The homeopathic aggravation after the administration of the curative remedy is the reaction of the organism, as it responds to the gently stimulating action of the medicine. This aggravation may only be a slight worsening of the present symptoms or re-appearance of the past symptoms which might have been suppressed with the wrong treatment. The best possible reaction will be appearance of high grade fever which usually lasts for 2-3 days and shall not be treated or suppressed. Sometimes some major emotional or physical problems are relieved and the disease force shifts towards the least important organs viz. skin so some rash might develop temporarily which recovers gradually in few days.
It is very important to understand that the disease force cannot disappear in the air as the energy can neither be created nor can be destroyed but can be transformed into another form. Likewise with the correct homeopathic remedy the disease force shifts from the most important organ to the least important organ and in the outward direction.
In Homeopathy, remedies are selected on the basis of Totality of symptom. The most appropriate remedy suitable to the patient is called similimum. When such a similimum is given to the patient, at times a temporary intensification of the symptoms may occur to the patient. This aggravation shall be mild and usually last only for a short period. Such an effect sometimes occur following the first dose of the remedy or when the remedy has been taken more often than needed or if the person is unusually sensitive.
Most of the homeopathic medicines do not contain pharmacologically active ingredients, but only possess certain dynamic properties. This dynamic effect of the remedy is the one that acts on the patient. Homeopathy believes that the diseases originate at the life force, which is dynamic in nature and when a dynamic remedy interacts with the life force, it produces an artificial or transient set of symptoms, provided that remedy is similimum. This intensification of the symptom is called Homeopathic aggravation.
The intensity and duration of the similar aggravation gives us a clue about the correctness of the chosen remedy, the patient’s vital force, prognosis, and for case management.