Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
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Symphoricarpus racemosus is a homeopathic remedy made from snowberry, a shrub with small white berries. Its Latin name is Symphoricarpos albus. Homeopaths give it most often for nausea and vomiting, above all the sickness of early pregnancy.
It is a single remedy, not a blend. It is made by diluting the plant over and over. At common strengths such as 30C, no plant matter is left in the pill at all.
Trials have not shown that it works better than a dummy pill (placebo). Long use in a tradition is not proof that a remedy works, and this page says that once rather than in every section.
Raw snowberries are a different matter. They are poisonous and can cause vomiting, dizziness and sleepiness, mostly in children who eat them off the bush.
Homeopathy rests on the idea of "like cures like". Snowberry can make a well person feel sick, so homeopaths give it to people who feel sick.
The plant is then diluted again and again. Homeopaths say the water keeps an imprint of the plant. There is no known way in chemistry or biology for this to happen.
At 30C the dilution is so great that not one molecule of snowberry is likely to be left. So any change you feel is best explained by placebo, which means feeling better because you expect to. Time and rest also play a part, since most nausea eases on its own.
The most common form is a small sugar pellet that you let melt under your tongue. Liquid drops in a water and alcohol base are also sold.
Strengths on the label are usually 6C, 12C or 30C. The higher the number, the more the plant has been diluted.
Low strengths are not the same thing. A mother tincture, 1X or 2X may still hold real plant matter. Treat those with much more care, and check the strength on the label before you buy.
Snowberry grows wild across North America. Some Native American peoples used parts of the plant on the skin for sores and sore eyes, not as a food.
The remedy entered homeopathy in the United States in the 1800s. Homeopathic writers recorded it mainly for sickness and vomiting in pregnancy.
It has stayed a small, minor remedy. It is known and used, but it is not one of the mainstays of the tradition.
See a doctor if vomiting lasts more than a day or two, or if you cannot keep water down. Get help the same day if you feel dizzy on standing, pass very little urine, or your mouth is dry, as these are signs of dehydration (losing too much body water).
In pregnancy, call your midwife or doctor if you are vomiting many times a day or losing weight. Also seek care for nausea with bad belly pain, fever, blood in your vomit, a bad headache, or yellow skin or eyes.
Go to an emergency department if a child has eaten snowberries off a bush.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
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