Warts and Verrucas

These small outgrowths of flesh, of varying consistency, may appear anywhere on the body, but by far the most common locations are the hands and feet. They are caused by a virus that thrives in damp, confined spaces, such as in sports shoes, swimming pools, showers, or on judo mats.

Warts can be passed on from one person to another, but their degree of infectiousness is, fortunately, highly variable.

They may disappear on their own, but their unsightliness and the embarrassment they cause make it understandable that most people want them quickly treated.

Preventive measure

• Do not walk barefoot in damp places, as these are where the virus is most likely to be contracted
• Wear plastic sandals or flip-flops when you go to a swimming pool
• Wash your sports shoes each time you wear them
• Make sure the shoes are dry before putting them on again

Oligotherapy

Magnesium

This trace element usually comes from the diet, which should be varied and of high quality. In cases of deficiency which often occurs with magnesium, it can be given as a medicinal supplement.

Dietary sources of magnesium

Present in almost all foods, but mostly in the calorie-rich ones, unfortunate.The best sources of magnesium are: citrus fruits, bananas, whole-grain cereals (oat or bran flakes), cocoa and chocolate, shellfish (winkles, shrimps, oysters, and clams) and oily fish, figs, hard cheeses, nuts (almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts and walnuts), vegetables (spinach, dried and green beans, maize, split peas and soya beans), and whole­ meal bread.

• Magnesium treatment: this is avail able in various brands and forms, such as Organic Minerals (Colloidals) which contains 70+ trace minerals:
  - Available in 946ml bottles
  -Take 1-3 caps just before breakfast and/or evening meal
  - Children 1 teaspoon daily for each 20lbs of body weight

Or Maximol (Ionized colloidals):

- Available in 500ml bottles
- Take 1/2 capful once or twice daily on an empty stomach

The foods rich in magnesium are also rich in calories, but it is worth noting that four ounces of plain chocolate (which is a generous portion, since it is the equivalent of almost half a bar) contain fewer calories than an average eight ounce portion of chips (fries).

• In serious cases, you could try a higher dose magnesium supplement, such as Magasorb@ (Lamberts) containing 150mg of magnesium (as citrate):
• - Available in containers of 60 and 180 tablets
  - One to three tablets daily

Mineral water brands containing the most magnesium

- Hepar: contains 110mg of magnesium per litre
- Badoit: contains 92mg of magnesium per litre
- Contrex: contains 84mg of magnesium per litre
- Volvic contains 80mg of magnesium per litre
- Evian contains 24mg of magnesium per litre
- Vittel contains 20mg of magnesium per litre
- Pellegrino contains 54mg of magnesium per litre

Homeopathy

Antimonium crudum and Nitricum acidum

- Four 5c tablets of one or both of these remedies, to be sucked slowly twice a day for several weeks

Antimonium crudum

- Chemical origin: black sulphide of antimony
- The homeopathic remedy for hard, callused warts
- A specific indication: the child who is apt to be greedy, who cannot help wolfing down his or her food and then feels ill afterwards

Nitricum acidum

- Chemical origin: nitric acid
- The homeopathic remedy for warts with irregular edges, that are cracked, inclined to bleed, located mostly on the soles of the feet
- A specific indication: the yellowish colour of the wart.

• You could also try Galium-Heel@ (Heel), which contains Nitricum acidum D6, Thuja D3, Galium aparine D3, Echinacea angustifolia D5:
  - Available in drop bottles containing 30 and 100ml
  - Ten drops, to be taken three times daily
• Another possibility is to ask your herbalist to make up a small bottle of a blend of 3g of mother tincture of thuja and 30g of collodion. Apply a few drops of this solution to the wart; a thin film will form as the solution dries. Reapply a few drops as the film starts to peel away, until the warts have been removed
• It is also important that you combine these treatments with a constitutional remedy, to be chosen after consultation with a professional homeopath. Some likely choices are Calcarea carbonica, Lycopodium, or Thuja

Thuja occidentalis

- Vegetable origin: a conifer tree, the white cedar
- The homeopathic remedy for excrescences of the skin, vesicles, or papules
- Two specific indications: the skin appears grimy and oily

Herbal remedies

Greater celandine (chelidonium)

Herbal Prescription: If celandines grow in your garden, you can apply the fresh sap locally to the warts, two or three times a day. If not, ask your herbalist to make up a 30ml bottle of mother tincture, and apply several drops of that.

Celandine

Celandines from the woods are a traditional remedy for warts and corns, for the fresh sap applied directly is one of the surest methods of curing them. Be careful when taking this plant internally,however, as it very quickly becomes toxic, and you need a herbalist's knowledge before you ingest it.

• You could also try Bioforce Chelidonium (a tincture for external use) - Apply once or twice daily to the wart

Plant essential oils

Mountain savory

Possible Prescription: Obtain a 2g bottle of essential oil of mountain savory from your herbalist. Apply one drop of the oil to the warts, morning and evening, for a few weeks until they disappear

Mountain savory

This sun-loving plant is much used in cooking and, like thyme, eucalyptus, oregano, also contains active principles that make it most effective against various skin infections.

A depurative

You could use a depurative, as the first homeopaths often did, to detoxify the body. One possible brand is Nutri Cleanse which contains psyllium, bentonite clay, slippery elm, barberry, oregon grape, rhubarb root, burdock root, cloves and fennel seed:
- Available in containers of 120 capsules
- Take 2 to 4 capsules daily

A depurative is a 'purifying' or cleansing remedy that eliminates poisons and toxins We should not forget that the traditional concept of illness was based on the idea of a poisoning of the body, and that treatment consisted of banishing the 'evil humours', hence the recourse to blood-letting, enemas, and depuratives.