4 ms·

With 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 sma

by sungam 2y ago

With 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 ago
Eh, 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 ago
  or you can get rid of your disease-ridden roommates. When I got my own pad, my plantar's warts self-resolved.
  - lazide 2y ago
    Gyms 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.
    - don_neufeld 2y ago
      “once it gets a toehold” I see wart you did there.
braiamp 2y ago
How then, can we know that the treatment worked/did anything at all?
- tim333 2y ago
  Timing mostly. If the thing doesn't budge for two years and then gets better in a week with treatment, it probably worked.
- sungam 2y ago
  In many cases very difficult to know for sure
alchemist1e9 2y ago
What do you think of Cimetidine?
- sungam 2y ago
  Not found it to be helpful
  - alchemist1e9 2y ago
    It’s fascinating to have such different opinions on a basic question like this. I have no idea which opinion is more accurate.
technofiend 2y ago
I claim no expertise and only have anecdotal experience, but Bleomycin was effective for me when treating plantar warts. It's an off-label treatment but FYI in case you'd like to investigate for another possible arrow in your proverbial quiver. Just to be clear: this treatment was administered by a dermatologist.
- sungam 2y ago
  Yes this can be helpful
DoreenMichele 2y ago
Firsthand experience: If you have warts that aren't resolving and finally get a better diagnosis than "hypochondriac" for other health issues, this may help you sort out how to finally fix the warts. Inference: If you have persistent, treatment-resistant warts, wonder what else is wrong that you can't seem to fix it.
- CrimsonCape 2y ago
  Can you give some more context if you are comfortable sharing that?
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - Balgair 2y ago
    Not OP, but I had a few warts. Tried cryotherapy for them, but they came back, just slightly to the side of where the original wart was. The thing that managed to have them gone? Less stress. Things were pretty stressful in my life when I got them and while I was stressed out, they were there. Once life got a bit less stressful, the warts just kinda went away. There are other comments in this thread mentioning folk remedies too. It may just be a bit of a placebo effect at play too. You think it works, and due to the magic/madness that is 'biology', it somehow does. The placebo effect is a pretty strong remedy in a lot of cases un/fortunately.
adamredwoods 2y ago
I had bad warts on my foot. I tried the over-the-counter remedies (salicyclic acid, do not recommend), and it only spread all over the foot. I went to the doctor who stated they could freeze it off, but if it was down in the nerve, the pain would be intense. I didn't know what to do, so I did nothing. A few months later, all gone! No trace.
JeremyNT 2y ago
> Usual order of treatments is topical salicyclic acid +/- occlusion with tape -> cryotherapy / topical imiquimod -> curettage / CO2 laser / pulsed dye laser / DCP immunotherapy Salicylic acid seems to be the standard of care here, so I'm curious why tape was compared to cryo in this old study. Was that not true at the time? I used to be a big swimmer and due to some carelessness with footwear in the gym shower I ended up with a wart on the bottom of my foot some years ago. I tried acid alone, which seemed to be working (albeit slowly), so I added duct tape over top which seemed to speed things up a bit. I didn't expect the tape was "doing" anything beyond keeping everything in place and then ensuring that I was exfoliating fully between applications, but who knows?
- sungam 2y ago
  Not sure but salicylic acid can be purchased without prescription so might be hard to find patients that had not already used it

by sungam 2y ago

lazide 2y ago

Eh, 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 ago
or you can get rid of your disease-ridden roommates. When I got my own pad, my plantar's warts self-resolved.
- lazide 2y ago
  Gyms 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.
  - don_neufeld 2y ago
    “once it gets a toehold” I see wart you did there.

braiamp 2y ago

How then, can we know that the treatment worked/did anything at all?

tim333 2y ago
Timing mostly. If the thing doesn't budge for two years and then gets better in a week with treatment, it probably worked.
sungam 2y ago
In many cases very difficult to know for sure

alchemist1e9 2y ago

What do you think of Cimetidine?

sungam 2y ago
Not found it to be helpful
- alchemist1e9 2y ago
  It’s fascinating to have such different opinions on a basic question like this. I have no idea which opinion is more accurate.

technofiend 2y ago

I claim no expertise and only have anecdotal experience, but Bleomycin was effective for me when treating plantar warts. It's an off-label treatment but FYI in case you'd like to investigate for another possible arrow in your proverbial quiver. Just to be clear: this treatment was administered by a dermatologist.

sungam 2y ago
Yes this can be helpful

DoreenMichele 2y ago

Firsthand experience: If you have warts that aren't resolving and finally get a better diagnosis than "hypochondriac" for other health issues, this may help you sort out how to finally fix the warts. Inference: If you have persistent, treatment-resistant warts, wonder what else is wrong that you can't seem to fix it.

CrimsonCape 2y ago
Can you give some more context if you are comfortable sharing that?
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- Balgair 2y ago
  Not OP, but I had a few warts. Tried cryotherapy for them, but they came back, just slightly to the side of where the original wart was. The thing that managed to have them gone? Less stress. Things were pretty stressful in my life when I got them and while I was stressed out, they were there. Once life got a bit less stressful, the warts just kinda went away. There are other comments in this thread mentioning folk remedies too. It may just be a bit of a placebo effect at play too. You think it works, and due to the magic/madness that is 'biology', it somehow does. The placebo effect is a pretty strong remedy in a lot of cases un/fortunately.

adamredwoods 2y ago

I had bad warts on my foot. I tried the over-the-counter remedies (salicyclic acid, do not recommend), and it only spread all over the foot. I went to the doctor who stated they could freeze it off, but if it was down in the nerve, the pain would be intense. I didn't know what to do, so I did nothing. A few months later, all gone! No trace.

JeremyNT 2y ago

> Usual order of treatments is topical salicyclic acid +/- occlusion with tape -> cryotherapy / topical imiquimod -> curettage / CO2 laser / pulsed dye laser / DCP immunotherapy Salicylic acid seems to be the standard of care here, so I'm curious why tape was compared to cryo in this old study. Was that not true at the time? I used to be a big swimmer and due to some carelessness with footwear in the gym shower I ended up with a wart on the bottom of my foot some years ago. I tried acid alone, which seemed to be working (albeit slowly), so I added duct tape over top which seemed to speed things up a bit. I didn't expect the tape was "doing" anything beyond keeping everything in place and then ensuring that I was exfoliating fully between applications, but who knows?

sungam 2y ago
Not sure but salicylic acid can be purchased without prescription so might be hard to find patients that had not already used it