Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
When I was 19 I was plagued by plantar warts on my feet. I had almost 100 of them - about fifty on each foot. Some were almost half an inch in diameter and half an inch deep. It was very painful and I wore special cleats on my shoes so the front of my foot did not touch the ground.
I went to a local dermatologist that told me she could remove them with an operation. She also told me that she had read a journal that said the virus could be removed with a red dye. The idea was that the virus would be attracted to the dye and leave my feet. I knew the operation would be very painful - so; I figured I would try the dye. This was back in 1966. I applied the dye which was a iridescent, purple/red dye, after every shower. In two weeks I had no warts left on my feet.
To this day; I do not know if it was not just psychosomatic or if the dye actually worked. I was in the military, at that time, and did not go back and thank my dermatologist. She retired before I ever had a chance to contact her. I did have the pressure of the pending operation playing on my mind. She also sounded very plausible with her explanation of the dye and the results. I think the dye was a sulfate base - maybe similar to a dye they use on horses? However; I was young and dumb and there was no internet.
I think your psychosomatic healing idea may be right. I know of a grandmother who held the wart-ridden hand of her little granddaughter, emphatically stating, "This is not what God intends on your hand!"
In a few days, my friend's (the little girl's) hand was wart-free & never had another.
I think your psychosomatic healing idea may be right. I know of a grandmother who held the wart-ridden hand of her little granddaughter, emphatically stating, "This is not what God intends on your hand!"
In a few days, my friend's (the little girl's) hand was wart-free & never had another.
Thank you.
I have been debating this with my family for the last forty five years. I can kick myself for not going back to the dermatologist. I wish that I could even remember the dye that she prescribed.
I am hoping that I hear from others - I just don’t know. I have also never had another wart on my feet.
My sister is under treatment for one plantar wart. She is complaining how painful the treatment is: I guess that the doctor applies a drying acid and then she has to follow up with a formaldehyde solution application. She is not a happy camper.
The mind is a very powerful instrument. Just as there are psychocomatic illnesses, I believe without a doubt there are instances of psychosomatic healing. Placebo effect is a very real phenomenon and is almost as important as whatever the real effect is of a treatment.
Of course this unfortunately would not work for everyone; individuals are so varied, and the hold the mind has over the body has an incredibly wide range among individuals.
The mind is a very powerful instrument. Just as there are psychocomatic illnesses, I believe without a doubt there are instances of psychosomatic healing. Placebo effect is a very real phenomenon and is almost as important as whatever the real effect is of a treatment.
Of course this unfortunately would not work for everyone; individuals are so varied, and the hold the mind has over the body has an incredibly wide range among individuals.
I have actually read a few articles over the years that suggested that warts are very susceptible to mind over body healing. I also have never seen any information about virus attracted to any dye. Maybe I subconsciously still believe the story of my dermatologist forty two years ago? I keep hoping that I find some information about dye and attracting any virus. Maybe it is hard for me to accept the logical explanation?
fisheye.....I wonder if the woman you visited back in 1966 prescribed (the red dye) pottassium permanganate?...it really works wonders you know.
It could have been? I had worked with Potassium Permanganate back in the 1970's at a local chemical company. It is a strong oxidizer.
It could also have been one of the dyes that were banned – such as Amaranth, FD&C Red No. 2, E123, C.I. Food Red 9, Acid Red 27, Azorubin S, or C.I. 16185 (banned in 1976 as a possible carcinogen).
I keep hoping that some elderly doctor will remember reading about a similar treatment.
By the way, I had also asked this question on the new Unexplained Mysteries and Paranormal thread: Psychosomatic healing? One poster suggested that it might have been Gentain Violet. However; that was before I remembered that some of our red dyes have been banned over the years.
I have a sister (hiker), that just turned 60, and has suffered from just a few plantar warts for the last decade. She knows about my miraculous cure from the warts with the dye – but I have no information to even tell her what kind of dye my dermatologist used almost half a century ago. She has had a few or her warts removed by a dermatologist – but she finds the process very painful. About four months ago she came across the information on the duct tape treatment. That was right after she found another wart. She asked me for my opinion – I told her that I thought it could be psychosomatic. However I also said for her to really believe that the tape will help. It took three months; but her wart is finally gone (without the help of a dermatologist or over-the-counter home wart removal treatments).
Of course this really does not help me with the answer. Dye, duct tape, psychosomatic?
I found your first link very informative. Especially the information on CAM "(chiropractic, acupuncture, homeopathy, energy medicine, etc.)" healing. I like reading that "Warts are usually self-limited. Half resolve spontaneously in a year, two-thirds within two years." So it is very possible that my plantar warts ran their course and simply coincided with the my dermatologist's dye treatment.
One of the comments to that link was:
"
LovleAnjel • 5 years ago I had TONS of warts as a kid...all over my hands, and this total ****** of a plantar wart that took over my left arch. It seemed like I had them forever - at least staring in third grade, until fifth grade. In 5th grade I went and looked them up, and read they lasted an average of 7 - 9 months. I thought, holy crap, shouldn't they be gone by now? A week later they started to clear up. The encyclopedia cured me."
So, instead of the encyclopedia; I gave credit to the dye.
However; I still think that, from my experience, I cannot rule out psychosomatic healing. I bought into my dermatologist's story and I definitely had plenty of incentive to believe her. At that point I would have believed Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
By the way; I have not told my wife that the duct tape does not work - she thinks it does. She might be partially right because it softens the callous and relieves some of the pain. She only read articles online that claimed it worked! She only has one plantar wart and not the hundred I had. Perhaps I'll tell her after she is 'cured'?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
