Wart Removal

[Dave Kaminski]

Anyone have homeopathic ways to remove warts? I've had it for over three months it's on the middle finger of my left hand.

It's freaking me out the last one went away on its own; it was on my right hand.

[Jonathan]

This is something I've looked into quite a bit, as I've got quite a poor immune system and so get the occassional wart.

I've found the best method is the over-the-counter liquid nitrogren treatments (eg. Wartner), which actually are more effective than going to a GP for similar treatment in my experience.

Natural/homepathic remedies haven't been that effective, but perhaps that is due to my immune system. However, ones I have heard to work for other people include applying lavender oil twice a day and covering with a plaster, or forgetting the lavender and just covering tightly with electrical tape for a week at a time. I'm sure more info can be found on these methods by Googling, but there are a lot of old wives' tales about this subject, so take it all with a pinch of salt!

A homeopathist did once give me something to boost my immune system in an attempt to get rid of the warts - may be worth looking into general immunity boosters.

[Rod Logan]

Bananas:
Take a banana peel and cut a round piece the size of the wart. Put the inner side next to the wart and tape it on with surgical tape. Change this every day with a fresh piece of banana peel. It may take a week or so to see results.

Potatoes:
A nurse offers the following remedy: "Peel the skin off a potato as thin as possible. Take a small piece of potato skin and rub the POTATO side on the wart twice a day. In one or two weeks the wart will turn black and fall off. There is apparently a chemical in the potato near the skin which kills the wart. I have used this for warts large and small on several people, and it never fails."

Nail Polish:
Another person offers a doctor-recommended remedy: "Clear nail polish works for warts. My dermatologist told me to try it. I gave up after a short time because it was tedious to apply it every day. But when our dog developed a huge wart, I put a coat of polish on daily and within a week the thing flaked off." The nail polish approach has been around for a while. Another comment: "When I was a freshman in college my biology professor said that warts could be removed by 'smothering' them with frequent applications of nail polish or heavy cold cream. I had my first wart then and really hated it. Having no nail polish at the time, I used cold cream, applying it every time I was in my dorm room. It took about two weeks for the wart to disappear."

Vinegar:
Vinegar is another popular home remedy for warts. "I was plagued by a wart on my index finger. Because of the location, a physician said there was nothing to be done that wouldn't cause disfigurement. I soaked a piece of cotton in apple cider vinegar, put it on my finger and wrapped it with tape. In the middle of the night I woke up from a dead sleep. My wart was throbbing. The next day the wart was gone without disfigurement."

Castor Oil:
Castor oil is another perennial favorite. "Just dab a little drop on the wart at night before bed and do the same each morning when you get up. Soon you'll find you have no wart to treat."

Duct tape:
Seriously. Studies have found that it is MORE effective than the treatment you get from the doctor. It's certainly less painful. Apparently, it works by stimulating your immune system to attack the wart. Cut a piece of duct tape as close to the size of the wart as possible. Leave on for six days. If the original piece of duct tape falls off, immediately replace with more duct tape. At the end of six days, remove the tape, soak the area in water, and then gently rub the wart with an emery board or pumice stone. Leave tape off for overnight, and then reapply the next morning. Repeat until the wart(s) disappear (maximum 2 months).

Nail Polish:
As long as they are not in a sensitive place you can keep them coated with clear nail polish and after about ten days they will flake off. Wash your hands several times a day. Pat them dry and when they are dry, paint the warts with clear nail polish. Warts are viruses and if they cannot breathe they die. After the nail polish dries and it has been a few hours, repeat the process throughout the day and before you go to bed.

[taylor2]

duct tape works.but i had a big old wart on my arm when a kid and the dog chewed it off.it never came back.duct tape works good though...in case your dog does not like warts.taylor2

[Jill]

The easiest, quickest and most effective way to remove warts is through your own mind.

No kidding. It totally works.

Simply focus your mind on removing them, and you'll notice them start to go away within a matter of days if not sooner.

When my son was only around 3 years old he had tons of warts on various parts of his body and they seemed to be just getting worse. I had heard Wayne Dyer on PBS once mention that his daughter got rid of her warts using her mind, so I told my son to simply make them go away. We had him picture like a pacman just eating up all the warts on his body each night before he fell asleep.

Literally, within days, the warts were all disappearing. I forget exactly how long it took for them to all be gone, but it wasn't long at all. This was 10 years ago and they've never come back.

My husband also used the same technique when he learned from the doctor that a little bump on his eyelid was a wart. Got rid of it in a few days. I have one of the same eyelid ones now, but I didn't bother to do anything about it. Recently I decided I would give it a try and I saw it visibly smaller in a day or two. I have been kind of lazy though and keep forgetting to think about getting rid of the rest of it. Going to bed in a few and will try to remember to think about it.

Honestly, you have to try this. I don't think you'll be disappointed. It beats all the other remedies hands down as this one actually works!

[WanderingOak]

For us weak minded fools who are incapable of simply wishing our warts away, instructables has a good tutorial on using garlic to remove warts.

[Jill]

For us weak minded fools who are incapable of simply wishing our warts away...

Aww...c'mon, if a 3 year old could do it, it can't take all that much. Give it a try!

[Victoria]

Interesting discussion...I used to have a wart on my foot when I was a kid. The doctor told me to use those wart band-aid things, which helped a bit. Another suggestion they had was cinnamon oil. I made the mistake of rubbing it into the skin on my arm because I liked the smell of it....bad idea! That stuff can cause irritation on sensitive skin pretty quickly!

But the one thing that did work: using my mind. When the parents told me that the next day I'd have to have my wart frozen off at the doctor's, I was a bit scared. I wanted it gone. The next morning I woke up and went to look at it, and it was completely gone, no kidding!