Wart Question

kristi915 · Dec 10, 2002

I had a wart on my foot when I was little. And I had it frozen off. It didn't hurt at all. Just the thought of it scared me. But, it wasn't bad.

sunnygirl272 · Dec 11, 2002

freezing hurts...but it works

try duct tape...i am serious...read a thing about it,,,,i'll hafta get back to ya with the details....

sunnygirl272 · Dec 11, 2002

Duct Tape Therapy

CHICAGO, Oct. 14, 2002

Duct tape, the all-purpose household fix-it with hundreds of uses, can also remove warts.

Researchers say over-the-hardware-counter duct tape is a more effective, less painful alternative to liquid nitrogen, which is used to freeze warts.

The study was reported in the October issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

In the study, patients wore duct tape over their warts for six days. Then they removed the tape, soaked the area in water and used an emery board or pumice stone to scrape the spot. The tape was reapplied the next morning. The treatment continued for a maximum of two months or until the wart went away.

The duct tape irritated the warts, and that apparently caused an immune system reaction that attacked the growths, said researcher Dr. Dean "Rick" Focht III of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

He said researchers did not test other kinds of tape, and so they cannot say whether there is anything special about the gray, heavy-duty, fabric-backed tape.

Pediatric dermatologist Dr. Anthony J. Mancini of Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago said he uses duct-tape therapy for warts in his practice.

"The whole point of this is a non-painful approach," said Mancini, who was not involved in the study.

The study was conducted at the Madigan Army Medical Center near Tacoma, Wash. It began with 61 patients between the ages of 3 and 22, but only 51 patients completed the study.

Of the 26 patients treated with duct tape, 85 percent got rid of their warts compared with 60 percent of the 25 patients who received the freezing treatment.

Researchers did not test the duct tape on older adults and also did not study whether warts recurred.

The apparent curative powers of duct tape are no surprise to Tim Nyberg, one-half of the Duct Tape Guys, who write books and perform comedy about the adhesive's allure. Nyberg said he and his duct tape partner, Jim Berg, do a shtick that includes duct tape wart removal.

"It's the universal panacea," Nyberg said.

sjoe · Dec 11, 2002

"Duct tape, the all-purpose household fix-it with hundreds of uses, can also remove warts. "

Or if duct tape doesn't work, my grandma used to say: cut a potato in half, rub the open part on the wart, bury the potato parts in the backyard. When the potato is totally rotted and becomes soil, the wart will be gone. (Sounds as likely as the duct tape, IMHO.)

The fact simply is that most warts go away on their own after a time, no matter what you do or don't do.

researchrabbit · Dec 11, 2002

My daughter and son both had warts, too. You can also use a crushed up aspirin, add a little water, and paint it on the wart am and pm. That works pretty well.

Compound W works too, but you have to be careful not to get it on the surrounding skin because it will sting normal skin.

I had plantar's warts frozen off my foot and that was very painful. I don't think I'd go that route for normal run of the mill warts.

sjoe, I understand it is 5-7 years before the body adjusts to the warts and they go away. If my memory is correct, the person remains "infected" with that strain of warts but the warts themselves never recur.

emily_mom · Dec 11, 2002

I have had a plantar's wart for YEARS. They have tried to freeze it off (which does hurt) numerous times with no success. They will not cut it off b/c of the scarring factor on the bottom of my foot. Good to know that in a few more years it may just go away. I figure it's "roots" are probably up near my belly button by now.

Am trying the duct tape...3 weeks, no improvement yet. But I'm not giving up hope!

Kristy

Joeknee · Dec 11, 2002

Duct tape totally works

I tried wart-removers from the drug store, but they didn't work.

The duct tape worked in a week or two.

Cheap, painless, and cooooool

sjoe · Dec 11, 2002

research wrote: "sjoe, I understand it is 5-7 years before the body adjusts to the warts and they go away. If my memory is correct, the person remains "infected" with that strain of warts but the warts themselves never recur."

I don't know, though it sounds reasonable. But sometimes warts go away by themselves after just a couple of months. If the patient is willing to wait 5-7 years instead of a relatively simple freezing, I'd offer him those two alternatives. Kind of like the choice between cutting a cat's tail off all at once, or an inch at a time over weeks, if I remember the old children's story correctly.

Yes, the ones on the sole of the foot hurt. When I had one, still there after having been repeatedly frozen, I learned that the problem was that, since it was wintertime, I wore (clean) socks at nighttime to keep my feet warm, so I always had socks on 24 hours/day. That, in turn, retained moisture and darkness, which is the environment of choice for plantar warts, according to the doc when he learned what I had been doing. I stopped wearing socks at night, and the wart went away in a week or so. All the freezing had, apparently, been unnecessary (as well as insufficient.) (Or maybe it just took that long for the potato to rot.)

Well, after two testimonials, if I ever get another wart, I'll give the duct tape a try. Maybe along with the ASA? Just to see. Though I hope I never have the opportunity.

meownsmile, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2002

My daughter had planters warts on her feet. The podietrist gave us some ointment(salicytic acid and white petroleum). She put it on every evening with a Qtip and covered the areas with a small bandaide and they just kind of peeled away till they were gone. It didnt hurt and only took a few weeks. She was 13 and did the treatment every night herself religously. The skin around the warts didnt look to great while it was being used but that was a small trade off. He did tell her though that the warts were viral and she may get them again. She wont ever get rid of the virus that causes them.

ZORYA · Dec 11, 2002

I've heard that duct tape works on warts too...Apparently, if the virus (the wart) can't recieve air, it will eventually wither and die...How long that'll take, I can't tell you, but........

tonicareer · Dec 11, 2002

Yes zorya u are right the cells in the wart live on air. Seal the duct tape securely and remove for only a few seconds to replace and clean area. Takes like 2 or 3 monthes, leave it on even when it appears wart is gone for a few weeks. However this won't work on the face or soles of feet I would think or maybe if duct tape will show. Know someone who used it tho and it worked on wart on elbow.