My battle with a wart!

Yes a wart.  I have never had these and so when I realized that's what I had growing on the right upper portion of my thumb I practically went ballistic.

Okay so exactly what is a war? Every one of my health reference books tells me that a wart is a common skin condition caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) and that these come in a variety of sizes and shapes and can occur on the extremities, the face, the genital region, and the soles of the feet.  Harmless, not painful.  Perhaps but oh what a nuisance they are especially when they occur on a finger.

Last month while slicing strawberries I knicked  the tip of my left thumb.  I noticed when this happened a tiny black speck being sucked into the wound.  I immediately washed my hands with an antibacterial wash.   Still, over the next few weeks what I thought was a simple callus had started to grow and as time went by it got harder and harder.  Beneath the callus the skin was sore and something just wasn't right.

My research showed this this callus was probably one of those pesky warts that kids get.  I never had one even as a kid.  I don't know why this one occurred except to say the open wound allowed the HPV virus to enter.  Further research showed that sometimes our immune systems don't t do what it's supposed to do, which is to fight off these invading pathogens.

I took the bull by the horn and started treatment.  I didn't run to the doctor.  Instead I decided to try it alone.   I opted for what is recommended with a holistic approach.  I used duct tape along with apple cider vinegar soaking a tiny piece of cotton, and then applying it against the hard skin, and then wrapping the tape around my thumb.  Then I decided to use a better brand of tape, as well as small cotton fingers and finger cots, which look like teensy weensy condom, and provides a nice waterproofed area.

After about three days the wart itself dies.  This is evident by the blackness that fills the holes.  Yes there are small itsy bitsy holes in the skin.  (Ugly...yes...gross, that's a given.)  Why I keep it bandaged when going out in public.

I'm still continuing the treatment and eventually will go to the next step which is to gently remove the hard skin.  Not sure how that's going to go.  The thumb isn't as bad now and some of the hardened skin has disappeared.  Yet the blackness remains and looks weird. 

I've also gone back to making my immune boosting soups which will hopefully help my immune system fight off future warts if any more occur.

I think there is so much we all can do when fighting these battles with these invaders.  It produces a microcosm of what I can do for myself in terms of making my system whole and stronger to ward off larger invaders.

I said to myself if everyone took this approach with their bodies, which is to eat those foods that boost the immune system, just think how something as small as taking up battle with a wart can improve the total cost of health care in our nation.

This is one reason I will continue to watch shows like The Doctors and Dr. Oz mainly because they educate us to not only take care of ourselves but also our kids.