Homoeopathic medicine in warts: A Case report

Dr Ashok Bhinda
Dr Anita Choudhary

Abstract: Warts are a common worldwide and affect approximately 10% of the population. In school-aged children, the prevalence is as high as 10% to 20%. A case of 27 yr. old shopkeeper, suffering from warts, is presented in this article; where patient reported totally relief after receiving homoeopathic medicine which was selected on the basis of totality of symptoms.

Keywords: Warts, Homoeopathy,Thuja.

Introduction: Wart is a small, noncancerous growths appear when skin is infected with one of the many viruses of the human papillomavirus (HPV). They can grow anywhere on skin,  more likely to get one hands or feet.¹ Warts are common worldwide and affect approximately 10% of the population. The prevalence is as high as 10% to 20% in school aged children. They are more common among immune suppressed patients and meat handlers. Warts can occur at any age group. Rarely in infancy and early childhood, prevalence increases among school-aged children and peaks at 12 to 16 years. Warts are twice as common in Whites as in Blacks or Asians.Warts are highly contagious and are mainly passed by direct skin contact and towels or razors have touched a wart on body or on someone else’s.² Here are over 100 subtypes of the HPV virus, but only a few types can cause skin warts at selective anatomical sites.

Common Warts: These flesh-colored growths are most often on the backs of hands, the fingers, the skin around nails, and the feet. They are small in size of a pinhead to a pea and feel like rough, hard.¹ 

Plantar Warts: Planta means “of the sole” in Latin. They are flat, tough, and thick.¹

Flat Warts: They are smaller and smoother than other types. Flat warts tend to appear on children’s faces, men’s beard areas and women’s legs.¹

Filiform Warts: These warts are fast-growingand look thread-like and spiky, sometimes like tiny brushes. They tend to grow on the face around  mouth, eyes, and nose.¹

Genital Warts: These are look like small, scattered, skin-colored bumpssimilar to a little cauliflower on genitals. Other types of HPV that could cause cancer may be passed sexually, too, including through oral and anal sex.¹

In mostly cases warts found on the skin are harmless and can disappear without treatment. Sometimes, warts may recur after treatment and more than one type of treatment may be necessary. Although patient want to clear warts quickly, most methods require multiple treatments. Treatments may include: Freezing (Cryotherapy), Cantharidin, Salicylic acid, Minor surgery, Laser surgery, Over- the–counter medication.³ Here, Homeopathic system believes that there is an internal propensity to diseases along with external virulence. In homeopathy, warts are classified under one-sided disease. Warts come under sycosis miasm. Warts have existed for sometime without treatment. Homeopathic treatment of warts is largely through constitutional medicine that is medicine selected on the basis of completly understanding of the patient.
Treatment is with a single well indicated remedy based on complete totality of symptoms.

Case: A case of 27 years old married male shopkeeper, reported for the treatment of multiple warty lesions on his right side of cheek since 1 year. The warts were black, hard, rough and large. Slight pain felt to touch warts.  He was under allopathic treatment and has also undergone cauterization, but they appeared again whole cheek. He had less appetite with aversion to meat and onion.  He had flatulence after food and constipation. He had dry scaly dandruff in head. He would not sleep well. He was very emotionally and fixed ideas. 

His father has gout while mother has recurrent indigestion problem.

Totality of symptoms:        

• Multiple hard, rough and large warts.
• Fixed idea
• Pain on touch
• Aversion to meat and onion
• Constipation 
• Dry scaly dandruff
• Insomnia 

FIRST PRSCRIPTION: Based on totality of symptoms, he was prescribed Thuja 200 single dose, followed by placebo 30/TDS for 21 days. 

FOLLOW UP: After 21 days he had started improving well and the warts had significantly reduced. He continued to improve in the coming weeks. Few months later, he reported that all old warts had gone but few new ones had just started to appear. At this point, he was prescribed Thuja 1M single dose and his warts were gone. He was kept under observation for some time after which his treatment was discontinued. He has no complaints after 6 months and thereafter no warts recurred till date.

Before treatment                                            After treatment

                               

Discussion:  In this case homoeopathic medicine were selected on the basis of individualization and totality of symptoms.⁴ Thuja was successful in the treatment of warts causing Cauterization of the warts and relief of other complaints of the patients. The selection of  medicine which depends upon the presenting totality including other complaints present in the patient and overall constitution.

DECLARATION OF PATIENT CONSENT – Patient consent was taken for images and clinical information to be reported for this article.

Refrences: 

1. Skin problem and treatment. https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/ss/slideshow-warts.
2. Ahmad M. Al Aboud; Pramod K. Nigam. Wart (Plantar, Verruca Vulgaris, Verrucae) September 27, 2019. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK431047/.
3. Skin Conditions and Warts. https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/warts#1.
4. Kent JT. Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica. Reprint edition 2005. B.Jain Publishers(p) Ltd.

Prof. Dr. Ashok Bhinda BHMS , MD(Hom)
Dr. Madan Pratap Khunteta Homoeopahic Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Jaipur
Dr. Anita Choudhary  BHMS, MD (Hom.)