I wanted to share this little story that may give a new perspective on the potential benefits of going barefoot.
I know this might be hard to follow, but stick with me. I recently got out of the Army (left active service in July) after just four years of service. As you may or may not know, soldiers wear boots in the Army, 24/7. Unless they're running, then they wear shoes. The idea of going barefoot is rarely thought of, mainly because it is an impracticality in war environments. I personally only gleaned knowledge of the concept once I left the military.
During my time of service in the military a began to develop a number of plantar warts on the bottom of my right foot. Over time this number grew to at least one dozen (ridiculous, I know). For at least a year and a half, I attempted to get rid of them, mostly by repeated freezing treatments by doctors who would spray the warts and the area near them with liquid nitrogen in hopes of freezing them off. This all was to no avail. I had multiple treatments, I can remember having at least four treatments and never would the warts go away. These treatments were coupled with the use of salicylic acid which helps to slough off the skin so the wart can come off.
The warts persisted. Eventually I gave up on the freezing treatments since the days following it would be difficult to walk since the area near my warts would blister up and be quite painful to walk on. I decided I would just have to live with them, and then I left the Army...
For the months following my departure from active service, rarely did I wear any enclosed shoe. Mostly I would wear flip-flops, and I began running barefoot. One day... I realized something... my warts had disappeared! I'm honestly surprised that I hadn't noticed it gradually, which I'm sure the transformation was; perhaps I was too busy nursing blisters, caused by my developing running form, to notice the lack of warts.
Please realize, I don't know exactly what caused them to go away. But the key difference for my feet from my life in the Army and my life out of the Army was the fact that I wasn't wearing boots for 8 to 12 (or more) hours at a time. This leads me to believe that my feet flourished under fresh air, and the warts shriveled! Pretty neat, huh?
I know this might be hard to follow, but stick with me. I recently got out of the Army (left active service in July) after just four years of service. As you may or may not know, soldiers wear boots in the Army, 24/7. Unless they're running, then they wear shoes. The idea of going barefoot is rarely thought of, mainly because it is an impracticality in war environments. I personally only gleaned knowledge of the concept once I left the military.
During my time of service in the military a began to develop a number of plantar warts on the bottom of my right foot. Over time this number grew to at least one dozen (ridiculous, I know). For at least a year and a half, I attempted to get rid of them, mostly by repeated freezing treatments by doctors who would spray the warts and the area near them with liquid nitrogen in hopes of freezing them off. This all was to no avail. I had multiple treatments, I can remember having at least four treatments and never would the warts go away. These treatments were coupled with the use of salicylic acid which helps to slough off the skin so the wart can come off.
The warts persisted. Eventually I gave up on the freezing treatments since the days following it would be difficult to walk since the area near my warts would blister up and be quite painful to walk on. I decided I would just have to live with them, and then I left the Army...
For the months following my departure from active service, rarely did I wear any enclosed shoe. Mostly I would wear flip-flops, and I began running barefoot. One day... I realized something... my warts had disappeared! I'm honestly surprised that I hadn't noticed it gradually, which I'm sure the transformation was; perhaps I was too busy nursing blisters, caused by my developing running form, to notice the lack of warts.
Please realize, I don't know exactly what caused them to go away. But the key difference for my feet from my life in the Army and my life out of the Army was the fact that I wasn't wearing boots for 8 to 12 (or more) hours at a time. This leads me to believe that my feet flourished under fresh air, and the warts shriveled! Pretty neat, huh?
