D- or C-potency: that is the question

Potentisation in homeopathy

There are certain questions about homeopathy that my team and I have to answer again and again. The issue of D and C potencies is one of them.

Homeopathic remedies are available in many different degrees of dilution (potencies). Among the most commonly used dilutions are the homeopathics known as D- or C-potencies.

D-potencies are diluted at a ratio of 1:10 (hence the name decimal potency), whereas the so-called C-potencies are diluted at a ratio of 1:100 (centesimal potency).

Potentisation levels of homeopathic remedies

To prepare a centesimal (C) potency, one drop of the starting substance (usually a mother tincture) is diluted with 99 drops of pure alcohol. This dilution is then vigorously succussed on a firm yet yielding surface (for example the hand) one hundred times. The result is a dilution at potency C1.

To make a C2 potency, one drop of the C1 dilution is added to a fresh glass with 99 drops of alcohol and succussed in the same way. This process is repeated as many times as required to reach the desired potency, for example thirty times to obtain C30.

If you apply the same procedure on the decimal scale, one drop of the starting substance is diluted with nine drops of pure alcohol and then succussed (in this case with ten shakes). The dilution obtained in this way is a D1 potency. The process is repeated until the desired potency is achieved, so for a D6 potency it would be done six times.

The higher the number, the stronger the dilution and the more “potent” the remedy.

High dilution, effective remedies

It may seem contradictory that a substance which is so highly diluted and succussed becomes increasingly stronger and more effective during the process. As strange as it sounds, this is indeed the case. The potentisation process drastically reduces the toxicity of a starting substance – in many cases it is even completely eliminated – so that the healing action can fully unfold.

Because of the high dilution, active substances remain in the nanomolecular range, while the “coarse matter” is filtered out and thus is not ingested. We do not know exactly how it works, but the healing power of the starting substance seems to remain present in the final dilution in a highly potent form – a kind of nanomolecular “blueprint”.

Whatever may be contained in the diluted and succussed form of a remedy – the healing effect of homeopathic remedies is precisely attributable to this. And they work with an impressively high degree of reliability!

So much for the technical questions; they are now clarified.

D-potency or C-potency?

But you will probably want to know whether you should take a D- or a C-potency?

The answer to that question is: it depends.

Everything in life changes. When I first opened my practice as a homeopath, D-potencies were predominantly available in the USA. For that reason I wrote mostly about that potency level in my earlier posts.

Soon afterwards homeopathics from Boiron appeared on the US market – originally from France – and C-potencies became more popular. With easier access to C-potencies I also began to use them more and more, which is reflected in my posts from that time.

Over time my small homeopathic practice grew and became global. I had students in countries where no D-potencies were available and students in countries where no C-potencies were obtainable.

To accommodate all circumstances, I began omitting the letter indicating the dilution method in my blog posts. I never knew which countries my readership was living in!

Without specifying the dilution method I hoped my readers would use the remedies available locally, whether marked with a D or a C before the number. (After all, homeopathy can only work if it is actually used).

This solution seemed the most sensible to me.

The Banerji potencies

To complicate matters, I travelled to India at that time to observe at the Prasanta Banerji Homeopathic Research Foundation. There I found that the Banerji protocols for homeopathic treatment distinguish very specifically and meticulously between D- and C-potencies.

At the Banerji clinic a “D” is a “D” and a “C” is a “C”. If a patient is prescribed a C-potency, nothing else may be given.

I have reflected this in some of my blog posts and adjusted my recommendations in certain situations.

As a rule I still omit the information on the dilution method, unless there is a specific reason to include it.

Reliable results

If you want to see results as good as those I regularly see in my practice, I recommend following my instructions to the letter – insofar as there is a letter to follow (please forgive this little pun!). Thanks to the internet we now have access to all the potencies we need and can order remedies from around the world. So there is no reason not to do so.

It’s a bit like baking a cake: if you want to recreate a very specific recipe exactly, you would do well to use the specified ingredients in the correct quantities. You should only improvise once you have mastered the art of baking.

The same applies in homeopathy: the better you understand the homeopathic method, the more you can adapt my recommendations to your personal needs. If you do not find information on the dilution scale in my blog posts, you can use whatever is available locally.

As a rule of thumb: in my experience it makes no difference in acute conditions whether you use a D- or a C-potency. In chronic cases that must be treated according to a specific protocol, however, the potency level is decisive for success.

Nevertheless you should know that it is always best TO USE WHAT YOU HAVE ON HAND. It is better than nothing and can bridge the time until the desired remedy in the required potency can be obtained.

I hope you are now a little wiser than before and still curious about homeopathy.

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Source: https://joettecalabrese.com/blog/answering-questions-x-or-c/

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