# How do you dilute homeopathic medicine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 12, 2011, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087 "2011-09-12T19:16:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087/1 "2011-09-12T19:16:53Z")
I don’t believe in homeopathy but for those that do, what is the procedure if you’ve made a homeopathic medicine that is too strong and would now like to dilute it? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087/2 "2011-09-12T19:22:34Z")
Homeopathic “medicine” is already diluted to the point where it has virtually none of the alleged active ingredient left in it. It’s already pure water as it is. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087/3 "2011-09-12T19:25:24Z")
Yeah, but if you dilute it further, it’s just going to get more powerful. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087/4 "2011-09-12T19:32:24Z")
That is the beauty of homeopathy-“less IS more”. What I have never been able to figure out: ordinary tap water contains all kinds of stuff, usually present in the parts per billion level-it oughtta be as good for you as any homeopathic medicine! Or, if you are feeling bad-take a gulp of seawater! Truly the wackiest medical system ever dreamed up! ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087/5 "2011-09-12T20:31:55Z")
Remember now (as homeopaths say), don’t dilute it too much, and make the medicine too powerful, if you’re giving it to children, the elderly, or otherwise weak. Give them the more concentrated, and therefore weaker (homeopath logic again) medicine/toxin. This. Is. So. Dumb. It. Hurts. To. Even. Type. It. I’d assume you could use careful measuring, maybe even volumetric glassware, with careful mixing, to perform dilutions. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be scientific, now would it? :rolleyes: > **[Volumetric flask](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volumetric_flask)** > > A volumetric flask (measuring flask or graduated flask) is a piece of laboratory apparatus, a type of laboratory flask, calibrated to contain a precise volume at a certain temperature. Volumetric flasks are used for precise dilutions and preparation of standard solutions. These flasks are usually pear-shaped, with a flat bottom, and made of glass or plastic. The flask's mouth is either furnished with a plastic snap/screw cap or fitted with a joint to accommodate a PTFE or glass stopper. The neck ... ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087/6 "2011-09-12T20:34:51Z")
Obligatory [video.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMGIbOGu8q0&feature=youtube_gdata_player) ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087/7 "2011-09-12T20:40:48Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Remember now (as homeopaths say), don’t dilute it too much, and make the medicine too powerful, if you’re giving it to children, the elderly, or otherwise weak. Give them the more concentrated, and therefore weaker (homeopath logic again) medicine/toxin. > > This. Is. So. Dumb. It. Hurts. To. Even. Type. It. Yes, but you’re still not addressing the OP. Suppose you have a homeopathic remedy, and it has become this “too powerful” of which you speak, and yet a child or elderly person needs its healing power. Right now. And the closest homeopathist is two hours away. _Within the belief system of homeopathy_, how could you weaken the remedy you have so that it would be safe for that child or elderly person to take? Do homeopathy-believers have an answer to that? (Yes, I know that this is just a fairy tale thought experiment, but the OP got me to wondering if the homeopathy nuts actually have an answer.) ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087/8 "2011-09-12T20:47:13Z")
Maybe you could boil it and reduce it. It would still be silly, but it would at least humor the premise. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087/9 "2011-09-12T20:49:21Z")
> [@Roadfood](#): > > Yes, but you’re still not addressing the OP. Suppose you have a homeopathic remedy, and it has become this “too powerful” of which you speak, and yet a child or elderly person needs its healing power. Right now. And the closest homeopathist is two hours away. _Within the belief system of homeopathy_, how could you weaken the remedy you have so that it would be safe for that child or elderly person to take? Do homeopathy-believers have an answer to that? You’re confused because diluting it more makes it _more powerful_. However, the dilution types are explained here: > **[Homeopathy | Dilutions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy#Dilutions)** > > Hahnemann claimed that undiluted doses caused reactions, sometimes dangerous ones, and thus that preparations be given at the lowest possible dose. A solution that is more dilute is described as having a higher "potency", and thus are claimed to be stronger and deeper-acting. The general method of dilution is serial dilution, where solvent is added to part of the previous mixture, but the "Korsakovian" method may also be used. In the Korsakovian method, the vessel in which the preparati Three mai... You dilute by a factor of 100 at each “stage.” So let’s say you had 1 cup of your tincture of unicorn horn and fairy dust. You would add 99 cups of water, and have the first dilution. Take a cup of that, add 99 cups of water, that’s your second dilution. Etc. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087/10 "2011-09-12T20:56:57Z")
Just like concentrating overly week conventional medicine, going one way is easy, the other way not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087/11 "2011-09-12T20:57:08Z")
> [@HelloAgain](#): > > You’re confused because [homeopathy-think] diluting it more makes it more powerful [/homeopathy-think]. (Edited to avoid appearing to attribute that, um, claim to the quoted poster himself.) No, I don’t think **Roadfood** was confused about that: in fact, I think that was precisely his/her point. (The OP, on the other hand, did use “dilute” a bit confusingly.) I.e., if a homeopathic remedy has been diluted to the point where it is now considered (by homeopathy believers) “too powerful” for its intended use, how would one “un-dilute” the remedy to make it “weaker” or “less powerful”, rather than starting all over again to make a less dilute tincture? ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087/12 "2011-09-12T21:07:05Z")
Homeopathy is a load of crap. However, given when it was invented, were I alive then, I’d much much much rather go to a homeopath than to a regular doctor. That is about the only grounds for defense of it, IMO – given the state of medical science, at least it wasn’t actively harmful. Why it’s still around is a mystery to me. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087/13 "2011-09-12T21:08:00Z")
Seriously, I did a little reading on this. It seems that the action of vigorously shaking the solution between dilutions is part of the secret sauce. Perhaps one could add water to the solution without shaking it (“succussion”) would not magnify the properties of the active ingredient. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087/14 "2011-09-12T21:23:34Z")
If an adult dosage is 1 ml, maybe you could give a child 10 ml instead? ---
**Author:** ![vd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b19c9b/32.png) [@vd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vd)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087/15 "2011-09-12T21:31:39Z")
Liquid Paper and a pen? ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087/16 "2011-09-12T23:09:19Z")
Wouldn’t you just give less of it? Although, if you give someone 1ml of tincture instead of 10ml of tincture, then surely it’ll be 10x more diluted within the body, so it’ll be ten times more powerful, so… My brain hurts. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087/17 "2011-09-13T00:20:08Z")
> [@eclectic\_wench](#): > > Wouldn’t you just give less of it? > > Although, if you give someone 1ml of tincture instead of 10ml of tincture, then surely it’ll be 10x more diluted within the body, so it’ll be ten times more powerful, so… > > My brain hurts. Yes, I’ve seen such instructions on a homeopathy cold remedy though once you get to a single drop it becomes harder to subdivide in a accurate way. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087/18 "2011-09-13T00:23:33Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > I.e., if a homeopathic remedy has been diluted to the point where it is now considered (by homeopathy believers) “too powerful” for its intended use, how would one “un-dilute” the remedy to make it “weaker” or “less powerful”, rather than starting all over again to make a less dilute tincture? Logically by adding active ingredients, no? ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087/19 "2011-09-13T19:42:03Z")
> [@eclectic\_wench](#): > > Wouldn’t you just give less of it? > > Although, if you give someone 1ml of tincture instead of 10ml of tincture, then surely it’ll be 10x more diluted within the body, so it’ll be ten times more powerful, so… > > My brain hurts. No, that’s not how homeopathy works. The act of dilution “activates” (or something I dunno their term) the water molecules and makes _them_ become a more powerful medicine. I can’t see why homeopaths wouldn’t use accurate laboratory glassware. When I was diluting milk or dirty water samples, for microbiology class, I would use a calibrated pipette to transfer 1.0 mL to a 100 mL of water in a bottle, cap it, then mix. There’s a proscribes way of mixing, something like 20 times, shaken through a 90 degree arc, (copy the motion with your arm, you’ll get it.) And I can’t see why the homeopaths wouldn’t do the same. After all, it provides all the _pastiche_ of real SCIENCE, with the true belief of homeopathy. They very carefully report their 1:1,000,000 dilutions, so they ought to do it carefully – you wouldn’t want a sloppy quack medicine would you? ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087/20 "2011-09-13T20:02:25Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > They very carefully report their 1:1,000,000 dilutions, so they ought to do it carefully – you wouldn’t want a sloppy quack medicine would you? It’s a good thing that medicine and the human body are both base 10. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dilute-homeopathic-medicine/596087.md?page=2)