3 ms·

I'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 i

I'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 ago
I’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 ago
I 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
  Is the thickness of skin superficial to the blood vessels constant even on the wart area, or has the wart additional skin, making it thicker in that area than usual? Or, a different way of putting that, if you were to follow the normal contour of the skin when shaving the wart down, would you end up drawing blood?
  - s1artibartfast 2y ago
    A wart itself protrudes above skin level and extends below normal skin level. They have much more visualization than adjacent tissue, and you can see this in many medical diagrams. When I cut, I do it horizontally in layers, until blood just starts to bead from cut vessels. In my experience, the wart will always start to bleed before the adjacent healthy tissue. The vessels naturally die back from the new surface, and the process can be repeated in a few days.
    - seabass-labrax 2y ago
      > The vessels naturally die back from the new surface, and the process can be repeated in a few days. Interesting; are these (presumably clotted) blood vessels the threads that another comment mentioned? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40417294 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40417294
      - s1artibartfast 2y ago
        You can see a digram of the blood supply here [1]. If you look at this paper, you will find several warts with black dots. Those are blood vessels which have reached the surface.[2] https://sanderspodiatry.com.au/blog/2021/02/23/plantar-warts-causes-symptoms-and-treatment/ https://sanderspodiatry.com.au/blog/2021/02/23/plantar-warts... https://www.dovepress.com/dermoscopy-features-of-cutaneous-warts-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-IJGM https://www.dovepress.com/dermoscopy-features-of-cutaneous-w...
  - denton-scratch 2y ago

garciasn 2y ago

I’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 ago

I 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
Is the thickness of skin superficial to the blood vessels constant even on the wart area, or has the wart additional skin, making it thicker in that area than usual? Or, a different way of putting that, if you were to follow the normal contour of the skin when shaving the wart down, would you end up drawing blood?
- s1artibartfast 2y ago
  A wart itself protrudes above skin level and extends below normal skin level. They have much more visualization than adjacent tissue, and you can see this in many medical diagrams. When I cut, I do it horizontally in layers, until blood just starts to bead from cut vessels. In my experience, the wart will always start to bleed before the adjacent healthy tissue. The vessels naturally die back from the new surface, and the process can be repeated in a few days.
  - seabass-labrax 2y ago
    > The vessels naturally die back from the new surface, and the process can be repeated in a few days. Interesting; are these (presumably clotted) blood vessels the threads that another comment mentioned? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40417294 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40417294
    - s1artibartfast 2y ago
      You can see a digram of the blood supply here [1]. If you look at this paper, you will find several warts with black dots. Those are blood vessels which have reached the surface.[2] https://sanderspodiatry.com.au/blog/2021/02/23/plantar-warts-causes-symptoms-and-treatment/ https://sanderspodiatry.com.au/blog/2021/02/23/plantar-warts... https://www.dovepress.com/dermoscopy-features-of-cutaneous-warts-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-IJGM https://www.dovepress.com/dermoscopy-features-of-cutaneous-w...
- denton-scratch 2y ago