7 ms·
The efficacy of duct tape vs. cryotherapy in the treatment of the common wart (2002)
- hnarn 2y ago> Conclusion: Duct tape occlusion therapy was significantly more effective than cryotherapy for treatment of the common wart. I really didn’t expect that.
- atrus 2y agoThere seems to be several studies demonstrating that. I can't seem to find anything on why this works. Why is it always duct tape?
- idontwantthis 2y agoMy guess is duct tape doesn’t do anything special to warts but the adhesive and the tight seal causes you to shed a few layers of skin. Repeat for weeks until you have shed all of the wart containing layers and replaced them. Salicylic acid ointment also works much better than cryo therapy. The same idea but probably a lot faster than duct tape, but also probably a bit more painful.
- jjtheblunt 2y agoCompound W sold in the US is basically what you just said.
- loeg 2y agoI think it's just starving it of oxygen. Duct tape just stays in place well enough. Any tape that doesn't breathe and sticks would do. But maybe I'm wrong: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duct_tape_occlusion_therapy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duct_tape_occlusion_therapy
- arcticbull 2y agoI was under the impression it got its oxygen from the blood. That link seems to suggest some mix of maceration (skin breaking down due to humidity), acting as a keratolytic (causing excess skin growth which mechanically separates the wart) and an immune component. Which makes sense - warts are caused by HPV.
- 1970-01-01 2y agoIf that were true, those tiny tubes of cyanoacrylate would be sold as wart remover.
- adolph 2y agoIt works for chiggers, although if one is sufficiently hirsute the cure may be worse then the disease. https://bushcraftusa.com/forum/threads/super-glue-for-chiggers.175883/ https://bushcraftusa.com/forum/threads/super-glue-for-chigge...
- bsder 2y agoWarts only seem to form when your immune system deems them "below threshold". Presumably, the continuous irritation from the duct tape causes your immune system to say "Oy, there is irritation here. Go find the source and stop it." At some point, your immune systems notices "Hey, there's a virus here that we weren't paying attention to. Let's get rid of that." There are stories of people who talk about how they had a couple of warts and then "something" injured one of them such that blood came out and suddenly all their warts disappeared simultaneously. Presumably their immune system "noticed" and then cleared the virii out systemically.
- rudolph9 2y agoI have one that wouldn’t go away for the longest time tried duct tape and cryotherapy and the thing that did it in was coming both.
- NegativeLatency 2y agoI had one that wouldn't go away, and I slowly ramped up the freezing time to be a fair bit longer than what the instructions said, eventually it worked
- idontwantthis 2y agoI think the problem with cryo is it’s so painful that doctors dont do it long enough to be effective. But it also does a ton of damage to the surrounding tissue so overall it’s just a terrible treatment.
- briffle 2y agoCantharidin is another way that works for many, where some blistering liquid (originally from a blister beetle, but I think its synthetic now) is put on the wart, causing HUGE blisters that take off many layers of skin at once, and often the wart with it. But it really sucks that first few days.
- pkaye 2y agoIs it only duct tape that works? What about other kinds of tape or bandages?
- smegsicle 2y agoany kind of airtight waterproof tape that will stay on skin will probably work eg white nonporous medical tape
- DoreenMichele 2y agoI used to have a list of possible wart treatments from a military hospital thanks to trying to resolve a treatment-resistant wart. It included: 1. Tape a piece of potato over it. 2. Tape a copper penny over it. 3. I high dose of vitamin A for a month. 4. Vitamin E topically and/or orally.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- adolph 2y agoThe apparent juxtaposition of the first two lead me to conjecture that a mild current from skin capacitance disrupts the wart. https://www.instructables.com/Potato-Battery-Understanding-Chemical-and-Electric/ https://www.instructables.com/Potato-Battery-Understanding-C... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_capacitance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_capacitance
- DoreenMichele 2y agoI have no idea why the potato supposedly works (it didn't work on the wart in question), but copper is known to kill microbes "on contact" though it takes a bit of time.
- mrguyorama 2y agoOr the reality is that the vast majority of "remedies" for things that average people experience are nonsense and have no method of action. Or are worse than nonsense, like all the people over the centuries who have insisted on treating a burn by applying butter to the area.
- presidentender 2y agoI'm prone to plantar warts, and the only success I've had has been from surgical removal. I have not tried duct tape, though. Once I went to a podiatrist who injected bleomycin, a chemotherapy drug. My foot hurt for several days and blood blisters formed beneath the warts, but the operation was unsuccessful. I went to another podiatrist for the same warts and he anesthetized me and removed them with a curette. Several years later I had a few more show up, and got some of the same anesthetic the second doctor had used, which worked marvelously. Unfortunately I didn't remember which anti-bleeding agent he had used and so I was less able to tell what was going on during my self surgery; ultimately, though, it was effective. I also had a wart between the third and fourth knuckle of my left hand for many years. I'd pick at it sometimes but it was benign otherwise. One day I noticed that it was gone. The spot where it had been gets dry and flaky moreso than the rest of my hands.
- garciasn 2y agoI’d use prescribed wart medication that would make the wart soft and pliable. I would scrape the skin, exposing what I assume were root-like threads and pull them with tweezers. I’d use iodine to clean the spot and put a bandaid on it. They wouldn’t grow back. I never tried duct tape and haven’t had warts in decades.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- s1artibartfast 2y agoI have removed several warts in a similar way. I just use a razor to progressively shave them away during my hygiene routine when I trim my nails. After 3-4 times the root of the wart is exposed, "dries", and crumbles away. I imagine it is a simple matter of removing tissue faster than the wart can grow back. I assume this isnt standard practice because most people are scared of cutting themselves and doctors dont do it because multiple visits aren't practical.
- seabass-labrax 2y ago
- wrp 2y agoA replication study failed to confirm the result. DOI: 10.1001/archpedi.160.11.1121 DOI: 10.1016/s0093-3619(08)70425-8 DOI: 10.1016/s0084-3954(08)70300-2
- pessimizer 2y agoRelevant, but 3x as many children had the wart disappear entirely for duck tape as opposed to placebo, which was not significant due to the size of the sample and because total disappearance was rare overall (which are a result of choosing "complete resolution" in 6 weeks as a thing to pay attention to and the power of the study itself to find differences in such a rare outcome.) It also found 27% size reduction for duck tape vs. 9% for placebo, which was significant. > Complete resolution of the treated wart was seen in only a few children. The first resolution in both the duct tape and placebo groups was noted after 4 weeks. At the end of the study, after 6 weeks, the warts of 8 children (16%) in the duct tape group and the warts of 3 children (6%) in the placebo group had disappeared (Table 2), resulting in a number needed to treat of 10 (95% confidence interval, 5 to ⬁). This difference was not statistically significant. > In the duct tape group, there was a diameter reduction of 27% (from a mean of 4.6 mm to 3.4 mm) after 6 weeks. In the placebo group, this was 9% (from 4.4 mm to 4.0 mm). When adjusted for the baseline diameter, this resulted in a statistically significant difference in diameter reduction of 1.0 mm between the 2 groups (P=.008). https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.160.11.1121 https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.160.11.1121
- andrewla 2y agoI can't find the second two; the first one [1] is simply inconclusive; small sample sizes but no real effect. Crucially, this one compares duct tape to placebo (a corn pad, which seems to be a foam ring that surrounds but does not cover the wart). The original study is from 2002, the first study linked above is from 2006. [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17088514/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17088514/
- sungam 2y agoWith the exception of patients who are immunosupressed, all warts will resolve spontaneously with time, however it can take years in some cases. This was a small study and not replicated by this controlled trial: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/411864 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abs... Usual order of treatments is topical salicyclic acid +/- occlusion with tape -> cryotherapy / topical imiquimod -> curettage / CO2 laser / pulsed dye laser / DCP immunotherapy (Dermatologist)
- lazide 2y agoEh, years can easily be ‘a decade plus’. One therapy that also seems to work well for really persistent hand and foot warts is water bath thermal hypertherapy. [https://www.ccjm.org/content/ccjom/29/3/156.full.pdf https://www.ccjm.org/content/ccjom/29/3/156.full.pdf] [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9078316/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9078316/] Bonus - it can be rigged up with a cheap thermal PID controller (Amazon), an immersion heater, and some kind of pot. Less than $100 in parts and some basic electrical knowledge.
- jgalt212 2y agoor you can get rid of your disease-ridden roommates. When I got my own pad, my plantar's warts self-resolved.
- lazide 2y agoGyms are also a big problem too, on that front. Usually though, the issue is the bodies immune system being unable to ‘see’ the specific viral strain causing the wart, and hence clear it. Stress can contribute. HPV (the group of viruses at the root of warts) is really adept at hiding, once it gets a toehold somewhere. So either physically killing/removing the tissue it’s hiding in, or triggering an inflammatory response enough that the body finally recognizes the invader and attacks it seems like the plausible method of action for these cures. Once they’re gone, they almost always stay gone entirely for the rest of your life - unless there is a severe immune compromise + re exposure.
- eigenspace 2y agoI used to have a really big wart on my big toe, and was creeping down onto my foot. Nothing I could do would get rid of it. I'd have regular cryotherapy, tried the duct tape, lots of other stuff (including me attacking it with a knife once -- was not a good idea). One day I had a very traumatic bicycle accident that involved my ankle getting sprained and the skin being cut down to the bone in multiple places (not near the wart). Whole foot and ankle was wrapped up in bandages for a couple months, when the bandages came off my wart was gone and never came back. Would not recommend, but it seemed to work (or it was a coincidence)
- plasticsoprano 2y agoI had a similar event with a wart on my palm. Tried everything but it wouldn’t go away until one day I had a bicycle crash that ripped it out. Much blood, never returned.
- tempest_ 2y agoI would assume the bandage wrapping would produce a similar environment to the duct tape cure, just a bit more enforced and extreme.
- eigenspace 2y agoMaybe, but I kinda doubt it. The bandages weren't water-tight around my toes. I suspect the relevant thing was that there was increased immune activity in my foot due to the wounds (or it was just a coincidence)
- kristianp 2y agohttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duct_tape_occlusion_therapy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duct_tape_occlusion_therapy
- baggy_trough 2y agoWhat worked for me after multiple years of trying to get rid of one of these damn things is salicylic acid plaster held in place by wrap. You have to apply acid to it on a continuous basis to get it to dissolve enough and trigger the immune system.
- apatheticonion 2y agoCrushed up aspirin is another great and accessible treatment for warts I have found to be effective.
- adolph 2y agoGiven mention of Salicylic Acid in other comments, using aspirin makes sense as they have the same active compound. Salicylates have been derived from the willow tree bark. The Sumerians were noted to have used remedies derived from the willow tree for pain management as far back as 4000 years ago. . . . It was not until 1899 when a modified version named acetylsalicylic acid was registered and marketed by Bayer under the trade name aspirin. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519032/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519032/
- Beijinger 2y agoAspirin should be less effective. But you could try crushed Aspirin with a drop of vinegar. This should give you Salicylic Acid. Vinegar alone is also a treatment. Edit: Both Salicylic Acid and Aspirin inhibit Cyclooxygenase in your body. This is the main mode of action. Aspirin is much softer to the stomach. Against warts, the acidic effect should be the important one, hence, contrary to oral consumption, Salicylic Acid should be the preferred choice.
- Sam6late 2y agoI, as a 8 year old kid witnessed a tiny bit of vinegar pickle used by a"barber " for warts.Egyptian "barber surgeon" in early 1900s used to be one who perform medical and grooming services from treating warts to bloodletting, tooth extraction, and minor surgeries, in addition to providing haircuts, shaves. One of those barbers blinded Taha Hussien, one of 'the most influential 20th-century Egyptian writers and intellectuals, and a leading figure of the Arab Renaissance and the modernist movement in the Arab world. ' He contracted ophthalmia at the age of two, and as the result of false treatment by an unskilled practitioner, he became blind' 'In 1950, he was appointed Minister of Education, in which capacity he led a call for free education and the right of everyone to be educated'-held the position of chief editor of a number of newspapers. ' I have read many of his novels and never imagined he was blind at the time, it was not an issue or perhaps never brought up.
- bucket2015 2y agoI was looking at this recently. Although duct tape doesn't always win vs cryotherapy, it's definitely a valid treatment: * Silver duct tape occlusion in treatment of plantar warts in adults: Is it effective? (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/dth.13342 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/dth.13342) found that cryotherapy outperformed duct tape over a 8-week treatment period. * Duct Tape Occlusion Therapy in the Treatment of Plantar Warts (https://conservancy.umn.edu/items/4e958e09-839b-4496-972f-cf78f3417d44 https://conservancy.umn.edu/items/4e958e09-839b-4496-972f-cf...) is a case study of treating one one patient with large plantar wart. * Successful treatment of refractory plantar wart with duct tape (https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(21)01507-3/abstract https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(21)01507-3/abstract) is another similar case of treating a refractory (treatment-resistant) wart with a duct tape.
- tengbretson 2y agoThis is something I fought with for years and I tried nearly every trick imaginable. The only thing that has ever worked (and for me personally, it has a 100% success rate) was zinc sulfate supplementation. I applied the methods used in this paper[1] and it worked unbelievably well. [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11952542/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11952542/
- morganw 2y agoYou took 10mg/kg ? Any stomach upset or other side effects? [edited to remove comment about Recommended Daily Allowance (USA) which is about a different form of zinc.]
- tengbretson 2y agoYes I did. It definitely caused some nausea for me when taking on an empty stomach, but taking it with even a small amount of food seemed to eliminate that entirely.
- newt_thrash 2y ago[dead]
- newt_thrash 2y ago[dead]
- litoE 2y agoWhen I was a kid I had lots of warts on the back of my hand. My mother took me to her cousin, a respected dermatologist. He said that Plan "A" was the "witch doctor cure": I had to steal a banana (buying it would not work). I then had to eat the banana without anyone seeing me, rub the inside of the banana peel on the warts and then bury the peel in the garden, so that it would never be found. Plan "B" was cryotherapy. I tried Plan "A", and it worked! The only concern is that now, almost 70 years later, I am telling the story and the warts could come back :-)
- panphora 2y agoGet ready to steal another banana
- DoreenMichele 2y agoI'm semi confident "banana peel" was also on the list of wart treatments I had years ago, so I'm guessing the pertinent part was likely rubbing the peel on the warts.
- polotics 2y agoThe rest of the instructions surely was effective in ensuring that the banana rubbing would be done for long and hard enough!
- hinkley 2y agoNo, the pertinent part was having a ritual. There’s a little understood pathway in the brain and immune system where you can will your body to attack the virus that causes warts. There’s another cure that involves tracing it on paper and burning the paper every day until the wart is gone. The last time I had a wart, I decided to cut it out because I was so sick of having it on a tender part of my finger. I know for sure I didn’t get the base of the wart, but within a week both that wart and my other tiny wart were gone. I just finally had enough of the freeloader and my body got the message.
- DoreenMichele 2y ago
- josefresco 2y agoI've had probably the worst wart experience you can imagine, and the only thing that eventually "worked" was stopping the medication I was taking to suppress my immune system. I tried every treatment, even experimental but 3 weeks after I stopped my meds (a JAK inhibitor biologic): POOF gone.
- zamalek 2y agoMy mother read in one of her urban legend "housewife tale" books that potato skins (white side on the skin, under a bandage) would remove all manner of skin issues. This definitely worked for warts, but I'm not sure if by the same mechanism as duct tape. N=1, but this also worked for some sort of embolism that I had on my wrist.
- 1970-01-01 2y agoTurn a can of computer spray upside down and it becomes DIY cryotherapy. Cover the healthy skin with aluminum foil or ducktape, or you will burn yourself. Obviously, do not breathe the propellant. https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/10454/what-causes-compressed-air-from-dust-off-cans-to-freeze-but-only-when-turne https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/10454/what-cause...
- ssl-3 2y agoSafer method: Get a can of "air" that still uses the smaller size of straw (they've broadly gotten bigger in recent years). The OD of this straw is close-enough to that of the plastic tube of a Q-Tip. Cleanly off one end of the Q-Tip, nice and square, and then install the cut end into the nozzle on the can. Then invert, point away from people, and spray for just a second or less. The refrigerant travels down the tube in largely liquid form. It boils off and evaporates once it reaches the remaining cotton end of the Q-Tip, becoming stupidly cold. Congratulations, you now have a DIY cryotherapy rig. It boils off fast and is coldest whilst still boiling. One should experiment with it first to get an idea of how it works. With the valve disengaged (finger off the trigger), touching the still-boiling liquid on the remaining cotton Q-Tip end to the wart will flash freeze it. Wear eye protection in case it goes wrong (which we should all be doing anyway when dealing with compressed anything, including canned "air" in its intended use). (This method also works well for dispensing just a tiny, controlled amount of lots of other stuff that comes in aerosol cans.)
- foobarian 2y agoI did this several times, and what worked on the successful attempt was to engage the valve partially, creating a slow trickle of the cold liquid. I placed the end of the tube to the wart, and let the liquid pour over it until it visibly turned a lighter shade (presumably from freezing). The previous times, just a few drops was not enough to achieve this. The challenge was to balance the valve just the right amount so that it doesn't overshoot the affected area.
- spuz 2y agoNo type of physical removal or topical treatment worked for me. What eventually got rid of them was when I was prescribed terbinafine to treat toenail fungus. I couldn't take it for more than 2 weeks due to side effects which wasn't enough to get rid of the fungus but at least I don't have any more warts. I don't think this "treatment" has actually been tested so take this as anecdotal.
- switch007 2y agoOh man nail fungus is a whole other thing! Fascinating topic. If you believe random Redditors for example, going keto can get rid of it
- wsloth514 2y agoTo add my story, there is another solution that is available. When I was born, I had a wart on the bottom of my foot that I never thought anything of. But during my teenage years (~20 years ago), the wart started to multiple. It eventually became a small wart colony on the bottom of my foot and began to bother me. I went to see a foot specialist. They discovered that warts are actually a virus and could be treated by taking an oral medication. Apparently, the virus responds to something in a pig's liver ( I don't remember the name). But I took this pill for a few months. The Dr said, if the virus responded to the medication, the warts will start to turn black and begin to spread throughout the body. The black skin is the wart cells dying off. The medication has a really high efficiency rate (I think it was like 70-80% of the time it works). He was right. I went about once a week where he would scrap the dead black wart cells off my foot. The warts also spread to my thumb and finger. But keeping to the medication. They all went away and the skin grew back ( no marks or scaring). It was literally like magic. Yes, it hurt when he scrapped the dead cells off and it took a long time (~3 months maybe?). But they never grew back. The Dr said they will never come back because my immune system will fight it. To add to the duct tape part. I believe (can't remember), at first, That the doctor would apply duct tape to my foot to help speed the effectiveness of the medication. But only before it started to turn black. Afterwards, he just used a bandage. I didn't use or need it for my hand though.
- seabass-labrax 2y agoDo you still have your medical records around in order to share the name of the treatment with HN? It sounds fascinating.
- alchemist1e9 2y agoNot OP but I have a hunch they used Cimetidine as there has been much debate over it throughout the years. One example: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14693487/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14693487/ It’s typically used for stomach acid but I know of doctors who use it off label in higher doses for viral warts … which I thought all warts are fwiw, but perhaps I’m wrong.
- roflchoppa 2y agoI’m writing this because I suffered for years with warts on my fingers next to my nail bed that would never go away. I used to take razor blades and try to get as close as I could to the nerve endings in the warts. The only thing that worked was “Mr Flanders Magic Wart Cream” out of Oregon. I’d like to thank the random lady who saw duct tape on my hands, and gave me the suggestion to try it out. If you suffer from warts, try getting the cream it’s worth it.
- buildsjets 2y agoThis product appears to be no longer available for sale... based on the patent at https://patents.google.com/patent/US20180098989A1/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US20180098989A1/en , the active ingredient was Fluorouracil, which turns out to be a pretty potent chemotherapy drug for skin cancer patients. https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-16269/fluorouracil-topical/details https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-16269/fluorouracil-topica... https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/treatment/drugs/fluorouracil https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/treatment/drug... So that's probably why it is no longer being sold over-the-counter as a magic wart cream. It is used for warts and generic Fluorouracil cream can still be prescribed by a doctor, but it's probably a good idea to pay attention to the cautions/warnings.
- janci 2y agoI had warts for years as a kid, I had one large on my left palm, that somehow transferred to the same place on right palm and a few little on fingers. Cryotherapy did not help as they grew back soon. Supposedly anti-wart band-aids did not work. What finally worked was onion. Cut onion, rub it on the wart few times a day. They were gone in a few weeks and never came back. It worked like magic and I could literally see them getting smaller every day.
- scotty79 2y agoDamn, I was burning mine using silver oxide. I went a little overboard with that I have chemical burn scars to proove it.
- otterley 2y ago(2002)
- codemiscreant 2y agoLots of anecdotes on cures so here is mine: had loads of warts through childhood. Received cryotherapy but they returned. In my teens got a summer job priming tobacco and within days they completely disappeared and I haven’t had another decades later.
- cduzz 2y agoMy kid had a wart on one foot, where he got a small injury while walking barefoot at the gym pool. Doctor recommended soaking the foot in hot water (As hot as he could bare) and using "compound w" (salicylic acid) topically for until the wart was gone and a bit after. After about 6 weeks the wart did indeed vanish an has not returned.
- kbrkbr 2y agoCan't wait for the study with duct tape in conjunction with wd40. This is nerdy stuff :D
- pitdicker 2y agoAs it was explained to me warts are caused by a virus, which at some point the local skin tissue no longer attacks. Any treatment that provokes the immune system in the area without damaging the tissue too much has a change of waking up the immune system to the wart's virus. If that is true it is no surprise to me all sorts of folk medicine work on warts.
- astura 2y agoAlso, most warts spontaneously resolve with no specific treatment.
- throwwartsaway 2y agoFrom my experience, neither has been efficient. I could not get rid of warts for 3 years. The plantar ones were unkillable by cryotherapy and small warts that were spread throughout hands would come back. I took HPV 9-valent vaccine, I am not sure whether it helped or not but it could have increased immune response to the family of viruses. About 6 months after the last dose, I started eating garlic every day and increased dose of vitamin D-3 and C (6,000 iu and 1500mg to be exact) which I have already been taking daily. I have noticed that 5 days in, a hard to treat wart on my thumb started getting smaller. A few weeks later there was no signs of multiple plantar warts. Ever since I am just not getting warts. Sometimes when I miss a lot of sleep one will pop up on my hand for a few days and disappear. It's an immune system issue. It was not placebo either, I have increased vitamins doses / started eating garlic for completely different reasons and was surprised to see the wart disappear all out of the sudden. Also there were multiple studies where the efficency of inter-lesion administration of the vaccine had quite high success rate. This is a recent one I could find now: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1346-8138.16905 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1346-8138.1... I'm guessing this is not going to get very popular though, cryotherapy is like SaaS, the vaccine is buy once. The doctor I visited earned good money to run his freezing device which accounted for a 10 minute visit. It's a shame because while having persistent warts is not the end of the world, it's a really pesky problem to have and there are solutions to it, but they are not easily available.
- bishop77 2y agoHere's what worked for me on my palms and sole: I gently scrape off the upper layers of the skin on the affected area with a skalpel, close (but not reaching) the point of bleeding, which then I cover with a generous amount of table salt. The salt sucks the blood through the thinned layer of skin resulting a small redish heap. After approx 10-20 minutes I wipe off the salt with alcohol. During the next 24hrs a relatively thick scab develops which falls off during the next couple of days.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- hyperific 2y agoI had one on my heel for the longest time. I tried duct tape, freezing, all sorts of OTC tricks. Eventually a podiatrist tried this beetle acid stuff "cantharidin" and that knocked it out in 3-4 treatments. Hasn't come back since.
- Stratoscope 2y agoSeveral years ago I had a wart on a finger. I used Compound W Nitro Freeze on it (not the other Compound W which is salicylic acid). So basically an at-home OTC cryotherapy. It only needed one treatment, and the wart fell off a few days later and never recurred. A year or two after that, I got a plantar wart on my foot. I gave it the same treatment with the same result: the wart fell off within a week. In both cases, the treatment was painless, with no apparent damage to other tissue and no scarring. Needless to say, I recommend this stuff. Be sure to read the instructions thoroughly before using. https://www.compoundw.com/products/compound-w-nitrofreeze https://www.compoundw.com/products/compound-w-nitrofreeze
- blahyawnblah 2y agoI had a plantar wart that just would not go away. Frozen off and came back 3 times. Did the duct tape thing consistently for about 10 weeks. Worked great. It didn't go away quickly but after the 10 weeks I just kind of stopped doing it and at some point a while later just randomly noticed it was gone.
- emeril 2y agowhat people don't realize is that by putting tape/etc. on a wart for any extended period, there's a chance you may cause some minor nerve/circulatory issue whereas cryotherapy doesn't have the risk... I always opt for cryotherapy when my kids have a wart and it works perfectly/quickly/easily and no issues...
- tim333 2y agoMy personal experiment, after having read about duct tape and this on a normal but stubborn wart on the leg: Home cryotherapy - did nothing - I tried it about 9 times. Duct tape - Made my leg itch, gave up after 5 days. Bazuka (normal salicylic acid stuff) - worked! Although it took its time - like 10 weeks.
- VagabundoP 2y agoI had some big awkward ones, one right under my big toe. I kept using pumice stones on that one like a demon until my immune system got the message and did the business.
- a2800276 2y ago"One patient enrolled in the duct tape arm lost his study wart in a trampoline toe-amputation accident and was also not included in our analysis." Nor was the cryo group was spared from trauma: " 1 young child actually vomited in fear of pain before each application." Which also goes to show it's a good thing studies like this are conducted even though warts are 'harmless'