Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 alpha 4/3/85; site ukma.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ukma!wws From: wws@ukma.UUCP (Bill Stoll) Newsgroups: net.med Subject: Guaranteed Cure For Athletes' Foot--A Holistic Challenge to Scoffers! Message-ID: <2088@ukma.UUCP> Date: Fri, 30-Aug-85 18:50:47 EDT Article-I.D.: ukma.2088 Posted: Fri Aug 30 18:50:47 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 31-Aug-85 16:26:27 EDT Distribution: na Organization: U of Kentucky, Mathematical Sciences, Lexington KY Lines: 134 Keywords: causes of increased susceptibility--aa comparison: Holistic/Conventional Here is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate the absolute superiority of Holistic Medicine over Conventional Medicine alone. After all, when it is all said and done, it is results that count! S.M.Henning has had athletes' foot for two years and has "tried everything". S/he is getting desperate enough to throw the problem out into the universe and find an answer. It appears the problem has been present long enough to get his/her attention. THE FIRST REQUIREMENT FOR CURE HAS NOW BEEN ACHIEVED! To solve a problem such as this one must understand the mechanisms behind a stubborn case of "tinea pedis (the technical name for athletes' foot). There are many kinds, of course, but the type described here is usually caused by a common group of fungi. Fungi grow on moist dead material. They prefer a warm, dark area to do their growing in. We are continually shedding our skin. As the basal layer divides it pushes the older cells up toward the surface of the skin where they flatten out,dry up & flake away. The more dead skin there is on the surface of the body, the more food there is for the fungus to grow on. People who make a point of rubbing the terrycloth washrag between their toes during their bath, and rubbing the terrycloth towel between their toes during drying, have much less chance of getting, or sustaining, athletes' foot. Unfortunately, since it is somewhat embarrassing to have your Doctor tell you that you haven't been washing between your toes (Is there no privacy?-- it even reminds most of us of the last time our mothers yelled at us to wash behind our ears),the physician whose practice depends in part on the quality of the bedside manner tends to avoid those kind of challenges to the patient. It is much safer for the Doctor to write a prescription (quicker too) since 90%, or better, will respond to Micatin or Lotrimin--the two most commonly prescribed topicals for this condition. The more moisture there is in the area, the more likely the fungus will be happy and decide to have a party. The more stress a person is under the more moist their hands and feet are--a perfectly normal consequence of the repressed "fight or flight" mechanism present in a growing % of our population. The average person in this culture is exposed to >1000 times as many stresses per day as people were just 100 years ago. A second consequence of "dysautonomia"(a technical term for continuous sympathetic stimulation to the point of less than optimum response when needed) is a reduction in the blood flow to the hands and feet. That's why people get cold hands and feet when they are nervous. The combination of increased moisture, and decreased blood flow (which, of course, reduces the immunity in the area), greatly increases the susceptibility of the tissue to the fungus. An effective skilled relaxation technique will, in about 3 months time, reverse this condition. Now tell me: Who but the patient is going to profit by the application of the above information? If I am willing to simply write an Rx, and hurry on to the next patient, I am doing what is socially acceptable, see 50-60 patients (easily) per day and make 150,000-200,000 dollars per year as a reward. If I take the time to explain the above to the patient so that my cure rate will be 100%, with NO recurrence (of course, supplying the conventional Rx at the same time); I will never see the patient again for the same thing (which is where the really easy money is). I cannot possibly charge the patient enough to make up for the extra time spent so my income will typically be 30,000-50,000 dollars per year. In addition: if the patient practices an effective relaxation technique regularly, the side effects greatly reduce the chances of all known chronic diseases. My annuity of the satisfied patient coming back to me for the rest of their lives with more and more expensive diseases is being threatened. Almost anything will cure athletes' foot if one gets rid of the "susceptibility factors". There will be many patients who will opt to ignore the causes and just "put something on it"; thus ignoring this early warning sign of the above factors which will continue until a LOUDER warning is necessary. More than 90% will get away with it; the other <10% will be like S.M.Henning. I don't think that fact excuses the Doctor from offering both options. Physicians must decide whether they are healers or businessmen. The patient must decide which path to take once all the information is imparted. Since the cure for anything requires patient education, we insist that all our patients tape record their sessions so they can play the info back over and over. The average patient remembers only 30% of what is said during the encounter with the physician. By the next day only 10% is recalled. That is the same as going to the grocery store, buying your groceries &, as you leave the store,throwing 70% in the garbage. The next day, when you open the refrigerator, you find only 10% left of what you purchased the day before. Is it any wonder "disease care costs so much? Which type of medicine do you prefer? Today it is still hard to find a good Holistic Physician; although you can if you really try. At the very least you can talk to your purely conventional doctor to get the above info. Unfortunately, most have not bothered to take the extra training and will look blankly at you when you try. The stated goal of the American Holistic Medical Assn., for this year, is to have 30% of the patients who see a physician to ask: "Are you a Holistic Medical Practitioner?" The most powerful influence to change the system is coming from the lay population. After all, they are the ones that are benefiting; not the hospitals,not the pharmacists, not the drug companies, not the insurance companies, etc. The physician who practices Holistic Medicine receives great benefit. There are "TREASURES MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD". There is no "burnout" problem among Holistic Physicians. Finally, it is more fun to practice during the day than it is to spend the money after we get home. I offer to anyone who would like a copy of our routine Athletes' Foot protocol: if you will send a self addressed, stamped envelope to me, I will send one free by return mail. We have had no failures yet. I would appreciate any feedback from anyone who does not solve their problem. You should be checked for Diabetes, or some other serious cause of such a failure. Craig Werner suggested you see a regular MD. A regular MD will write an Rx for one of the two topicals mentioned above or, which should not be done routinely, order griseofulvin (a systemic[internal]medication with some interesting side effects--be sure to read about it in the PDR before you agree to take it). An Any medication taken for a skin fungus must be used for at least 4 weeks (the length of time it takes for the skin to replace itself) since none of them kill the fungus. They only inhibit its growth while you replace your skin and grow it off your body. Whoever recommended putting the shoes out in the sun also had a good suggestion since the fungus does stay in the shoes. If you get rid of the "susceptibility factors", you can stand knee deep in fungus and you won't get it (I can hear the outraged howls from some of our less well informed readers of the net now). cbosgd!ukma!wws -- Walt Stoll, MD, ABFP Founder, & Medical Director Holistic Medical Centre 1412 N. Broadway Lexington, Kentucky 40505