Monday, October 25, 2010

Natural Treatments for Plantar Warts

For the last few years I have struggled to find a natural treatment for plantar warts (warts on the feet). It seems like I tried everything, from Oregano essential oil to duct tape to potato peelings. NOTHING WORKED!

Now, if you know me, and you know my background, then you know that I do not like to use any chemicals or toxic substances, pharmaceuticals included. It seemed like I was at the end of my threshold with these warts. They were growing in number and increasing in size.... and boy did they ever hurt!

The highlighted portion below is my original post on using Apple Cider vinegar for plantar warts. Since I wrote this article, I have learned some very key facts on plantar warts. If suppressed, they will come back with a vengeance. Just like acid from a pharmacy, apple cider vinegar suppresses the warts. For some people the warts fall off, only to come back a few years later.  If you truly want to get rid of your plantar warts - DO NOT use acid, apple cider vinegar or anything else that you apply topically. I strongly strongly advise against this. After you read below, you will see my story with the use of apple cider vinegar. After I stopped using it (and boy was it painful), the warts grew even bigger (instead of falling off like they do for some people). I also learned that we do not want to suppress these things - because they are an external manifestation of what is happening on the inside. If you have a lot of plantar warts, then you have the virus inside of you. The apple cider vinegar will not kill the virus internally - it will only remove the external plantar warts - which will come back later if not treated appropriately.

I have found the best medicine to be Homeopathy for plantar warts. It's very important to see a Classical Homeopath who will find your constitutional remedy - this remedy will knock off the warts (without all the pain of the other "natural" treatments), as well as kill the virus internally so the plantar warts will not come back.

I was reaching the point of going to the pharmacy and getting a wart remover, even knowing how toxic these really are, until I found a very simple home remedy that was reported to have great results. Some of the comments in the forum were similar to mine... they tried everything (including medication), but nothing seemed to work...until finding Apple Cider Vinegar!

I was immediately excited to hear the results of using this simple home remedy. I am always pleased to find simple solutions that are very inexpensive compared to conventional medical treatment.

Since I use Apple Cider Vinegar to make tinctures, I had some in the cupboard and began using it that night. In order to get the apple cider on my toes (which is where the majority of my plantar warts are), I dipped a cotton ball into the apple cider vinegar and secured it with first-aid tape. I left this tape on throughout the night.

On the forum that I read, I learned of a lot of people who said it is very painful. After this first night, I would have to agree.... VERY PAINFUL! From my understanding most wart treatments hurt, and maybe even hurt worse than this natural treatment. The pain wasn't unbearable--it was worse in the morning right after I took off the bandages, and lessened throughout the day. I also took some pictures of my toes after the first day.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to share those pictures on here because it looked so terribly gross, however, for the purpose of science (hehe), I will post them below.

Warning: If you do not like gross images, please skip the image below and scroll down to the text.


After the first night, all of my plantar warts expanded to about 50 times their normal size. These warts were hardly detectable on my toes before the apple cider vinegar treatment. As you can see here, they are large and completely disgusting. I feel brave for sharing! After removing the bandages, the warts shrunk back to their normal size, and again, were hardly detectable.

I continued to do this treatment every night for four nights. By this time, all of these plantar warts had turned black and became much harder. This 'blackening' indicates that the roots of these plantar warts were dying. Many times, the roots are very deep, and very difficult to kill as well. By this time I wanted to give my toes a rest, since the apple cider vinegar is very acidic. I allowed these roots to fall out, and then continued to do the treatment. Each person is different for the amount of time they need to apply this natural treatment. I am still working on mine now, after a month. I have noticed a considerable decrease in size (and some are even gone already). Other people report that after a week their warts disappeared and never reappeared again. Apple Cider Vinegar can be used on any wart on the hands and feet.

I must say something else here now. Since I know much more about Natural Health and Alternative Medicine, I must point out the significance of these warts. All of the plantar warts that I had developed over time are on both the medial and lateral (inside and outside) portion of my big toe. In Chinese medicine, these are the Spleen and Liver meridians. So, this indicates that I have some sort of dis-harmony in those meridians and those organs.  Secondly, plantar warts are a type of Human Papillomavirus, which most people think is a sexually transmitted disease, however, can be picked up from floors, showers, shoes, swimming pools, the air...basically anywhere (so, afterall, not all strands of HPV are sexually transmitted).

Since I have plantar warts (caused by a virus) along these meridians, this might signify that I have to kill viruses in my system, especially in my liver and spleen. Knowing this, I have incorporated an herbal program that will target these viruses and kill them.
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Svea is a traditional Naturopath, classical homeopath and holistic doula. Her private doula practice can be found here. 

7 comments:

  1. hello! i went to a public shower and i was bare feet should a worry about something? i also went to a massage therapy and layed down naked on a towel! by the way is that your feet on the pic? and what would have happened if your infection was not treated? thanks!

    Mike
    from south america!

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  2. Hi Mike,

    Thank you for your post from South America!!! Sending hellos and love to you and your people there!

    You don't necessarily have to worry about "catching" anything from the shower. If you are in that situation again, it is always best to wear shoes. Something that I am realizing about plantar warts is that you have to be prone to them in order to get them. I had a plantar wart on my foot when I was a child. My parents brought me to the doctor and had it burned off. Without knowing, they suppressed the wart. When I started living a healthy lifestyle, they came back with a vengeance. And, now in order to get rid of them for good, I am being patient and not suppressing them with acid or other medicines (including apple cider vinegar - I found when I stopped the Apple cider vinegar - they got worse... and yes, that is a picture of my foot).

    Homeopathy, and finding your constitutional homeopathic remedy is the only way to CURE plantar warts. Otherwise, they will keep coming back. Also, homeopathy works holistically to kill the virus inside of the person that is causing the warts (the external treatments do not do this).

    If the infection remains untreated, it will grow bigger over time (although for some people it just stays the same size for years). It can also be very painful.

    The best way to find your constitutional homeopathic remedy is to see a Classical Homeopath. If you don't have access in South America, you can always see one via webcam. I work with people via webcam to find their constitutional remedy.

    Let me know if you have any further questions!

    Be Well,
    Svea

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  3. Hi Svea,

    Thanks for your post. I am currently suffocating my plantars warts with a white vinegar and water mixture to remove them externally as suggested by a family member. Can you talk a bit more about the connection to the liver/spleen meridians/ what kinds of herbs and foods that I can take to prevent them from returning?

    Warm regards,
    Nia from USA

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    1. Hi Nia,

      It really depends on where your warts are to know which meridians they fall. Mine happened to be right on my liver and spleen meridians (which are located on the big toe).

      Since I wrote this article the first time I gained a greater understanding of warts. I rewrote the article because of that. I spent a year trying to get rid of my warts. When I was a child I had them burned off by the doctor. Years and years later they came back. They continued to multiply and grow. I tried vinegar - it was super painful and only killed a few of the warts. When I stopped using the vinegar they came back. I also tried every other natural therapy under the sun for them. My husband (who is a homeopath) put me on my constitutional remedy (the remedy that is best for me) and they started disappearing!!!!!! No pain, no vinegar mess, nothing...they just went away. It has been a year now and they haven't returned. To me this was a small miracle to see the power of homeopathy over all the other "natural" stuff that I tried (even herbs to keep them away). My suggestion is to see a homeopath and work on them from the inside out. The body is just showing you a sign of internal disharmony.

      Be Well,
      Svea

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  4. Fantastic Post! I don't know if plantar warts are genetic or not, but absolutely everyone on my mom's side of the family has had them for as long as I can remember. My grandmother always said that apple cider vinegar was the best way to do away with these nasty things, but I've been trying ACV on my youngest daughter for a week now with no improvement at all. Is there a specific brand or "type" of ACV I should be using?

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    1. Apple cider vinegar actually didn't do much for me either (you can see the picture above...it was SO painful when I put the ACV on, but it didn't get rid of my warts). The thing that helped me was classical homeopathy - I took a remedy specific to me and all of my warts completely disappeared without any pain - and they haven't come back again (it has been almost 3 years). According to homeopathy, warts can be passed on genetically and it's best to clear it with homeopathy so it stops going down the family line. Do you have a homeopath in your community?

      Svea

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  5. You are a Good writter infact this is Written very detaild Cause, Symptoms and Treatment of Plantar Warts Thumbs Up.

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