Schwabe Single Remedies (SSR)

Homoeopathic therapy depends on the one hand on the medical simile selected according to the rule of similarity and, on the other hand on the critical diagnosis of the pathological conditions suitable. Selection of the suitable simile requires expert knowledge of the homoeopathic materia medica which is based on generally acknowledged literature on homoeopathic remedies. In more detail, the choice of the appropriate single remedy is based on the following principles.

The principle of similarity

A homoeopath searches for a single remedy apt to produce the same symptoms in a healthy person as experienced by the patient.

Homoeopathic drug provings

The symptoms associated with a substance can be discovered by testing the homoeopathic remedy on healthy persons. Changes which occur on a mental, emotional, or physical level after the administration of a homoeopathic remedy form the basis of the symptom picture of a homoeopathic remedy. Completed by pharmacological and toxicological data and the clinical experience in the treatment of patients, this forms the homoeopathic drug picture of a given substance.

The patients’ personal medical history

In order to select the correct homoeopathic remedy whose drug picture is similar to patient’s disease, the patients’ accurate medical history must be considered (anamnesis). Here, the whole person, not just the disease is of importance, including the mental, emotional and physical state of the patient, as well as the unique characteristics of this disease in particularly this patient.
Homoeopathic remedies predominantly originate from plants, but they are also made of substances of mineral, animal or synthetic origin. The so-called nosodes are homoeopathic medicinal products manufactured from a product of the disease such as infected tissue or causal organisms.

Hahnemann started to work with pure substances, later he developed the method of homoeopathic potentizing or dynamization, thus enhancing the power of the homoeopathic remedy.

Potentisation is a step-wise dilution and succussion of the mother tincture according to defined methods. Mother tinctures are mostly produced by alcoholic extraction and in rare cases by water extraction. Following special procedures, mother tinctures are diluted with alcohol or water and then vigorously shaken by hand by ten hard strikes against an elastic body in a process called succussion. The solid mother substances are stepwise diluted and triturated, i.e. ground in lactose to produce a 10-fold or 100-fold diluted remedy.

The relation between the active substances and the excipients is 1 part to 9 parts for decimal (indicated as D or X) potencies, and 1 part to 99 parts for centesimal (indicated as C) potencies.

The relation for Q (or LM) potencies is 1 part to 50,000. The indicators X or D, C or LM are combined with a number giving the number of dilution steps of the production progress.

Homoeopathic preparations are produced in a variety of pharmaceutical forms. Some are unique to homoeopathy others are more common. All these pharmaceutical forms are described in the Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia.

Globules, also called pillules or pellets, are made of pure sucrose. Globules are impregnated or medicated by fixing a homoeopathic liquid attenuation into their matrix. Globules are unique to homoeopathy and are very popular. Like all homoeopathic oral pharmaceutical forms they are administered sublingually.

Other pharmaceutical forms are tablets, mother tinctures and tinctures, triturations, injection ampoules, ointments and suppositories.

Indications for Homoeopathic Single Remedies