Choosing the homeopathic remedy you or a family member need can be challenging. It’s helpful to know those symptoms that one typically expects to see in your patient for a given remedy to be a good choice.

Here are a few examples. If you or your “patient” are not exhibiting the symptoms described under each remedy, chances are good that remedy will not be helpful in with your case.

• Aconite: Curious about whether this remedy might be needed for a family member you care for?

It's frequently thought of when a person is in a state of fear or worry with great restlessness. They may have a fever that comes on suddenly and are often very thirsty.

• Arsenicum album is a commonly used homeopathic medicine—often employed for stomach disorders, among other things.

One would want to see these symptoms to prescribe this remedy:

1. The patient is restless.

2. The patient is chilly, seeks the heat, wants to be covered, and feels better from warmth.

3. The patient is often thirsty but chooses to drink a little at a time.

4. The patient is typically worse after midnight.

• Hypericum perforatum is a frequently prescribed homeopathic medicine made from St. John's wort, a flowering shrub native to Europe.

It's commonly given to patients who have suffered an injury to nerve-rich areas of the body—such as a fingertip or a toe.

• Nux vomica is a remedy commonly prescribed for many things. When one has done a bit too much celebrating it can prove helpful to relieve indigestion and hangovers. It's made from the seeds of the Nux vomica tree.

The hallmark symptoms calling for Nux vomica are great irritability combined with chilliness. Nausea in the morning is common with this remedy, as are difficult stools.

• Rhus toxicodendron is a commonly prescribed homeopathic remedy. It's a medicine made with fresh leaves from the Eastern poison ivy plant.

Among its many uses, it's commonly selected to treat people with a poison ivy rash and for those with soreness (joints, muscles) on first motion who are better with continued motion. It is also often employed with patients who have a flu-like illness, with much restlessness.

One generally has to feel worse from cold, wet weather and at rest for the remedy to be prescribed for musculoskeletal discomfort.

The key to choosing the correct/helpful remedy is ALWAYS the same. One must match the characteristic symptoms of the patient to a remedy capable of producing similar characteristic symptoms to have success. If you choose a remedy with characteristics most similar to the characteristic symptoms of the patient, you will have a happy outcome with great frequency. If you don't, you (or your family member) will either feel no effect, or one that is mild at best.

Remember, as with any medical condition, consult with your physician if you have any concerns about the severity of your illness as it may first require medical diagnosis and/or intervention and monitoring.