Aug 1, 2000 Hello Dr. Cummins and Dot Tutt, I am so excited. As you both know, I had several bad leg ulcers which would not heal. I decided to try some thing different and use a few of my lozenges to make a liquid treatment for the ulcers on my legs. Well, it is day 10 and all the unhealthy tissue fell off of my ulcer. I am going to bore you both with my notes. I started writing notes the day before treatment. This is not something you should read before dinner. Descriptive writing was not my best topic in college. I hope this is understandable. I really should of taken pictures of the huge ulcer I treated. My other ulcers are not impressive enough to have their pictures taken. The important fact is that my other ulcers have not changed. The ulcer treated with oral interferon liquid and paste has drastically changed. I still have a hole in my leg but it is a healthy hole. For those that deal with ulcers, you understand that statement and why I am so excited. Assumptions: This ulcer was over a month old before I started treatment. I will only treated one ulcer. I obviously picked the largest most painful ulcer. I am going to keep the ulcer exposed to air most of the time. The only time I will cover it, is if I need to go to the store. As of 7/21/00, the ulcer will not be treated with any other medication except the oral interferon solution. Before 7/21, I used the following medications without success: 1.Lotrimin cream 1% 2.Neosporin ointment 3.Hydrocortisone cream - max strength 4.Complete Allergy Cream 2% 5.Cordran 0.025% 6.Triamcinolone Acetonide Dental Paste .1% 7.Honey Interferon Liquid Mixture: After talking to Dr. Joe Cummins, I placed one interferon tablet into a tablespoon of saline. I purchased a product called SoftWear Saline for Sensitive Eyes. This formula is for rinsing soft contact lenses. I stored the mixture in an eye dropper container with an air tight lid. I stored the unused portion in the refrigerator. With the eye dropper, I would drop several drops on the ulcer and I used Q-tips to make sure the entire area was covered. I would allow the solution to absorb into the ulcer. About 10 minutes. Interferon Paste Mixture: NOTE: On day 3, I changed my solution. I mix one crushed pill with 3 drops of saline solution. It makes a sticky paste. I found that both these mixtures were useful in the treatment. DAY BEFORE treating ulcer with oral interferon mixed with saline: 7/20/00 The ulcer was not improving. It's current condition was a deep concave sore that was over an inch across. It had a 1/4 inch red swollen rim. The red rim gets little blisters which I think allows the sore to increase in size. It had a semi-hard thick white scab on it which would seep. Actually, it was more like a thick white type of inflamed cellular tissue. Thicker than a normal scab. Someone on the internet recommend using Honey to treat ulcers. I used the honey treatment out of desperation the night of 7-20-00. It was a bad idea. Day One: 7/21/00 When I woke up, the ulcer had enlarged. It was almost 2 inches across. The rim had enlarged and the entire sore and rim was seeping. The deep calf muscles in my leg were hurting. I started treating the ulcer with the interferon mixture. I treated it a total of 5 times. (more than was recommended because of its condition.) Before I went to bed, the cellular white tissue was shrinking and pulling away from the red rim. Between the red rim and the white tissue, there a thin healthy looking scab. The unhealthy white tissue was pulling away and curling upward on the edges. There is still a 1/4 inch red area surrounding the ulcer. The rim still has little blisters on it. Day Two: 7/22/00 7-22-00: I am continuing to drop the oral interferon mixture on the ulcer. I treated the ulcer 8 times today. I think this would work better if it was a light ointment or creme. I have to hold my leg still and in an unusual position until I think the liquid is getting absorbed into the tissue. Today, the white thick tissue is continuing to pull away from the red rim. It is obviously curling upward on the edges where it is drying. On one side of the ulcer, there looks to be a 1/8 inch gap of healthy healing between the rim and white tissue. There is a slight problem with drying which seems to irritate the new healing tissue (scab). Even considering that, it is obviously healing. The red rim still has blisters but the sore has not increased in size or thickness. This mixture seems to be affecting the unhealthy white tissue more than the other tissue. >From experience, anything in contact with this abnormal white tissue does not heal. Since it is pulling away and curling up on the edges, this is a really good sign. It seems the interferon solution is drastically affecting unhealthy or abnormal tissue. The blisters are not responding but it may be related to the application. It is impossible for me to keep the solution on the raised red rim. I may need to find a ointment to apply to this ulcer. The white tissue is pulling. Day Three: 7/23/00 Today, I did what Dot recommended. I took one pill and crushed it. I added 3 drops of saline solution. It made a sticky paste. I applied this and put a bandage over it. It did reduce the swelling over the entire area. The white tissue swelled from fluid retention. That white area did not heal as well today but I believe it was the bandage. I am going to attempt this again tomorrow without the cover. I removed the bandage around 4 pm. The remainder of the day, I went back to applying the liquid mixture to dry out the white scar tissue. Before I went to bed, there was a noticeable reduction in the swelling of the entire ulcer. The red rim was not as thick but there were more blisters. The healthy new scar tissue did appear to increase in size after I got the extra fluid out of the abnormal white tissue. Day Four: 7/24/00 I continued to apply the liquid solution until just before I went to bed. I crushed another pill and made a paste. I covered the entire sore. I will sleep on it today. The white tissue continues to shrink and curl up on the edges. It is not shrinking as fast but it is a very deep sore. NOTE: It is killing me to crush one entire pill for one treatment. Day Five: 7/25/00 The verdict is in. It seems that the sticky paste is not something that the red rim part of this ulcer likes. I am not sure if it is making the blisters worse or if it is pulling toxins out of it. The deciding factor is that the red rim part of the ulcer seems to get worse. The white abnormal tissue absorbs the fluid but once the fluid is gone, it get is better. I seem to have two different problems. Sticky on blisters is not good. Sticky on white tissue seems to be very good. Once it dries out, I can see it is reducing that tissue. Day Six: 7-26-00 Today, I took a different approach. Before bed, I make a paste from one oral interferon pill and apply it directly to the white abnormal tissue. I use the liquid interferon on the new scar tissue and red rim. I have to be very careful not to get the sticky paste on the red rim. The ulcer is responding great to this. I still drop the liquid mixture on the ulcer 7+ times a day. Day Seven: 7-27-00 The white abnormal scar tissue is shrinking. It pulls sometimes and it is deep in the center. It still looks good. The red rim has less blisters today. The swelling has gone down allot today. My current treatment plan seems to be working. I apply the sticky paste on the white adnormal tissue at night. The next day, I drop the oral interferon liquid on the ulcer 7+ times. This seems to be healing the entire ulcer. Day Eight: 7-28-00 Today, the red rim looks completely different. It has a very light white film over it. There are no blisters and I think the film is old skin. Everything looks great, for an ulcer. The abnormal white tissue looks like a curled up bowl in the center. The healthy scar tissue is even responding better. There is not as much seeping and the swelling has decreased allot. I think that after I get rid of the white tissue (which is only about 1/2 inch across now), it will heal rapidly. Day Nine: 7-29-00 I treated the ulcer today like I have been. Interferon paste on the abnormal white tissue. Liquid interferon on the healthy tissue and red rim. It really is improving rapidly. The swelling continues decrease. My other smaller ulcers have not changed but this ulcer is healing. I should of taken pictures of this... Day Ten: 7-30-00 I am so excited today. I went to apply the oral interferon paste on the unhealthy white tissue, it fell off. Right into my hand. Now this ulcer will heal. The rim is still red but not swollen. There is a big hole in my leg but it is all healthy scar tissue. The battle of over. Thank you Joe & Dot. This is no longer an ulcer. It is just a healthy looking hole in my leg. I hope someone understands that statement. It will heal now. Like any other normal sore. Sincerely, Gen Vanasco