Most people who are introduced to biochemic salts or homeopathic remedies get a bit confused with the number attached to the end of the name of the remedy. That number stands for the strength or the potency. Where biochemic remedies are concerned, the most used potency is 6x. Let’s take a look at how the biochemic practitioners arrive at this strength or potency.

The actual salt in its crude form is mixed in a proportion of one part to nine parts of sugar of milk or alcohol and titrated for a couple of hours. So this mixture contains a tenth of the actual salt. A tenth of this is then titrated the same way – adding the sugar of milk. This goes on to the sixth, the twelfth and even the thirtieth titration. Dr. Schuessler felt that the sixth preparation was the most useful so he usually dispensed medicines with this strength or potency. However with time, he felt that certain potencies were more suited to certain salts than others so while he used 6x for most, he also used 3x or the third titration for certain potassium and sodium salts when it came to treating chronic diseases. When it came to Ferr Phos, Silicea or Calc Fluor, he felt that 12x worked better in many cases.

With certain salts like Ferr Phos, while 6x was very effective, it had the side effect of keeping the person wide awake – all very well if the person wanted to stay away but not so good if it was night and he couldn’t get sleep. Just by making it 12x or 30x, this problem disappeared while all its other beneficial effects were seen.

The strange fact of these titrations which are common to both the tissue remedies as well as homeopathy is that 12x or 30x is supposed to be stronger than 3x or 6x. Now this is rather a paradox when the greater potencies actually contain less of the salt.

These titrations are then sold in the liquid form or they are squeezed onto sugar pills or tablets which is the most popular form in which they are available today.

How is potency usually determined for a patient? First, one has to look at whether the ailment is acute or chronic. If it is acute or it has suddenly come up, you need to take the higher potencies like the 12x or the 30x. If it is a chronic ailment like a long-standing cough or allergy, you need the lower potencies like 6x or 3x. With the higher potencies, the number of doses and the length of time that the salt will have to be given will be less while the lower potencies usually need more doses a day with a longer period over which it will have to be administered.

Higher potency salts – sometimes just one dose is all it takes when the patient happens to be a child because children and pets respond very quickly to tissue remedies. Older people do better with lower potencies and a longer duration. What needs to also be taken into account is the temperament of the person. An excitable person will respond better to higher potencies while a calm or lethargic person will need a lower one.

When in doubt, 6x is the usual choice and will work well with most people. Many scoff at the idea that something that is so diluted can have an effect on the body. However, the law of similars on which the biochemic remedies is built is very much like the hair of the dog – a minute dose is what it takes for the body to jog itself into a curative mode.

You can download the complete Biochemic Remedies Handbook here