How to buy homeopathic remedies?

We've seen where homeopathic remedies are available in the US, and as I said in that post, not all remedies in the market that are marked 'homeopathic' are truly homeopathic. There are many products out there sitting in pharmacy aisles that a lay person would buy just by seeing the 'homeopathic' mark on them. One example is Zicam. Zicam is not homeopathic. If you google Zicam, all the top results will be articles about how Zicam does not work or has numerous side-effects, and therefore homeopathy does not work or is dangerous.

The ingredients label on Zicam is misleading. For example, the active ingredients in Zicam RapidMelts are listed as Zincum aceticum 2x and Zincum gluconicum 1x. The list of inactive ingredients is longer, with artificial colors, flavors, and sucralose! No homeopathic remedy will ever have these artificial ingredients. Homeopathic remedies are made from various sources, and apart from the source of the drug, the only other ingredients should be either alcohol and/or water (if in liquid form) or lactose and sucrose (if in tablet or pellet form).

Another common confusion is with herbal remedies. Many homeopathic remedies are made from commonly used herbal remedies. For example, Echinacea is a popular herb that is used to boost the immune system. Homeopathic Echinacea is used for a lot of things, including boils, ulcers, snake bites, septic conditions etc. To differentiate herb with homeopathic remedy, we need to understand the meaning of 'homeopathic'.

Echinacea

 Herbal remedies are used in the crude state, much like Ayurvedic remedies, and they are administered as teas, tablets, capsules, external poultices etc. Homeopathic remedies are made from the herb, but the method of preparation according to certain principles of dilution and succusion is what makes them 'homeopathic'. When a remedy is not prepared by the principles of homeopathy, it is not homeopathic.

Let's take another example. Gold is used in homeopathy as Aurum metallicum. The crude form of gold as a metal does not have any medicinal value, but when prepared according to homeopathic principles, it's intrinsic healing properties are activated and then it is used as a homeopathic remedy.

I hope this article answers some questions and clears the air about what is truly homeopathic. Please leave your comments and feedback, or ask if  you have any questions.


Image courtesy Anna Strumillo CC license