By Eulalee Thompson, Staff Reporter 
Photo Illustration By Steve Tai Chun/Graphic Designer
LEONARD LEWIS claims that he has the cure for 'sore foot' the chronic, resistant leg ulceration which is not uncommon in Jamaica. The 'cure' is a concoction of local herbs, formed into an ointment which he is calling 'Cumsee ointment' but the names of the herbs and the formula are well-kept secrets Mr. Lewis is keeping that close to his chest.
"My ointment is giving relief to dozens of people with chronic leg ulcers in Ocho Rios. I come here three times per year and see people who have had sore foot for 20, 30, 40 years...some are better and some are getting better," he claims.
Mr. Lewis is Jamaican living in the United States, but he travels home regular to administer his ointment to 'patients' with sore foot, though he makes no claims to medical training.
'My discipline is theology, I had been through the seminary and had done the scientific part of medicine. Getting better is an art rather than a science, in my book there is quite a lot on medicine and healing. One thing that caught my eyes in (my readings) is a the quote 'the skin has millions of little mouths that breathe'. My thought was that the extremities of the body is one that is least fed and abused and if a certain type of care is taken then lots of chronic ulcers can be taken care of," he said.
His inspiration to create this ointment came out of his own experience with sore foot as a child and he named the 'cure' Cumsee, after the district of Cumsee in St. Mary where he grew up. Mr. Lewis is not particularly interested in pushing his 'miracle cure' through the local registration process,
preferring to rely on the recommendation and testimony of
the dozens of persons relieved of their unyielding sore foot
problems.
"I discovered this ointment and I treat people in the U.S. but the problem is not as severe as in Jamaica. It is only in nursing homes that see people with pressure wound in the U.S.. The people in Jamaica don't know about it. I have found about 50 people with chronic ulcers and people weren't aware of them, in Ocho Rios. I would say maybe 10 per cent of people with ulcers are related to diabetes," Mr. Lewis said.
He continued: "With the ointment I see the results almost immediately, like in a few days. People with chronic ulcer of the foot for 10, 15, 20 years and are giving up, they think that nothing can be done. But the area to be challenged is that the obeah does it, if they could be persuaded then they will seek medical help and be convinced that other things will help them. It is a better obeahman."
He speaks of a woman with sore foot who had not seen a doctor for 15 years and is recovering, and of a gentleman who could not walk as a result of leg ulceration, who was scheduled for amputation at the St. Ann's Bay Hospital on May 29 last year. Mr. Lewis met him on May 25 and he is now walking.
However, while the ointment may be bringing relief, Gloria Gibbs, director, Pharmaceutical and Regulatory Affairs, Health Ministry, says that there is a registration process for herbal products, under the Food and Drugs Act 1964, before they are marketed.
"He would have to register the product because he is making claims of healing...and he would have to reveal the ingredients...but he has nothing to fear because we are not interested in developing the
product," she said.
Information such as the ingredients present in the formulation, dose schedule, route of administration, therapeutic/diagnostic claims, contraindications, side effects, toxic effects and protocol for treating toxicity or antidote, where applicable, are important in the assessment process. Other issues also arise with the use of the 'miracle cure' in terms of laws regulating the practice of medicine and profession supplementary to medicine.
However, Mr. Lewis says that alternative and herbal medicine is a burgeoning industry now because it is cheaper than other forms of practices and focuses on prevention and on wellness not sickness. The ointment is applied three times per week after the wound has been cleansed.
