The Venom of the Blister Beetle....

*WARNING* Those with queasy stomachs should skip this post and forget you ever came by today!!

I had never heard of a blister beetle....never! But I learned about them from a most unusual source...my physician. I hadn't seen my Dr. for over a year. He always comments on that...evidently at my age most women are in frequently. But....I had this place on one of my cheeks. It was dry and flaky, the skin would flake off, look normal for a week or so and then flake up again. Suspicious! I figured, having passed the age of 50 and after living in Florida for 15 years, I might be dealing with a skin cancer. So...I made an appointment.

I really like my Dr. He is a Christian, and he is friendly, humble, kind, gentle...and doesn't treat me like my IQ is smaller than my shoe size (and I have really little feet!). He will actually converse with you in public..in fact he will come up and start the conversation!

He took a quick look and yes...it was skin cancer on my cheek and another spot in one of my eyebrows. But, he also noticed some spots on my hands. He treated all of these places, except one, with liquid nitrogen. He explained it to me this way...... the liquid nitrogen causes a local area of "frostbite." Healthy skin can recover from frostbite but damaged skin (cancerous skin) can not. It dies.

However, there was a spot on my left index finger that he felt was too deep to be treated with liquid nitrogen. This was a small growth that I had been treating herbally for years. I could make it go away but it eventually always came back. My Dr. felt like it would require several painful deep treatments that would leave scarring. But...he smiled...."I have an alternative treatment..." and he said this with a twinkle in his eyes!

Now, I have to explain that my Dr. is open to herbs and does not object to patients using them as long as you understand that just because they are plants it doesn't mean that they are "safe" and that you can "use as much as you want because they can't hurt you". This is more than most people know. One of the greatest misconceptions I see in teaching others about herbs is that you "don't have to be careful because they are just plants". Herbs are powerful, potent and potentially dangerous if you misuse them.

This was the first time he mentioned "alternative treatment" to me...usually it is the other way around. "So...." I asked so naively, "what is the alternative treatment?" And he answered, "the venom of the blister beetle." He explained that this venom, taken internally, was deadly but that it was safe to apply externally...in very small amounts. This venom he orders from another country...it isn't available here. One very small drop on the growth will cause a blister to form which will expand and hopefully sever the roots of the growth between the epidermis and the dermis. This will then heal without leaving a scar. He also said...ahem....that it was painless.

So, of course I said, "Venom?? Are you out of your mind?" "Go for it!". He applied a drop so tiny I could barely see it. He then applied some glue on my finger and wrapped it with moleskin. Evidently it works better if no air can get to the area. He was right...it was absolutely painless. FOR ABOUT 4 HOURS!!! He neglected to tell me how it would feel when this ENORMOUS blister began to form under this growth!!!! And it remained very painful for three days. Well, actually it only hurt if you touched it or used your finger at all. If I sat perfectly still and didn't move it felt fine. Need I remind you that I am a Mom to active boys, live on a farm, cook all the time and am in the middle of canning season????

But, I must admit it worked very well. Three days later the bandage came off and the core of this growth just pulled off with the bandage. I packed the gaping hole wound with my healing salve and in a very short time it was completely healed over. He checked this two weeks later and was amazed at how quickly it healed. I casually mentioned that I used my own comfrey based salve. I don't think he was impressed...he is a triple anti-biotic man all the way! However, when he ran his finger over the area he still felt a small little lump....and felt we should use the liquid nitrogen just in case. I will tell you that liquid nitrogen on new, tender, pink skin is quite a different feeling than on the normal, work-hardened skin found on my hands. Ouch! came to mind....frequently!

My boys helped me with the canning this last weekend....tomatoes and peppers just won't wait for wounds to heal. And I am grateful for a Dr. who is open to trying new and different things....even if it makes me a bit wary.

He said this venom is very expensive.....wonder if there is money to be raised on the farm by breeding blister beetles ;)