KEYNOTES OF HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES

Keynotes are highlights of a remedy's is best known characteristics, symptoms and modalities.

In the Materia Medica some words or sentences are in CAPITALS, bold or italics; these are usually the remedy's keynotes. Keynotes may include modalities as well as any other well known aspect of a remedy.

A way of learning remedies for the beginner is to memorise these keynotes as a sort of shorthand or precis of the remedy. Keynotes are like little signposts in the maze. Ideal for 'acutes' prescribing

Keynotes give us clues, but they can also give us false leads in constitutional prescribing, so they must be used intelligently.

Examples:

You can see that both remedies below are known for nausea and vomiting, but their other keynotes are used to differentiate between them.

Arsenicum Album - Very anxious. Fear they are dying (even in mild illness). Worse around midnight and the wee hours. Better from warmth. Burning pains. Great restlessness or utter prostration.(too exhausted to be restless) Nausea and vomiting.

Nux Vomica -Irritable Oversensitive (to Cold, Noise, Smells etc). Worse early morning, 4-6 am. Shivering violently, from the least uncovering. Nausea and vomiting

So you can see that a patient who was very shivery and grumpy would be more likely to need nuv-vom than one who was anxious and restless, who might need arsenicum album. Different remedies used even though they both seem to be suffering from the same symptoms of nausea.