Warts can appear on your skin--usually on hands, feet and face--inside the mouth, and in the genital and rectal area. Doctors normally remove common external skin warts by freezing, cutting, burning or lasering them; they can also be slowly dissolved using a topical commercial wart cream. Many people report success with their own homemade versions of wart cream, especially when used consistently over a period of time. Although you can't use a home remedy on genital warts--these must be removed by a doctor--some homemade lotions, faithfully applied, just might banish those annoying skin warts.
Wart Features
Warts, pale bumpy growths on the skin, are an infection caused by the human papillomavirus, or HPV. There are many different types, including common skin warts, flat warts--usually facial, and more common in children--genital warts, plantar warts--which appear on soles of the feet--and subungal and periungual warts, which appear under and around fingernails and toenails. All warts are contagious, genital warts extremely so, and can be passed either by direct contact or by using a towel or other object an infected person has used. Although some warts slowly disappear on their own, many do not. Untreated warts can be uncomfortable; they may cause pain and bleeding when bumped, as well as embarrassment over their unsightly, even disfiguring, appearance. Also, untreated warts can begin to multiply rapidly. For these reasons, all warts should be treated.
Homemade Wart Removers
For some inexpensive weapons in your war against warts, you need to look no further than your kitchen or medicine cabinet. To utilize salicylic acid--the active ingredient in most commercial wart preparations--simply dissolve an aspirin in a drop or two of water and make a paste. After soaking the wart and surrounding area in warm tap water for 10 minutes--which makes the skin more easily able to absorb the treatment--apply the aspirin paste directly to the wart. You can also use witch hazel for its antioxidant and astringent qualities; simply dab it on with a Q-tip twice a day. Since witch hazel is used to shrink hemorrhoidal tissues, it is certainly worth a try for the purpose of shrinking warts. Many people swear by apple cider vinegar, another potent antibacterial agent, as a wart remedy. Protect the skin around the wart by coating it with white petroleum jelly (Vaseline), then soak a bit of cotton with apple cider vinegar, secure the cotton over the wart with waterproof medical tape, and keep on overnight. Many people report stinging and burning sensations with the use of apple cider vinegar, but consider it a small price to pay to be rid of the wart. You can also enlist Vitamin C--which, like vinegar, has acidic qualities--in your battle against warts. Crush some tablets in water, soak a bit of cotton, and tape. As with the apple cider vinegar recipe, you should coat surrounding skin with Vaseline. To get the most mileage out of your wart remedy, remember to soak wart in warm water beforehand; after a treatment, try filing the remnants down with a nail file, or scrubbing with a brush.
With persistence, you may be able to make your warts disappear.
Precautions
People sometimes mistake cancerous skin lesions for warts. See your doctor before self-treating any wart in order to rule out dangerous diagnoses. If you experience severe pain, swellings or signs of allergic reaction with any homemade or commercial remedy, stop using it and consult a doctor.
