that most practitioners have not studied in any depth the Works.

In homeopathy, LM potencies (also called Q potencies) are often preferred because they’re designed to be gentle, flexible, and continuously adjustable which makes them especially practical in real-life treatment.
They were developed later in Samuel Hahnemann’s work (in the 6th edition of the Organon of Medicine), specifically to improve on some of the limitations of the more common centesimal (C) potencies.
Here’s why practitioners find them helpful:

1. Much gentler aggravations
With 30C or 200C, you can sometimes get a noticeable “homeopathic aggravation” (temporary worsening).
LM potencies are diluted differently and usually taken in water, so they act more smoothly and gradually.
Better for sensitive patients
Useful in chronic or fragile conditions
Less risk of strong reactions

2. Daily, controlled dosing
Unlike C potencies (often taken once and waited on), LM remedies are usually taken daily in small, adjusted doses.
That gives you:
Fine control over the response
Ability to slow down or speed up treatment
A more “guided” healing process rather than a single push

3. Easier to adjust mid-treatment
With LM potencies, you can:
Dilute more if symptoms intensify
Skip doses if needed
Slightly change potency each day (succussion method)
This flexibility is one of their biggest advantages in practice.

4. Well-suited for chronic conditions
LM potencies were specifically intended for long-term, chronic illness management.
They allow:
Continuous progress without strong setbacks
Gradual improvement over weeks/months
Less risk of “overshooting” with too strong a potency

5. Works well for sensitive or complex cases
People who often benefit most:
Highly sensitive individuals
Elderly patients
Those with multiple symptoms or layered conditions
People who react strongly to 30C or 200C

6. Closer to Hahnemann’s final method
Many homeopaths consider LM potencies the most refined system because they reflect Hahnemann’s later thinking:
Less force, more precision
Repetition with observation
Individualised adjustment.

The trade-off (important to know)
LM potencies aren’t “better” in every situation:
They require more careful management (not as simple as one dose and wait)
Some practitioners still prefer C potencies for acute conditions (e.g. sudden illness, injury), even if you use C potency it would be better to give in water.
Not all pharmacies stock LM remedies as easily (especially in the UK.)

I have used LM potencies since 1985. I would say 98% of the medicines in my cupboard are lms. I have experimented with them for years and have a slightly different model of use in some cases. If I take a case and prescribe lm1, and then proceed to give lm2 and it doesn't work or aggravates, I will return to lm1 and continue giving that until it no longer has the same effect and then move up. I will monitor each increase in potency and wherever I have this problem I will return to the previous one.

Some cases will respond very well to a rapid increase in potencies and some I find need the method as outlined above. I use LM medicine for every case requiring homeopathy. I also have 30c And 200 In my Pharmacy. Sometimes in the middle of the case I will give a dose if it needs a bigger kick to lessen any delay. As time has gone on I find I do this less and less.

19/04/2026

Boenninghausen.

Boenninghausen's Repertory is a classic and influential work in homeopathy, created by Baron Clemens Maria Franz von Boenninghausen in 1846. It is highly regarded (though not by modern homoeopaths in general) for its unique methodology and practical value in clinical practice. Here is a detailed introduction, I write this overview because it is not really taught in schools which use Kent's work as the basis.

Historical Background

- Boenninghausen was a Dutch lawyer, botanist, and homeopath who became interested in homeopathy after being cured of purulent tuberculosis by a homeopathic remedy in 1827.
He was a close friend and student of Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, and was influenced by Hahnemann's teachings and methods.
Boenninghausen wrote several works on homeopathy, including the "Repertory of Anti-psoric Medicines" (1832), the "Repertory of Non-anti-psoric Medicines" (1835), and the "Therapeutic Manual for Homeopathic Physicians" (1846), which is now known as Boenninghausen's Repertory.

Methodology and Characteristics

Holistic Approach: Boenninghausen's Repertory is based on the premise that every symptom is a reflection of the patient's overall state of health and that the symptom does not exist independently of the patient.

Four Basic Components of Symptoms: Boenninghausen presented that every symptom is composed of four basic components: locality, condition, modality, and concomitant.

Grand Generalization: Boenninghausen's Repertory uses the theory of grand generalization, which means that the modalities of a symptom in one part of the body can be applied to the entire patient.

Remedy Relationships: Boenninghausen's Repertory includes a section on remedy relationships, which describes the similarity and dissimilarity between different remedies and how they can be used together in clinical practice.

Structure and Content

Chapters: Boenninghausen's Repertory is divided into chapters, which cover different parts of the body and different types of symptoms.

Rubrics: Each chapter contains a list of rubrics, which are specific symptoms or groups of symptoms.

Remedies: Under each rubric, there is a list of remedies that are known to be effective in treating that symptom.

Gradation of Remedies: Boenninghausen's Repertory uses a four-point gradation system to indicate the strength of the relationship between a remedy and a symptom.

Clinical Application

Case Taking and Evaluation: Boenninghausen's Repertory is used to take and evaluate homeopathic cases by identifying the patient's symptoms and their characteristics.

Repertorization:
Repertorization is the process of finding the most appropriate remedy for a patient based on their symptoms. Boenninghausen's Repertory uses a systematic approach to repertorization that involves matching the patient's symptoms to the rubrics in the repertory and selecting the remedy that has the closest match...in selecting a remedy, it will not always be the numerically highest.

Editions and Translations

Original Edition: The original edition of Boenninghausen's Repertory was published in German in 1846.
English Editions: There have been several English translations of Boenninghausen's Repertory, including the "Therapeutic Pocket Book" edited by T.F. Allen and the P & W Openrep Synopsis.

Other Languages: Boenninghausen's Repertory has also been translated into other languages, including French, Spanish, and Italian.

1. Case Taking: Focus on the 4 Symptom Components

Boenninghausen’s method hinges on identifying locality (where the symptom is), sensation (what it feels like), modality (what makes it better/worse), and concomitant (associated symptoms). For example, a patient might say: "My knees (locality) feel stiff and achy (sensation), worse in cold weather and when sitting too long (modality), and it happens with headaches and fatigue (concomitants)."

2. Select Key Rubrics
From the case details, pick the most prominent rubrics (specific symptom categories) in the repertory. Using the example above, you’d look for rubrics like "Knees - Stiffness" and "Knees - Pain - Achy" — then add the modalities ("Worse - Cold" "Worse - Sitting") and concomitants ("Headache - With - Knee pain").

3. Repertorization: Score Remedies
Each rubric lists remedies graded from 1 (weak) to 4 (strong) based on their effectiveness. You assign scores to remedies that match multiple key rubrics, then tally them. The remedy with the highest total is often the top candidate to view but not always the prescriptive one ...Cross-Check with Materia Medica
The repertory is a guide, not a final answer. You’ll verify the top remedy against a materia medica (which describes a remedy’s full picture) to ensure it aligns with the patient’s presenting symptoms.

Key Tips for Effective Use

Prioritize modalities and concomitants — these are often more specific than just locality or sensation, leading to better remedy selection.

Use "grand generalization" wisely: If a remedy helps with "back pain worse at night," it may also help with other pains (e.g., stomach, head) that worsen at night in the same patient.

15/02/2026

When I view anything to do with homeopathy presented as a twee picture of empty bottles and herbal inferring photos of plants, it makes me realize why the therapy is not taken seriously.
Maybe it is time to revisit from the beginning what homeopathy is and where it has gone wrong in the 21st century.
Samuel Hahnemann was a doctor and a chemist looking for a better way to treat patients. Somewhere along the line the aspect has been diminished to a tree hugging acceptance that anyone can practice the medical therapy of homeopathy. The art of case taking has been relegated to the thinking that you just treat the man with symptoms and you will cure him. Along the way and with the passage of time emphasis on the organon and reliance on Hahnemann's observations and directions have been diluted by various teachers of the therapy who think they know better.

Here is the first point. It is only those with medical knowledge who can understand what we are looking for and what is related to the disease and related to the individual. Why do I say this. Hahnemann was a doctor and only taught those who were doctors or who had a high degree of training in the medical arts. Why? He was treating diseased individuals! What is the reality of this in terms of what we look for in a sick person?

The reality is the Hahnemann was treating the change in the person from health to sickness. He was not treating the person but was treating the diseased person and therefore symptoms should generally be related to the disordered state the person found himself. We are looking for the sickness as expressed in and through the individual but not for his personal likes and dislikes. We are looking for the altered uncomfortable symptoms that have changed from the normal state which constitute part of the disease and only note other changes if they are strange rare and peculiar did not exist before and are quite strong. Without a knowledge of disease we could struggle to know the symptoms.

We must never forget that homeopathic medicine's or remedies do not cure. The remedies aid the vital force or life principle or as I think the immune system to cure the body. The remedies and the production of symptoms it causes a distraction to the immune system or makes the immune system work against these heightens symptoms and then the process of removing them remove the disease as well. That is why it is so important to gather the correct symptoms and processes of in order to compare a medicine with the disease to make sure the body can react exactly.
The next point is to know what homeopathy can work with. Homeopathy is not medicine per se but rather a branch of medicine. It can only work within the sphere of what it can do. If the immune system or reactive, vital force or life principle is not working or damaged, we may need to look toward life support medications that perhaps are not curative, but will support the patient. It is a sad situation for a patient to be in, but in this day and age with modern drug interference that destroy repair through the immune system it is the reality we are faced with. We still do not know the extent to which covid vaccinations have caused problems to the human economy. I do know that my immediate colleagues and myself have noticed that remedies given to vaccinated people for the infection of covid, take much longer to work and sometimes not at all.

11/09/2025

Treating patients.
During the 1800s Samuel Hahnemann developed a medical treatment that utilizes the laws of similarity by using medicines he tested on healthy people to ascertain similarity between the effects of the medicine and disease. The principle and applications of the medicine still holds true today.
What a lot of practitioners inadvertently fail to note , the medicines can only work to the extent of the bodies ability to recuperate through the immune system or vital force as it is called.
It is a tendency among prescribers to fail to note there are certain conditions that homeopathic medicine does not have time to ascertain whether the immune system can indeed cure itself. I firmly adhere to the rules of homoeopathy, and therefore see it as the premier disease curative therapy available in the world.

Now if we look at allopathic medicine, we see it does not follow curative principles. we need to look at how it works in emergencies and accept that in serious situations it will not cure the patient but will tackle the problem until the patient is stable to accept homeopathic medicine.

We all have heard of these wonderful curative cases utilizing minute doses of medicine that stimulate the body into disease cures. I do actually recommend treatment with homeopathy in nearly every case before me. In fact I will change that and say every case before me.

There are however times and situations that call for immediate medication, perhaps not for cure but to deal with an external problem or something that needs urgent dealing with. For example if a patient presents with the massive eye infection that is staph, it is my contention that this is a problem that you cannot allow time for the remedies to work because delay in treating can cause further problems to develop including blindness. Another issue is high blood pressure.. it is a difficult problem to deal with and in my experience remedies are not easy to find in the problem. I was taken to task over dealing with this problem by some Indian colleagues who said I do not use or know sarcodes which will deal with the problem. I did not tell my colleagues last time that I had consulted a prominent Indian homoeopath for my own case and was prescribed sarcodes.. it didn't work and the outcome was a stroke.

The allopathic treatment for blood pressure is medical treatment to work directly on the arteries and veins. Not to cure the under lying issue but to just relieve the physical pressure buildup.

So basically what I am saying is that the curative use of homeopathy is the best medical treatment available but since immediate treatment is needed for poisons and massive bacterial or viral attacks, we are best helping the body with medications that perhaps do not cure but will solve the problem for now.

If a problem before you is outside of your understanding do not be afraid to qualified medical allopath check it for you... The treatment is still in your hands but now you have knowledge of a problem existing.

15/04/2025

I have a question. It is mainly applicable to medical homeopaths but I would like all practitioners to think about their answer. If a patient comes to the clinic and presents a case of cancer with tumours, would it be correct to allow the patient to have the tumours excised or not. If your answer is yes... Would you mind explaining your reasoning and rationale. If your answer is no... Would you mind explaining your reasoning and rationale.

I am not looking to point in the finger at those that would or of those that would not. 5 years ago I could have given a definitive answer. Now I find myself in a position of indecisive surety. I welcome your reasoned thoughts on the subject.

14/04/2025

30 years ago or more even, I was reading the forewords and instructions of different repertorys and came across words written by Boenninghausen. He was explaining how to use his therapeutic pocketbook in daily life.

Firstly he noted that the doctor would stand at the bedside of the patient or the patient in his office noting all the symptoms. He then said a picture of a remedy would be forming in mind. Then occasionally the patient would mention a symptom that he wasn't sure about was in the remedy he had in mind and then he would refer to his little book to see if it was in the remedy he was thinking of. If it was he could prescribe with some confidence based on his knowledge of the different remedies. However if it was not in the remedy he was considering and the symptom was important and could not be left out he would start again.

This insight into the workings of a magnificent prescriber taught me two things. Number one it is important to learn the remedies. Number two when faced with something we don't know is in the remedy or not be prepared to change direction and learn because we will find another remedy with similar symptoms but specifically the symptom we are looking for.

It is impossible to know more than the working features of about 50 to 100 remedies and know every peculiar symptom a remedy contains. This was the reason boenninghausen made his little aid memoir to check whether his assumption of the remedy was correct or fine the right one or a better one.

If you think about this logically it accentuates the strange rare and peculiar symptoms to a place where only one or few remedies contain the symptom. Strange rare and peculiar symptoms could be as simple as an unexpected occurrence given the nature of the disease in question or indeed something weird.

13/04/2025

Here’s a summarized version of a classic case from Hahnemann’s writings, notably from his book “Chronic Diseases”:

Patient Case: Chronic Headache and Skin Rash

Symptoms:

The patient, a middle-aged man, suffered from severe, periodic headaches for years.

He also had an itchy rash on his arms and legs that would come and go.

His digestion was weak, with frequent bloating and constipation.

Mentally, he was irritable, anxious, and couldn’t tolerate noise.

Conventional Treatments Tried:

The patient had tried various salves and ointments for the rash, which would suppress the skin symptoms temporarily but worsen the headaches.

Hahnemann’s Approach:

Hahnemann observed the suppression of the skin condition led to internal disorders—he viewed this as a classic manifestation of psora.

He prescribed Sulphur, a major anti-psoric remedy in homeopathy, in a highly diluted form.

Outcome:

Initially, the rash returned more strongly, which Hahnemann saw as a good sign—“bringing the disease back to the surface.”

Gradually, the headaches diminished, the skin condition balanced out, and the patient’s overall vitality improved.

Hahnemann emphasized treating the whole person, not just symptoms. He believed in letting the body's vital force re-balance itself once the correct remedy was given.

Institute for Homoeopathic Medicine. P & W OpenRep

03/06/2026

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