A system of medicine based on the Law of Similars is called homeopathy. The accuracy of the law has been verified by conducting experiments for over 200 years. The form of medicine as an alternative was proposed for the first time by a German physician, Samuel Hahnemann, in 1796. Practitioners use highly diluted preparations for treatment.
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The remedies are prepared by serial dilution and succession, which refers to shaking by striking forcefully. This is done under the assumption that shaking after every dilution increases the effect. This process is known as potentization. Dilution remains until no portion of the original substance remains. Animal, mineral, synthetic and plant substances are used in homeopathic remedies.
Hahnemann created centesimal or C scale which referred to the dilution of a substance by a factor of 100 at every stage. A 2C dilution refers to a substance being diluted to one part in one hundred and then a part of the diluted solution diluted by another factor of a hundred. This results in one portion of the initial substance in 10,000 parts of the solution. Similarly, a 6C dilution duplicates the process for six times.
A solution that has been diluted more has higher potency. Solutions with higher potency in homeopathy are used as stronger and deeper acting remedies. Hahnemann always suggested 30C dilutions for a number of purposes.
Homeopathic practitioners do not agree on potency and dosage however as a general rule, chronic illnesses which have been affecting you for a long time need to be treated using high potencies (30x-200c) and acute conditions which have been present for a very short period of time should be taken care of with low potencies (6x or 6C). Potency may also be decided on the basis of other factors including the sensitivity of a patient to homeopathy and the remedy being taken.
