The only real criteria is that the symptom can be relied on. If you are going to eliminate any remedy that is NOT in that rubric, you have to be 100% certain it is a reliable symptom. If you have any doubts as to whether the rubric represents that symptom, then don't use it. If the symptoms are not particularly strong then I also would not use it.

If a person says they like coffee, I would not use "desires coffee" as an eliminating symptom. If that person said they loved coffee and drank 10 cups a day and could not go long without craving for the next cup, I would consider it for an eliminating symptom. If someone says they are nervous around snakes, I would not use "fear snakes" as an eliminating symptom, but if they said they cannot even bear to see a picture of a snake in a magazine without wanting to scream and run away, it is a good candidate for eliminating.

Also remember that only symptoms that are spontaneously offered by the patient, without any prompting or suggestions from the practitioner, are really useful for elimination. If the practitioner offers a few choices, and , heaven forbid, starts reciting rubrics from the repetory for the patient to choose from, they are USELESS - WORSE THAN USELESS, as you are beginning to corrupt the patient's natural expressions.

Hope this has been helpful.

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David Kempson.<br />Dip.Homoeopathic Medicine.<br />Lecturer Australian College of Natural Therapies (Brisbane Campus)<br />Member AHA, AROH, HMA<br />Member Australian Homoeopathic Association. Member#0442.