While homeopathic remedies never expire, they can run out, and with the FDA abrogating to itself the authority to pull them off the shelves at any time, it is useful to know how to extend your current kit. There are some simple ways to graft, or duplicate, your remedies. This guide is a companion to the January 15, 2023 webinar on home remedy kits, and this post on What’s In My Little Red Bag, which offers some links to supplies (also available elsewhere).
Grafting remedies isn’t strictly a duplication process; any time you dilute and succuss (shake or pound) a remedy, you are increasing the potency. For this reason, and because this isn’t a strictly-measured clean-room method, I do not use grafted remedies for professional practice. I do use them in my home kit and would definitely use a grafted remedy over nothing at all in an urgent or emergent situation! A slight increase in potency is not going to affect the health outcomes in the types of situations we are discussing for home prescribing.
I recommend 30c remedies for home kits, with 1M potencies for emergency use, but 200c potencies are also a good option; if using a 200c in place of a 30c, reduce the frequency of dosing.
When I graft remedies, I like to make a medicating potency that I can store forever, and use that to medicate additional pellets any time I run out. (Homeopathic remedies CAN be damaged by intense direct sunlight or other radiation, so always store them in the cool, dry, and dark.) To do this, I do the following:
· In a brown or blue 1 dram vial, dissolve one pellet in ½ dram of distilled water.
· When FULLY dissolved (check to make sure – once you add alcohol, it won’t dissolve), fill the remainder of the vial with vodka or grain alcohol. I add a reducer cap so that I can dole out one drop at a time. This is your medicating potency; label it carefully and store it correctly and it will last a LONG time!
· In any size vial you prefer (I use ½ dram for my travel kit), add blank pellets until it is ½-2/3 full. You want the pellets to have room to move around when you shake it.
· Add ONE drop from the liquid vial to the pellets, cover, and immediately shake it several times to distribute. Too much liquid will dissolve the pellets and you will end up with a solid mass of medicated milk sugar! (If this happens, you can chip it apart with a skewer or toothpick – the remedy will still work, it can just be harder to deal with).
· Label BOTH the lid AND the vial (trust me on this – labels fall off and you cannot tell remedies apart without their labels).
· Store in your kit and replenish as needed!
· Do this ONE REMEDY AT A TIME! Because homeopathic remedies are highly vibrational, if you have a lot of vials open and a lot of medicating potencies going, you can get some cross-contamination. Also, remember, homeopathic remedies can be absorbed olfactorily or through the skin, so be careful not to touch any that you spill – just brush them up with a paper towel and throw them away.
· You can clean your tools or vials with boiling water and rubbing alcohol.
That’s all there is to it. The process takes some time if you are doing many remedies at once, but if you keep the supplies on hand and do it as needed when your stock is low, it is a manageable and affordable way to keep your kit full. Additionally, you can get a couple pellets from someone to start your own vial, without needing to buy a fresh supply.
I will be posting some more webinars soon, so keep your eye on this space.