The Place of Combinations in the Scheme of Things

In the United States combinations are most frequently sold in tablet form, (we have 72 different) but we also have them in liquids (dilutions) (14) , a children's kit with tiny pills, ointments, & syrups. Other US companies have their own combinations - Most of them, like ours were developed years ago.

But first -- What are combinations? Most people receiving this newsletter will have used a combination homeopathic product -- The label may have had in bold print - INSOMNIA or HEADACHE. The ingredients for the condition would have been two or more single homeopathic remedies -- Each single being "famous" in its own right for helping people with the condition indicated.

Seventy of our combinations are made from formulas from around 1915. There are a couple of modern concoctions. In the old days all US homeopathic companies had both single remedies and their various combinations. Old companies that remain have combinations which are the back bone of the companies. Sales in combinations equal success in business.

Combinations are a kind of "this for that" homeopathy and for classical homeopaths they are pretty far down the list of preferred approaches to using homeopathic medicines. For instance, "Headache". Our combination for headache has four single remedies mixed together to help most headaches for most people, but in homeopathic literature, there are hundreds of single remedies listed for headache. A practitioner would select the single remedy that best matched your particular situation.

If our combination helps your headache, but it reoccurs, or you otherwise have to keep taking it that usually means that a single remedy would be better indicated for your particular headache (assuming you don't have a more serious something going on).

Interestingly enough, this advice is true for the single remedies as well. If you have to keep taking any homeopathic medicine at regular intervals over a long period of time, it usually means you could do better - Different remedy, higher dose, or both or even help from another health care modality such as a chiropractor. One of the primary tenets in homeopathy is to take as little medicine as possible until you are free of medicine.

Not the best sales pitch, but it's one of homeopathy's realities. In fact, last week I received a call from a company that wanted me to develop a product for a condition. One of their key interests was repeat sales -- That is, the person would have to keep buying month after month. I told him that in homeopathic medicine, if the product worked then the typical user would not have to come back and buy month after month -- They'd be cured of their problem. He was a bit perplexed, and I probably won't hear from him again -- I guess his other products are dependent on minimum help instead of minimum dose.

NOTE: I'm not a doctor -- This isn't a medical advice column. See Valuable Links for professionals specializing in homeopathy.