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Graedon: Hot-water treatment can cure stubborn warts

I saw a question about warts on the toes of a 7-year-old. My daughter had the same problem 20 years ago when she was that age.

We tried everything, and none of it worked. The doctor was going to remove them surgically, but told me to try one last thing. He said it sounded crazy, but it was worth a try before surgery.

He had me buy a Jacuzzi thermometer that registered up to 112 degrees. He wanted me to soak my daughter's feet and hands in hot water every night, warming the water to between 108 and 110 degrees.

I used the water therapy, and after several weeks the warts started going away. I couldn't believe that it worked. According to my doctor, a respected colleague told him of this therapy. My daughter had a wonderful outcome.

The hot-water treatment for warts was first published in a 1962 Cleveland Clinic Quarterly. More recently, Samuel Moschella, M.D., recommended that his patients soak their plantar warts in hot water (110 to 113 degrees) for 30 to 90 minutes a week. Your experience suggests he was right.

Fish oil makes me vomit. I am aware of the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, but I am at a total loss for a source that my body tolerates. I have tried many oral forms, and all have the same effect.

Is there a suppository or other route of administration? I can't even take multivitamins that contain fish oil.

As far as we can tell, no one sells a fish oil suppository. You'd have to be rather desperate to take it by that route.

You might find that eating fish is a perfectly reasonable alternative to get your beneficial omega-3 fats.

A couple of servings a week should be enough.

Other sources of omega-3 fatty acids include walnuts, flaxseed and dark-green leafy vegetables like spinach or chard. Getting adequate omega-3 fats from plant sources is difficult, however, because our bodies do not use those fatty acids as efficiently as fish oil.

My mother has type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Each drug she takes seems to cause side effects that lead to the prescription of more pills to cure the side effects of each new drug. She is on doxazosin, furosemide, carvedilol, repaglinide, digoxin, warfarin, metformin, a beta blocker, a statin and allopurinol.

I am wondering if drug companies have a vested interest in overmedicating the old, since all this started the moment she became eligible for Medicare. She is never taken off a pill, just given a new one. This is very worrisome, since she used to be in good health and now seems continually bothered by multiple blood tests and new side effects.

We share your concern about this long list of drugs, since there are a number of potential interactions. The combination of the diuretic furosemide with the heart medicine digoxin calls for extremely close monitoring of potassium and magnesium levels. Furosemide also may increase the blood levels of the diabetes drug metformin, leading to more side effects, while the heart drug carvedilol can increase furosemide levels.

There are far too many tricky issues here to discuss all of them. Your mother's doctor should review this list to see if any could be discontinued safely.

To help you with that conversation, we are sending you our Guide to Drugs and Older Peopl

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