It was going to be a beautiful day.

My oldest child was about to make her First Holy Communion.

We’d go to church.

She’d walk down the aisle in her white dress and veil, and receive what Catholics believe is the Body and Blood of Christ.

Then we’d have our friends and relatives over to celebrate.

Except my son woke up with a sore throat and high fever.

He was fine when we put him to bed.

But now he was really sick.

It was years ago.

So I’m not sure if I called our homeopath before or after I took him to the doctor. (Probably after.)

But I left the medical office with a diagnosis of strep throat, along with a prescription for an antibiotic, which resolved not to use.

However, in the end I needed to use it.

Because I hadn’t learned about The Minimum Dose.

This is a basic homeopathic principle.

Many seem to have forgotten it though.

It means you use only enough doses to cure.

No more, no less.

My homeopath at the time was very good at choosing remedies.

Actually she was a brilliant and talented practitioner and she taught me a lot.

But if she were driving the car people would have said she has a “lead foot.”

She was heavy on the dosing.

This homeopath helped us immensely.

I’m eternally grateful to her.

But I know we would have seen even better results with Minimum Dosing.

Homeopathy And The Minimum Dose

Sudden onset strep throat with a high fever called for Belladonna.

I put one 30C pellet in water and started dosing.

My son got better.

He was still sick at church.

But once we got home he started running around with his cousins.

Homeopathy was healing him.

As I’d seen it do a number of times before, with earaches and respiratory infections.

Since he was doing so well I decided to give him a few more doses. Just to keep things moving along.

Because, at that time, all I knew was “lead foot” homeopathy.

Later that afternoon my son got sick again. His fever spiked. He was lethargic.

We were right back at square one.

I called our homeopath. She told me to keep dosing, which I did.

But, now, it seemed as if the remedy totally stopped working.

My son continued sinking.

I couldn’t reach the homeopath.

Maybe she was tired of me. As a worried Mom, I called a lot.

But, right now, I really needed her.

Bear in mind, this was back before homeopaths were on Facebook, answering questions.

I’d been using homeopathy only a couple of years.

So I was still learning.

This homeopath taught me so much, with the exception of Minimum Dosing.

By now, it was late at night.

Too late to call her or anyone else.

My son’s temperature spiked.

Back then I didn’t have the skill or confidence to choose a different remedy, if that’s what he needed.

Nor did I know enough to stop dosing once you see a significant improvement.

In retrospect I should have quit while I was ahead.

When my son was well enough to run around with his cousins.

That’s when I should have put the remedy away, and not touched it again, unless it was clear he was going backwards.

When dealing with an intense situation you can dose more frequently.

But you have to know when to stop.

Generally, it seems as if too many doses are the norm. At least judging by what I see on social media.

In fact, there seems to be a trend toward Maximum Dosing instead of Minimum Dosing.

The other problem we had (along with the strep and lack of Minimum Dosing) was that my son got sick on a day he couldn’t rest. I dragged him to church, when he should have been home. Instead of bed rest he ran around with his cousins.

No surprise that the dose “wore off” quickly and my homeopath told me to redose, which is typically what we tell people to do when the symptoms return.

However, my son was doing so well after that first dose of Belladonna.

In retrospect, and knowing what I know now, my mistake was letting him run around with his cousins.

In fact, I should have cancelled the First Holy Communion party because my son was sick.

What Is The Minimum Dose In Homeopathy?

My son responded really well to the first dose of Belladonna 30C.

I think without the running around and the extra doses he would have been fine.

He needed to be resting in bed.

Then, if his fever spiked again he would need another dose and I’d know it was because he truly needed another dose.

Not because the remedy ceased to work, because of so much physical and mental excitement.

Then maybe he’d need a dose or two more to finish the case.

Instead, I gave him MANY more doses than necessary.

This caused an aggravation.

Which then led to antibiotics, something I desperately wanted to avoid.

Sometimes antibiotics are necessary even with good homeopathic care.

But you can often avoid them with the Minimum Dose plus adequate rest.

Otherwise here’s how things often play out, especially with an acute condition.

• After a thorough analysis of the case you carefully choose the right remedy. It’s working.
• You give a few more doses. It “stops working.”
• You might need a higher potency. Consider this if you keep getting a good response but it doesn’t “hold.”
• Or, more likely, you’re not doing Minimum Dosing. You give four doses the first hour, 15 minutes apart. Then you taper that to one dose an hour. Soon you notice worsening of the illness, along with new symptoms.
• Then you switch remedies. The new remedy doesn’t work.
• Neither does the third remedy. Or the fourth. Or the fifth.
• Because you had the right remedy in the beginning. But too many doses clouded the picture.
• Are there exceptions? Yes. Some people need more doses. The condition is intense. Or they burn through doses fast. But we don’t decide this. The person’s Vital Force does.
• There’s no such thing as a set, arbitrary dosing schedule. Instead, give one dose and see what happens. Hold off on more doses as long as the person is feeling better.
• Bad prescribing is a good way to set yourself up for an Urgent Care visit. If you want to avoid this scenario stick to the Minimum Dose.
• Also don’t forget about getting enough rest. Overexertion when you’re sick can cause a return of symptoms. Then come more doses, which aggravate and upset the delicate balance of healing.

How did I finally learn about the Minimum Dose?

From my second homeopath?

“Pretend you’re riding a bicycle and you’re cruising along, without peddling. Don’t take another dose until you start to wobble,” she said.

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