Fluxation potencies

Hahnemann wrote that triturating, succussing, and stirring solutions all change the potency factor. Fluxation potencies, or hydraulically potentized remedies, are made with the motion of water to increase potency and are not succussed.

A fluxion machine squirts a certain amount of diluting solution into a vial containing the remedy solution.. The fluxion process is not an approved process by the FDA/HPUS. No one in the USA or England manufactures fluxion potencies. The last fluxion machine was the historic Skinner Potentizer at Boericke and Tafel retired in 1992 due to disrepair. It's a museum piece at the Santa Rosa, CA headquarters.

The idea of "vigorous shaking" is sort of a "homeopathic legend." Everyone believes it, but some of the most effective remedies made were made by a fluxion process where the starting potency was just mixed with water and then dumped (intermittent fluxion) or left to dilute over a period of hours or days (continuous fluxion). 

The Skinner potencies that were hailed by Kent in 1903, were manufactured on the same machine by B&T until about 1990. Almost all high potencies in the USA were made on this machine since most of the pharmacies bought their high potencies (above a 20 or 200) from B&T. The Skinner machine used intermittent fluxion. Original potencies were marked "fluxation potency" but later ones were not.

Skinner also then made his own machine that gave 10 good succussions to every dilution. Kent's potentizer reintroduced the succussion factor. 

Fincke and Swan remedies, made with continuous fluxion, were used at the turn of the century and are still capable of producing results since time does not change the ability of high potencies to be active. Fincke made a MMM of Lachesis as well as many others.

Hahnemann's biggest concern about high potencies was the loss of homeopathic pharmaceutical standards. Eventually, this happened because even though the potency was recorded, the method by which it got there wasn't. That elicits the question of whether one method is different than another in how it works. A proving of each would solve that problem, but I know of no one that has done that. 

There is a Spanish homeopath (?) making ultra high fluxation LM potencies of a very high dilution like Swan and Fincke did with centesimals.

Much more about the history of the Skinner potencies can be found on Julian Winston's pages.

Another great page of fluxion history with sources for the literature on the subject is on Remedia's site.

Philosophy History First aid The case Repertory Materia medica Case management Non-classical topics Reference News