Warts

[apendrapew]

I was reading in Lewis Thomas's "The Medusa and the Snail" and he had a chapter on warts which really amazed me.

This is about how hypnotic suggestion is used as a wart remedy.

In its most famous study, "14 patients with seemingly intractable generalized warts on both sides of the body were hypnotized, and the suggestion was made that all the warts on one side of the body would begin to go away. After a few weeks, nine of the patients lost all or nearly all of the warts on the suggested side had vanished, while the control side has just an many as ever"

The funny thing is, is that mistakes were made. Some subjects got sides mixed up and destroyed warts on the wrong side.

How do we do this? I could understand how we can use hypnosis to boost our immunological responses, which would result in the general response of removing the warts altogether. But how do our brains handle such a complicated task as this one?

 

[Hercules Rockefeller]

How do we do this?

Without any further details, my guess is that we don't, and the story is complete bunkum. <P>

 

[apendrapew]

It's not though. There have been several studies verifying hypnosis as a reliable way of removing warts.

Wart Removal Hypnosis Tape

Wart Removal Study
go under 'edit' in internet explorer, then 'find', and then enter study. It'll take you to a confirming study.

another study


So no, the story is not bunkum.

 

[c20H25N3o]

The mind controls the body, directing it like a conductor directs the orchestra. The mind may cause illness when under stress. All stress is caused by a lack of love. The external appearance of an illness is a symbol of the inner state and being that it is now externalised, it may be loved.

The sad little girl has flu. She was sad before she got flu. Mummy made her hot lemon and gave her paracetomol. The symptoms have been irradicated. She is now confident in her mothers love for her and progresses to get well in both body and mind. Physical medicines help the mind in its task of restoring the body by providing extra tools for it to work with.

peace

c20

 

[Hercules Rockefeller]

Well, let’s be scientific for a moment and look at the links you offered as evidence....

Wart Removal Hypnosis Tape

This is a link to a business that wants to sell you things. No scientific references.

<b>Scientific credibility to back your assertion</b> – none.

<P>

Wart Removal Study

This link is also trying to sell things. Oh sure, it names numerous scientists’ and doctors’ endorsements, but doesn’t reference a single source of scientific information that can be confirmed.

<b>Scientific credibility to back your assertion</b> – marginally above none.

<P>

another study

This link is the best of the three. It is actually a source of info rather than a commercial business. And it actually lists peer-reviewed references to back up statements, and it makes a very obvious attempt to be impartial.

It is obvious that the vast majority of uses of hypnosis are for pain management and for treating addictive behaviors. But as with all fringe medical techniques, there are a whole list additional ailments that some people would have you believe can also be treated with hypnosis. For example, this is what you find with acupuncture. There is lots of scientific evidence and no doubt that it has some medically useful effects for some ailments, but there are people (who are usually trying to sell you things) that claim it can cure just about every disease under the sun, from diabetes to cancer.

Now, there were two journal papers that appear to provide evidence that hypnosis can cure warts. Let’s look at some of the things your site says about such studies…

<I><blockquote>In some studies, participants were allowed to choose whether they received hypnosis or some other therapy. Such non-randomized studies are highly unreliable; the people who chose hypnosis, for example, might have been different in another way. Even less meaningful studies of hypnotism simply involved giving people hypnosis and monitoring them to see whether they improved.</blockquote></I>

And…
<I><blockquote> However, the evidence that hypnotherapy is effective for these uses remains incomplete at best.</blockquote></I>

And…
<I><blockquote> However, the quality of many of the supporting studies is poor, and their results are frequently inconsistent.</blockquote></I>
Furthermore, the two papers in question are from 1998 and 1990 (15 years ago!). A quick search of PudMed reveals other such papers, nearly all of which were also published in the 1980's – highly indicative of a research direction that has been dropped; a scientific dead-end.

<b>Scientific credibility to back your assertion</b> – 5 out of 10


<B><U>Conclusion:</U></B> still bunkum.

(but that’s just my opinion; I’m sure there are people who will disagree. )
<P>

 

[apendrapew]

Hope these are more convincing. (Is it really so unbelievable that our brains can do these things?) I'm hoping with this that we'll stop being bogged down with, "does it work?" so we can persue, "how the hell does it work?"

According to psychiatrist Owen Surman, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, "Hypnosis does seem to be a scientifically validated tool for treating warts. Why it would be is subject to guesswork. Currently, people are very interested in this area called psychoneuroimmunology. It's attractive to think that mental phenomena could affect immune function."

Hypnosis helps healing

Science of self-regulation

 

[c20H25N3o]

Warts are the epitome of ugliness in our minds. What we see in ourselves as ugly may express itself externally as this thing. We start to immediately defend our own loveliness when we see a wart and will seek medicine to remove it. The fact that someone can talk it away by restoring someone's sense of self through hypnosis is hardly difficult to believe. Hypnosis talks to the subconcious which is where these things are dealt with primarily. It's hardly magic. Just a bit of concern for a person's mental state regarding their 'self' is all it takes! Bye bye wart, hello sunshine!

peace

c20

 

[Nasor]

I was reading in Lewis Thomas's "The Medusa and the Snail" and he had a chapter on warts which really amazed me.

This is about how hypnotic suggestion is used as a wart remedy.

In its most famous study, "14 patients with seemingly intractable generalized warts on both sides of the body were hypnotized, and the suggestion was made that all the warts on one side of the body would begin to go away. After a few weeks, nine of the patients lost all or nearly all of the warts on the suggested side had vanished, while the control side has just an many as ever"

The funny thing is, is that mistakes were made. Some subjects got sides mixed up and destroyed warts on the wrong side.

How do we do this? I could understand how we can use hypnosis to boost our immunological responses, which would result in the general response of removing the warts altogether. But how do our brains handle such a complicated task as this one?

I don’t know anything about hypnotism, but I do know that it is possible for the body to have immune responses that are ‘targeted’ at some warts but not others. This can result in a large targeted wart going away quickly, while a smaller wart on another part of the body remains unchanged.