Understanding Homoeopathy - Polycrest Remedies
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Polycrest remedies are some of the most commonly used homeopathic remedies. They received their name because they are effective for a wide variety of conditions and common symptoms of simple illnesses. Dr. Hahnemann defined polycrest remedies as those that correspond to common diseases and can be effectively applied homeopathically. Well known polycrest remedies include Nux vomica, Sulphur, Arsenicum album, Lachesis, Natrum muriaticum, Phosphorus, and Causticum. Polycrest remedies affect nearly all tissues of the body and can prove curative for both acute and chronic disorders when other methods have failed.
Understanding Homoeopathy - Polycrest Remedies
- 1. Polycrest Remedies Many times while reading homoeopathic texts and internet information you will come across the term Polycrest remedy and wonder what on earth that means. Homoeopathy has a great treasure of medicines but some of them are more commonly used. The most common homoeopathic remedies are often referred to as polycrests. Many of them have been in use in homoeopathic preparations since the beginning of homoeopathy and have an earlier history of use in herbal preparations. The polycrests are effective for a wide variety of conditions and are often used for common symptoms of simple illnesses. From his introduction to Nux vomica in his Materia Medica Pura, Dr. Hahnemann defines polycrests as follows: `There are some remedies in which the majority of symptoms correspond in similarity to some common disease, and which can therefore often be effectively applied homoeopathically. We could call these remedies polycrests’. Remedies are usually defined as polycrest remedies or as small or minor remedies. A small remedy is so named because its provings and clinical use are not extensive. Some remedies are ‘small’ just because they haven't been extensively "proved" - meaning experimented with or given often enough to get a complete picture of the remedy's potential. Other remedies are small because in the provings, their range of activity may have been limited to only one sphere, while having little or no effect on the mentals or emotionals, etc. of the provers. The polycrests, on the other hand, had an action on the whole person in the provings; hence, "many uses" which is what polycrest means. A polycrest is a remedy whose provings and clinical applications show that it has many widespread uses, covering a wide variety of mental, emotional and physical symptomatology. Well known polycrests are, for example, Nux vomica, Sulphur, Arsenicum album, Lachesis, Natrum muriaticum, Phosphorus, Causticum, Lycopodium, etc. A polycrest affects all or nearly all tissues of the body and its curative power reaches deep into the anatomy and is equally useful in acute and chronic disorders, but in chronic cases may prove curative or ameliorative when all other methods fail. As you read about individual medicines, you would notice that homoeopathic medicines are
- 2. multipurpose and each of them covers a wide range of symptoms. Polycrests particularly cover lots of symptoms that belong to various ailments and this is why they are capable of effectively treating so many different ailments. The point to note is that when a medicine is selected for a particular set of symptoms, it is not necessary that the person would have or should have all the symptoms indicated under that medicine. Next month we will explore animal, plant and mineral remedies.