Hydrosol Remedies 

Homeopathic remedies are prepared by repeated dilution and succussion (banging) of standard tinctures in 60 percent alcohol or high-proof vodka. The more diluted and succussed the remedy, the stronger its potency. Alcohol is the chosen medium because it contains water, which can best hold and expand the medicinal vibration of the remedy. The alcohol also acts as a preservative and antibacterial agent.

Hydrosols can be used in the same way as the tinctures in homeopathy. Single drops can be diluted in quantities of distilled water and succussed to ditribute the energy of the hydrosol throughout the water. If we follow Hahnemann precisely, we dilute one drop of hydrosol in ten drops of water, bang (succuss) the bottle on the table  one hundred times, and thus have a remedy of 1c.

If we do this six separate times we will have a 6c remedy; if we dilute the 6c twenty four more times, we will have an infinitely stronger 30c remedy, and so on. Laborious and time consuming as this may be, it seems to work just as well with hydrosols as with tinctures. And remember the more you dilute the stronger your remedy.

My experiments in this area stem as much from my homeopathic experiences as from the problem of ingesting  Greenland moss (Ledum groenlandicum) hydrosol. It works well; in fact, it works a little too well. Greenland moss is so efficient  and a rapid detoxifying substance that some clients just find it too strong at the standard dilution of thirty millilitres in one litre of water. Even when the dose is cut in half (15 millilitres per litre of water) which I now recommend as standard with Greenland Moss, some clients still seem  to be "proving" the effects. strongly with the effects  that even a whiff of the hydrosol thereafter could make them run for the bathroom.

So I diluted the Ledum until I thought it was imperceptible, that is one drop in 1 litre of water. One client still reacted, however. Now the problem was twofold. This woman had responded so violently to the original dose that even the thought of Ledum now elicited nausea. How could we get over the fear reaction and enable her to use the remedy? At one drop per litre the smell was virtually undetectable - but not, apparently, if you were looking for it.

I continue to make tests on dilution, but it will require much more experimentation, perhaps by qualified homeopaths, to fully determine whether hydrosols offer a viable option to remedy preparation by tincture. What I do know is that hydrosols work, even in extremely low dilutions such as those prepared for homeopathy.

They also work very powerfully when used by the single drop. Probably the biggest drawback to this kind of treatment is the delicate nature of hydrosols. Tinctures will stay viable and free from bacteria for fairly long periods, thanks to their alcohol content. Homeopathic remedies, which are diluted in alcohol , also benefit from this preservative action.

Not so with aromatic waters. Hydrosols ideally contain no preservatives and must be packaged in sterilized containers and stored carefully to avoid degradation. Any aroma-homeopathic remedy made in the manner described will either require the addition of alcohol or have a short life span suitable only for immediate use; these problems can be circumvented somewhat if the clients are willing to prepare dilutions themselves.

Reference: Hydrosols The next Aromatherapy: Suzanne Catty