Warts

Getting Rid of Warts (Verrucae):About Verrucae:Verruca is another word for wart, verrucae is the plural. They are caused by a communicable virus called the human papillomavirus. Typical locations of "common warts" are hands and feet. If they are on the genitals, they are called "venereal warts." There is also a type that occurs on the sole of the foot called a "plantar wart".

Here are some ways that are suggested by our contributors to get rid of verrucae (warts). Some are folk remedies that may or may not be effective, but they won't hurt (except for diabetics, or others with poor circulation to their feet, who need to check with their doctors before trying any home remedies on their feet and hands and especially any that suggest filing, picking, pulling, opening or cutting on the feet):

Home Remedies:APPLICATIONS OF ACIDS:

1. Vinegar. Just use some vinegar (any kind but most people suggest cider vinegar) and let a cotton ball (cotton wool) soak in it, then put it on the verruca. Cover with a bandage (plaster). Some say leave it on overnight, others say for 30 minutes. Do it every night for about 2 weeks.
2. Lemon cream. Do the same as the cider vinegar and it should go away in about 2 weeks minimum.
3. Banana skin. Cut a square of banana skin and put it over your verruca with the yellow part of the skin towards the outside and the inner part on the wart. Then cover it over with a bandage (plaster) so it stays in place and put on a sock. Those who recommend this say you can see a difference within 2 or 3 days.
4. Dandelion juice. Rip off top of head and squeeze out the white juice onto the wart. Cover with bandage.
5. Potato juice. Use a raw potato and cut in half. Put one half of potato on the wart and leave until it dries, when the potato is dried, the wart will also be dried up. (Some added the following suggestion: Cross it and say the Hail Mary three times after you place the potato on the wart.)
6. Onion juice. Another acid. Use as described above for the banana peel.

OTHER HOME REMEDIES:

1. Manuka Honey. Use a cotton ball (wool bud) to dab some Manuka Honey onto your verruca and put a bandage (plaster) over it. Do this every night until the verruca is gone. Some people say it goes away in 2 days. One contributor said it worked for them after their chiropodist suggested it to be used as described above. Honey is known for antibacterial and other microbe killing or retarding properties.
2. Tea Tree Oil. This oil is known for its skin healing properties and for its ability to kill fungi and some viruses. Put it on the wart, cover with a bandage. Repeat with a new application every night.
3. Slugs. Put a slug on it. (The action of this home remedy was not explained, I'm unable to guess, unless it helps dry up the area.)
4. Pressure. Press on it and hold the pressure for at least 30 minutes every night before you go to bed. Keep pressing hard each night and in about 2-4 weeks it should go away. Presumably this works to restrict blood supply to the wart. Wash your hands well after doing this.
5. Dry it out. Keep the area dry to help rid the virus by drying it until it shrinks up, and to prevent spreading it to other parts of your body or to others through moisture. This is said to be when they are most contagious.
6. Duct tape. This is a popular suggestion. Put a little piece of duct tape on the wart (just enough to cover it). This is said to cut off the supply of oxygen to the verruca if you stick it over the top of it tightly sealed. Change it once a day with a new patch and the verruca should disappear in roughly 3-5 weeks. Some say that if you keep it on two days, when you pull it off to replace it, the sticky tape will help erode the wart by taking a layer off with the tape every time you remove it. Not recommended for diabetics without advice of your physician.
7. Vaseline or Vaseline and Duct Tape: One method: Put a glob of Vaseline on the wart. Put duct tape over that for 3-4 days. It is thought that both will suffocate it. A doctor recommended this to the contributor. Another method: Rub Vaseline on the wart. Then, take a cotton ball large enough to cover the area, dunk it in apple cider vinegar and place on the wart. Cover the area with medical tape, and remove it in the morning. Repeat nightly until the wart comes off completely. This may take a few weeks, depending on the size of the wart.
8. Do Not Try Frog Urine: There is an old wives tale that you may hear passed around, that frog urine causes warts or you may hear the reverse (less often) that frog urine will get rid of warts. Neither is correct. Worse, frogs can carry several different bacteria and other zoonotic infectious diseases, so always wash hands well if you handle any frogs. See the related links below for a link to information about this risk with handling frogs.

Over the counter Products:Creams and gels specifically for the purpose like: Bazuka That Verruca, Dr. Scholls' Wart Freeze Away, Wartner, Compound W, Doctor Scholls' Wart remover, Wartenstick.However, some of these products give directions to file the wart after using the product. This is not recommended, check with your doctor first. The pieces you file off can spread the virus to you on the other parts of your body or to someone else, and it can cause foot ulcers in people with poor circulation.

Bandaids that have acids on them made for the purpose.One brand of these is MediPlast, it looks just like a band aid but the sticky part that you put agaist your wart is 40% salicylic acid, which can eat away at warts- keep a single patch on for 48 hours at a time and continue as directed.

• Salicylic acid. Many stores sell generic liquid wart remover, which is essentially salicylic acid in a bottle, if used as directed, it can really help.
• Freezing products and kits. These are available and some use liquid nitrogen, so the instructions must be followed exactly as written.

See a Doctor:See your PCP, family doctor, or specialist such as a dermatologist, or a podiatrist (if on your foot) or a urologist or gynecologist (if on your genitals). Your PCP can often take care of it without the need for a specialist, though.

• Go to your doctor who can choose the best method for removal of your verruca.

• Usually they freeze them off with liquid nitrogen, using a Q-tip.

Remember:DON'T PICK THEM. IT MAKES THEM WORSE, AND YOU CAN GET THE VIRUS PARTICLES FROM THE VERRUCA UNDER YOUR NAILS AND ON YOUR FINGERS AND THEN SPREAD TO OTHER PARTS OF YOUR BODY OR TO OTHER PEOPLE! DON'T PICK THEM or otherwise scrape, cut, file, pull or open them, especially if you are diabetic or have other circulatory problems with your legs and feet!

For more information about verruca, go to the websites listed in the links section below.
I've had plenty of them and after spending lots of money on liquid nitrogen treatment i came up with a homemade cure that is just as good or even better, and it is free.

It will hurt, but it will be over in a matter of seconds. In any case, liquid nitrogen hurts more.

- With a small pair of scissors, remove the outer layer of the wart; the protuberance, the part that sticks out. If it bleeds, press a piece of cotton or toilet paper over it until the bleeding stops. This should leave the wart at the same level with the rest of the skin. It will look like a white spot.

- Get a metal clip, or a metal wire, and straighten it.

- Heat the clip with fire until it turns red.

- Remove it from the fire and wait until it isn't red. This shouldn't take more than one or two seconds.

- Stick the hot clip into the wart. This will hurt. Press down so as to make a hole through the wart. You will feel the clip digging into the wart. This will immediately kill it. You need to do this in order to kill all the bad tissue. Warts go deep down into the skin. If you don't press down you will only kill the superficial part and the wart will grow back. Press down for three or four seconds; that should be enough.

- The result will be a little white hole of burnt tissue. In 1-2 days it will turn into a little red spot that will heal in a matter of 3-4 weeks. The whole thing is better looking than the scar left by liquid nitrogen, and heals faster.

- Your skin will grow back absolutely normal. There will be no scar at all. I've done this at least ten times.

This sounds very brutal, but it's less invasive than the standard procedure (nitrogen) and it leaves no scar. The first time I did it I was scared of course, but the pain only lasts a few seconds.
I've had two plantar warts on my feet,the first one I had to get burned out with electricity at the doctor, now the second one I saw it coming, so I bought duo film, which helped keep it small and unnoticeable, but one night I picked it up and it dropped and broke, so I had to find another way. NAIL CLIPPERS! I used it by take a hold of the 'seeds' in the wart and pulling them out, not cutting of the top, you actually pull it out. It doesn't hurt that much certainly a lot less painful than burning or freezing it off! If it's big remove the seeds until you feel the pain then stop, and do two seeds a day. In one day I removed all my seeds ( because my wart was still small and only had a few) and in two days I had to use a magnifying glass to see if I still had one, it had shrunk that much! So I hope it helps for you because I know how it feels! Physically and emotionally!