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Doctor Thomas's Sulfur ointment for planar warts
Identifier
006960
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
Arch Dermatol. 1982 Sep;118(9):626. The treatment of plane warts. Thomas JR 3rd. PMID: 7114863
To the editor,
Plane warts present a difficult therapeutic problem….. We have used an antiacne preparation of 6% laureth 4, 2% sulphur and 37% alcohol in a greaseless gel base (Transact) to treat 4 patients with plane warts.
Three patients had excellent results and one had fair improvement of his condition. The medication was applied twice a day to the lesions. Dryness of the skin was noted, but it cleared with the temporary cessation of treatment. The average time for clearing was 2 months. One patient with facial plane warts had been treated with cryotherapy, topical vitamin A acid, salicyclic acid and 20% urea at various times but had received no benefit. With the sulphur containing preparation, the warts cleared in 3 months, however, some postinflammatory hyperpigmentation was present. The pigmentation gradually faded with time.
Plane warts may undergo spontaneous remission, but this usually requires several years. Regressing plane warts show both clinical and histological signs of inflammation. Histologically, there can be cell necrosis, spongiosis and a dermal perivascular lymphocyte infiltrate. The irritating qualities of the laureth 4 and sulphur may stimulate the inflammatory response and cause regression of the wart by cell mediated or humoral or both immunity.
We also wonder if the 2% sulphur in this preparation may have an antiviral effect, since sulphur has known antibacterial and antiscabietic properties.
In conclusion, the antiacne sulphur conaining preparation seems to be useful and safe in the treatment of plane warts. The only side effects we have noted have been dryness of the skin and temporary postinflammatory hyperpigmentation
J Raymond Thomas III MD
W P Daniel Snr MD