Hi again everyone,

Thanks for your replies. I do not mean to imply that you can "cure"
rosacea by simply changing footwear.

Most of us Americans have spent decades wearing shoes. It is
extremely unlikely that a few weeks, or even a few months, outside of
shoes could have any lasting effect. (and isn't that what we mean by
"cure"?)

I prefer to think in terms of "controlling" a condition that has
become chronic. Everyone seems to have unique triggers, and by
controlling the triggers, one can control the condition. The
condition never absolutely goes away.

Well, I am merely adding footwear to the list of possible triggers
for
rosacea. Examine any crowd of people; the majority of the time,
women
are wearing the higher-heeled shoes. Since women suffer from rosacea
more often than men, it seems reasonable to expect that the type of
shoe can be a trigger.

I apologize for reposting my original below, but I deleted my first
post because of a formatting problem. I am still interested in any
questions or discussion.

Thank you once again,
james


my original post:

Hi everyone,

Please understand that I am not a rosacea sufferer, but merely an
electrical engineer with a "crazy" theory about the cause of rosacea.

Rosacea afflicts women disproportionately more than men in the United
States, yet their footwear is clearly more deforming to the feet,
with
higher heels, pointier toes, and smaller sizes. Therefore, it seems
reasonable that shoes are involved in the chronic condition.

Of course, statistical correlations do not prove anything, and a
physical explanation is necessary. One possibility is that by
disabling the feet, shoes place more demand on the brain to balance
the body, an exceptionally difficult task if you consider how complex
of an organ the foot is. The brain must work harder, thus increasing
its own demand for blood, and hence the increased blood flow to the
head would become visible during times of additional stress or strain.

During the last few years I have studied the biomechanical effects of
shoes on other conditions, besides rosacea, because I believe that
shoes fit the statistical, historical, and physical evidence of most
modern diseases that continue to have an unknown cause. Most people
still think the idea stinks. Yet it seems to me that shoes on the
feet are like germs on the hands.

Chiropodist Dr. Simon J. Wikler pioneered efforts to understand the
influences of shoes in the 1950's, but his work was neglected during
the subsequent drug-and-diet-based approaches to medicine. However,
the prolific footwear historian and podiatrist Dr. William A. Rossi
clearly demonstrated throughout his publications that shoes influence
the posture of the human body. Therefore, coupled with the
posture-based approaches to medicine of the distinguished orthopedist
Dr. Joel E. Goldthwait, I have expanded Dr. Wikler's insightful work
to include a variety of illnesses and conditions whose cause remains
unknown.

You may find my thesis on shoes and disease at

http://www.shoebusters.com

on the Internet. My outlined treatment involves removing the cause;
regularly applying a contrast bath--or more descriptively, an
alternate cold-hot footbath--to maintain flexibility in the feet;
barefoot walking to maintain strength in the feet, resorting to
wide-toed, soft-soled moccasins if necessary; and getting plenty of
rest.

Depending on age, footwear habits, and daily demands, a 20-minute
daily walk, supplemented by a 20-minute contrast footbath every third
or fourth day (about twice a week), could actually be sufficient to
control or prevent many common conditions, but the regimen should be
used as the foundation for any other therapy, which may provide
further relief of symptoms if necessary.

Thank you very much for any questions, discussion, or feetback.

James Semmel