Section
2
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—Also see section on Tumors and Cancer.
WARTS (Papillomas)
SYMPTOMS AND CAUSES—There are three primary types of skin warts:
1 - Contagious (viral) benign skin warts (verruca vulgaris); these are also called common warts and may be found on the hands, arms, face, or body. These warts, which can be dark or flesh-colored, may range in size from a pinhead to a bean, and most frequently occur where the skin is in friction with clothing, etc. They can also occur on the larynx (voice box) and produce hoarseness. They can be spread by picking, trimming, or touching them. On the face, they can be spread by shaving.
2 - Plantar warts are verruca on the sole of the foot. Both types of verruca are actually benign epithelial tumors, caused by a virus.
3 - Venereal warts (condylomata acuminata) may be found on the vulva and penis. Venereal warts are caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV), of which there are more than 35 types. Genital warts on a woman can change into cancer of the cervix or genital area. They should be removed! One study showed they can increase the risk of cervical cancer by 200 percent! The incubation period for genital warts is generally 3 months. It can spread to others even before the person realizes he or she has it. Professionals recommend that you not have sexual intercourse until these types of warts are eliminated.
With the exception of plantar warts which are flat, warts are always raised bumps. Where there is constant contact, they can cause discomfort and even pain. Venereal (genital) warts are single or clusters of soft cauliflower-like growths.
TREATMENT—
• Since everyone seems to get better using a different treatment, here are lots of them:
• As with any infection, warts appeared because the body has lowered vitality and lack of resistance. Eat right, keep proper hours, exercise in the open air, and breath deep. Tone up your whole body.
• They also appear more frequently in adolescents who are experiencing hormonal changes, especially between 12 and 16.
• Deficiencies of vitamins A, C, and zinc have all been related to an increased incidence of viral infections.
• The usual methods of removing warts (surgery, acids, burning, electrotherapy, or freezing) often results in their reappearance. The underlying causes should be eliminated: Improve the diet; eat foods high in vitamins A, B complex, C, and zinc. Also increase the sulfur-containing amino acids in the diet, such as are found in asparagus, citrus fruits, eggs, garlic, and onions. Be sure and take enough vitamin C every day! Eat raw garlic.
• Place thin sections of garlic on the wart. Try to avoid touching the garlic to normal tissue. Hold it in place with cloth and tape and leave it there overnight. Do this for 2 or 3 nights. Within a week the wart will fall off.
• Apply castor oil to the wart, for 3 weeks.
• Cover with honey, for 15 days.
• Put 1 drop muriatic acid on the wart once a day, for 8 days.
• Dissolve as much sodium carbonate (washing soda) in water as will stay in solution. Swab this onto the warts for 2 minutes, 4 times a day, and let it dry in the air. Very large warts have responded to this.
• Apply the juice of milkweed, celandine herb, or the milk from green figs or marigold to the wart.
• Mix castor oil and baking soda into a paste and apply to wart, cover, and keep on all night. Do not pick at it, but let it slough off within 3-6 weeks.
• Apply an iron formula, such as Ironite or black walnut tincture.
• Apply castor oil to the wart for half an hour, 3 times a day.
• Apply powdered vitamin C, as paste, and cover.
• Soak the wart in a concentrated salt water solution: 1½ tsp. salt to ½ cup water equals a 30% solution. Soak the wart for 20 minutes 2-3 times a day for a few weeks.
• Here are several other helpful applications: green fig juice; that is, juice from barely ripe figs (or milkweed sap) applied several times a day. Fresh grated celandine juice. Cut a raw potato, rub it on, and repeat several times a day for several weeks. Chickweed juice. Sassafras oil. Green papaya juice. Aloe vera. Onion and salt compress. The juice of white cabbage. Wheat germ oil. Fresh pineapple juice. Cashew nut.
• For plantar warts (warts on the bottom of your foot), apply a plantain poultice (the leaf itself) to the wart. Another method is to place the inner side of a fresh piece of banana skin over the wart and hold it there with tape. Change daily after washing the entire area. Once a week the thickened outer horny layer is removed. Maximum time for complete disappearance of a wart is 6 weeks, with no recurrence within 2 years.
ENCOURAGEMENT—Do your duty and trust in God, for He knows of what things you have need. He watches over you with more tenderness than does a mother over an afflicted child.
WENS (Sebaceous cysts; Steatomas)
SYMPTOMS—These are slow-growing benign cystic cutaneous tumor-like formations. They contain sebaceous material and are often found on the scalp (wen), ears, back, or scrotum. Ranging in size from a pea to a golf ball, a wen is painless and feels soft but firm.
TREATMENT—
• A "stab" incision is made at the lowest edge of the cyst. The contents are then sucked out, and the insides are flushed with hydrogen peroxide. If the cyst is large, the wall will have to be removed so it does not refill. Then place a daily changed sterile gauze over, and within, it to keep it draining for a week to 10 days.
• To keep them from growing or returning, avoid fats, especially saturated fats, and all fried foods, cheese, chocolate, butter, margarine, and dairy products. Do not use alcohol, nicotine, or caffeine products.
—Also see "Skin Cancer."
ENCOURAGEMENT—God is a Friend in perplexity and affliction, a protector in distress, and a preserver in a thousand dangers that are unseen to us. Trust Him ever; and, by His grace, obey His Written Word.
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