Deborah McCallun, 35, first noticed bunions forming on her feet when she was in her mid-twenties. By her thirties, the red, inflamed and painful swelling on the joint of each big toe had become an uncomfortable fact of life. “Having bunions makes you feel like an old lady,” says McCallun, a solicitor from southeast London. “You can’t find trendy shoes that aren’t cripplingly painful to wear, so you end up wearing flat, wide granny shoes.”
A bunion (Hallux valgus) is when the joint between the big toe and the foot sticks out abnormally because the foot bone has become misaligned. It is caused by arthritis, or your genes, or by habitual use of tight-fitting shoes. High heels don’t help because they load weight on to the front of the foot. The joint usually becomes inflamed, called bursitis, and can be very painful.
By last January, even the sensible 1in heels that McCallun wore to the office were hurting. Years ago a trip to her GP had supplied her with special insoles, but the lumps continued to grow. Surgery to correct the deformity, necessary in extreme cases, wasn’t an option: “It takes about six to eight weeks before you can get around again after the operation. I couldn’t take that much time off work.” So when she read an article about the non-invasive bunion treatment offered by the Marigold Clinic, a homoeopathic podiatry centre at the Royal Homoeopathic Hospital, Central London, she made an appointment.
The clinic specialises in homoeopathic and herbal treatment of chronic foot problems and McCallun saw Dr Tariq Khan, a consultant podiatrist and the clinic’s deputy director. “The bunion on her right foot was bad. On a scale of one to ten, it was a seven. As is typical, the big toe was deviated towards the other toes. Left alone, her big-toe joints would eventually become osteoarthritic (where the joint degenerates) and by the time she reached 50, surgery would be the only option,” he says.
After an examination, Dr Khan explained that the clinic’s bunion treatment centres on topical application of a specially-made marigold paste. “He stuck a plaster pad with a hole in the middle over each bunion,” says McCallun, “and applied the marigold paste through the hole on to the bunion, then dressed it in a self-sticking bandage. I was a bit sceptical. What could a paste do to my bunions?” The special properties claimed for the paste are at the heart of the clinic’s non-invasive, natural treatment. The cream is a mixture of crushed marigolds of the Tagetes genus and alcohol, combined according to a formula devised by the homoeopathic podiatry pioneer Dr Taufiq Khan (Dr Khan’s father) in the Seventies. Chemical tests revealed two flavanoids in the flower that, Dr Khan claims, are the bioactive compounds responsible for “alleviating soft-tissue inflammation, shrinking the bunion and easing pain”.
McCallun was instructed to shower or bath as normal, not to worry about getting the dressings wet, and to keep them in place until her next appointment in seven days. “Dr Khan explained that getting the bandages wet makes the paste more active. They weren’t hard to dry, either,” she says. “I couldn’t wear my 1in work heels with the bandages, so I switched to a pair of loafers. It was an easy treatment to undergo.”
When the bandages were removed at Dr Khan’s office, McCallun says: “I was surprised at how much smaller the bunions had become in one week. They weren’t red any more or as sore. And my big toes felt more mobile.” After re-dressing, and a further week wearing the marigold-paste bandages, there was further reduction in swelling. Slipping back into her work heels, McCallun noticed that her bunions didn’t rub against the side of her shoes any more, so walking was no longer painful.
Dr Khan says: “From a seven, Deborah’s worst bunion was now a three; a mild case. That type of result in two weeks is not unusual. Patients can require a further two weeks with the bandages, but that’s the maximum.”
The treatment was followed by a month-long maintenance programme. McCallun sprayed a tincture on her bunions, then rubbed in an oil, both containing the active marigold ingredients, after every shower. Twice a day she exercised to realign her big toes. She’d sit on the floor with her back against a wall and her legs stretched out in front of her, and a thick elastic band looped around both big toes. Then she’d pull her feet apart against the resistance of the band and bring them back together repeatedly, for two minutes.
Meanwhile, Dr Khan advised her to avoid completely flat shoes, as they don’t support the foot. A 1in-1½in heel is best; shoes that appear flat, such as a good pair of trainers, will often have such a heel moulded inside. He recommends Asics sports shoes (www.asics.com).
“I’m thrilled to have found a treatment that works,” says McCallun. “It’s so liberating to be pain-free. My big toes are a bit straighter, so my feet look better. This treatment has rescued me from the need to have surgery. In May, I did a 13-mile charity walk for breast cancer. There’s no way I could have done it before going to the Marigold Clinic.”
What is it?
Homoeopathic podiatry treats the skin, nails, soft tissue and bones of the feet, using plant-based topical preparations and oral homoeopathic medicines.
Suitable for? Bunions, veruccas, athlete’s foot, corns and sports injuries.
Cost GPs can refer patients to the Marigold Clinic for NHS treatment. Private patients pay from £100 for consultations.
Contact Dr Tariq Khan, the Marigold Clinic, 020-7391 8873. British Homeopathic Association, www.trusthomoeopathy.org , 0870 4443950.
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE? DR TOBY MURCOTT
Can marigold paste cure bunions? A clinical trial published in the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, in 1996, reported that it can reduce the swelling and pain. The study of 60 bunion patients, at the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital showed that the marigold paste was more effective than a placebo.
Is this a surprise? No. Research into marigold has found that it contains anti-inflammatory chemicals.
Will it work for all bunions? If the big toe is angled at more than 15 degrees, surgery is usually necessary.
What if surgery is the only option? Performed under local anaesthetic, the patient can be home the same day and walking after three days. A Velcro-fastened post-operative support shoe is now used.
Is surgery inevitable? The podiatric surgeon Mike O’Neill, of the Society of Chiropodists & Podiatrists, says that proper footwear and orthotics (specially designed inserts) can reduce the problem.
Dr Toby Murcott is a former BBC science correspondent
