Homeopathic Medicine Potency or Dilution

Many, new to homeopathy, mistake potency or dilution with strength.  There is actually no correlation between potency and the strength of a homeopathic medicine.  A homeopathic medicine at 30C potency is not stronger than the same medicine at 6C or 3C.  The difference is in their action.  While a 6C potency is better suited for a local symptom, a 30C or higher potency is more appropriate for general conditions such as allergy, stress or sleep disorders.

Homeopathic medicine potency in the U.S.A. is described by a two part, number and letter designation.  You will see the potencies referred to as, 12X, 6C, 30C, 10M or 6LM.  The number part indicates the number of times the source substance has been homeopathically diluted.  The Letter portion indicates the dilution rate.  X being the roman numeral 10, is the slowest dilution rate of 1/10 and LM is the fastest dilution rate of 1/50,000.

The following table shows each of the letter designations and their dilution rate as applied in the U.S.A:

In Europe and some other parts of the world you will see the letter D or DH. This refers to decimal or 1/10 which is the same as X, here in the U.S.  Also in Europe the position of the number and letter designation are reversed.  So you will see such designations as D5 or D10 which are equivalent to 5X and 10X.

You will also encounter CH and CK, these are equivalent to C, referring to the Centesimal or 1/100 dilution rate.  The H and K merely indicate the dilution method used. H indicates that the medicine was prepared according to the Hahnemann method and K the Korsakovian Method.

The Hahnemanian method uses 1 part of the homeopathic potency to 99 parts of alcohol in a new flask and succussed to make the next higher potency on the Centesimal scale.

The Korsakovian method is simpler and quicker and often employed to produce the higher potencies of 200C and above. In the Korsakovian method the same container is used for each succession of the dilution step. 

Additional Information on homeopathic medicine:

• General Information

• Homeopathic Remedy Quick Reference

• Homeopathic Medicine Dosage and Form