The term ‘vehicle’ implies, “Means of conveyance or transmission”, In Homeopathy vehicle is a substance, in which medicines are prepared or mixed and given for their internal administrations either by oral or olfaction method and external application for medications. These substances are comparatively inert as such taken as a means of developing the therapeutic activity of medicinal substance.
AN IDEAL VEHICLE
I. It must not have any medicinal property of its own.
2. It should be chemically neutral; neither acidic nor alkaline in medicinal effects. They must not undergo change or decomposition,
3, The above two specific properties are more applicable to those which are used in potentising medicines.
4. It must be harmless regarding its action on human organisms. The pharmacological message of the original drug is not disturbed in any way.
5 It should be capable of carrying the dynamic powers of drugs into interior human organisms to fight the disease force.
6. It should be edible and palatable.
Uses of Vehicles :
1. Vehicles are used in the preparation of mother tinctures, mother solutions and mother powders from crude drug materials and without any vehicles these preparation could not be made.
2. It is used for further triturations and increased potentisation from the mother, so that pharmaceutical message is easily carried and therapeutic values are retained of the particular drug substances.
3 Used as bases for preparing external applications of medicines.
4. For dispensing medicines or remedies according to the prescriptions of physicians.
5. Vehicles like olive oil, vaseline, glycerine, etc. are themselves applied externally as a mechanical aid only.
6. As a preservant or certain medicines, vehicle like alcohol is mixed in certain percentage with the freshly expressed juices of plants (vide Organon of Medicine, aphorism 268, footnote).
7. Used as ‘placebo’ or ‘phytum’ in between the administrations of the two doses of medicines or remedies, especially in cases of chronic diseases and where long-acting remedies are used. Dr. Kent holds, “Second best medicine in our Materia Medica is placebo”, which is given to the patient to please.
8. Sick babies who could not tolerate fats, sugar of milk is given as a diet.
Forms of Vehicles
There are two forms of vehicles: 1. Solid and 2. Liquid.
Solid Vehicles:
1. Milk sugar or Sugar of milk( saccharum Lactis, Lactose).
2. GlobuleS or pillules.
3. Pellets.
4. Tablets or Tabloids.
5. Cones.
Liquid Vehicles
1. Aqua Distillata (Distilled Water)
2. Alcohol – Absolute Alcohol, Strong Alcohol, Dispensing Alcohol, Dilute Alcohol
3. Glycerine
4. Olive Oil
5. Almond Oil
Are there any brands or practitioners in India or abroad that use Olive oil or Almond oil or distilled oil as vehicles or could do custom orders or complex remedies with those that you could direct us to?Thank you