Making a water dose

Why would one need to make a water dose?
What’s wrong with the tasty little, sweet pillules?

Most all commonly available homeopathic remedies are made of  sucrose (cane sugar) or lactose (milk sugar) pillules or pellets, of varying sizes and coated on the outside with the homeopathic medicine. These sweet little things are intended to be dissolved beneath your tongue where the medicine is quickly absorbed by the mucosal membranes. This is an excellent and highly transportable method of dosing homeopathic remedies.

Why would someone mess with that method?
A couple of reasons come to mind. The emphasis of this article is based on the idea that you are running short of the remedy and need to stretch it out and make it last. Making a water dose can keep a small amount of a homeopathic remedy going for a long time.

This water method also affords the ability to spread the remedy far and wide among many people. If you have a family all suffering similar symptoms and only one lone, half-empty tube of a remedy, you can put a pellet in some water and dispense it to everybody from there, making your supply last significantly longer.

Water doses can also be very useful when giving a remedy to an infant. Just a tiny sip of this water tipped into their mouths from a teaspoon will do.

Another reason for a water dose would be for sensitive individuals. By dissolving the remedy in water, it softens (for lack of a better word) its impact on the recipient. If you find that you have a strong aggravation with every remedy you take, this would be a good thing to try. (Look for an article devoted to this sometime in the near future.)
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So, how do we keep a remedy going? 
​It’s pretty simple, actually.

1. Fill a clean glass with plain water and drop 1 or 2 pillules directly into the water and gently stir. The idea here is to simply agitate the medicated water. It is now ready to go. It does not matter that the pellet has not dissolved. (Remember, the medicine is on the outside of each pellet, not inside.)

2. Take a teaspoon of the water as directed/needed. This is 1 dose.

If this is for individual use, a teaspoon-sized sip will suffice — you don’t need the teaspoon itself. If sharing the liquid remedy with family members, make sure everybody has their own spoon to pour the remedy into to keep the remedy "clean.") Don't just swallow the sip, hold it in your mouth for a few moments to allow the remedy to be absorbed -- similar to letting the pellets dissolve. For children, have them count to 3 before swallowing.

(Note: Holding the remedy in the mouth is the ideal method of delivery, but it is not essential. My dog and my chickens have never managed to do it and the remedies have still acted!)

3. After you have had your sip/dose, put a napkin or paper towel over the glass. If you plan on using this specific water remedy for a few days, it should be kept in the fridge. (If extending the use of the remedy, it is best to use the spoon delivery method as opposed to direct sips.) If you are just using it for a few hours or over night, it can stay at room temperature. 

The cover over the glass will help remind you that this water is not for drinking. Remember! Every sip is a dose. Technically, it doesn’t matter if you have a teaspoon, a tablespoon or the whole thing. Each time you have it/drink it — that is one dose, regardless of the size of the drink/sip/dose.

4. If you need to leave home for the day, this method can also be done using a clean water bottle. Again, it is important to remember that every sip is a dose, so if you’re headed for a workout, don’t confuse this bottle with your regular water bottle. (Hint: remove the label and perhaps attach a plastic spoon to the bottle with a rubber band so everybody knows it is your bottle.)
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5. If you need to make another water dose, the glass can be used again for the same remedy. “Same” in this regard also refers to the potency. Or, this is easier, just get a clean glass or bottle and a fresh spoon and start anew.
Some homeopaths believe the water needs to be stirred before each dose/sip. I haven’t found this to be necessary in most cases, but it certainly can’t hurt.

If you are helping an infant or somebody too sick to drink a sip, this same water remedy can be used by placing a few drops on the thin skin of the inside of the wrist or even dabbed on a cloth and applied to lips.

Go forth and replicate your homeopathic remedies … if need be.


Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath


#wellnessawaits