How To Get Rid Of Common Warts

What natural and home remedies get rid of common warts fast?

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The ultimate goal of the medical therapies (not the surgical treatments) is to get your body to recognize the wart as something foreign and to destroy it, much like the body destroys a cold virus. Home care is effective in making the wart or warts go away. No matter what technique you use, warts will disappear 60%-70% of the time.

Garlic, Vitamin C paste, fruit juice soaks, duct tape applications and even hypnosis are touted as natural treatments for warts, but none have been proven to be effective.

Are Warts Contagious?

Humanpapilloma viruses (HPV) cause warts. HPV viruses that cause warts are contagious. Usually, the virus is spread by direct skin-to-skin contact, especially if the skin is damaged or cut. It's possible to spread the virus to other parts of your own skin. You also can get them indirectly from contaminated surfaces like a gym mat or shower floor.

What over-the-counter (OTC) drugs get rid of common warts fast?

Cryotherapy OTC product used to freeze the area of the common wart using dimethyl ether and propane are available. Make sure that you follow the package instructions exactly as described, and don't get the product on surrounding skin that is intact.

Salicylic acid can be used topically to chemically burn the wart off the skin. Salicylic acid should not be used in people with diabetes or in areas where there is poor blood circulation or cosmetic areas such as the face or around the eyes. Moreover, follow the directions when treating warts with nonprescription medications. If salicylic acid gets on normal skin, it can cause burning or redness, and rarely infection or scarring. The skin usually returns to normal when you stop applying the salicylic acid.

Which specialties of doctors treat common warts?

Dermatologists are skin specialists who can use several different modalities to eliminate warts quickly. Lasers, medications and even surgery can be used to treat warts.

SLIDESHOW

Types of Warts: Symptoms, Removal, and Treatment See Slideshow

References

Egawa, Nagayasu, and John Doorbar. "The Low-Risk Papillomaviruses." Virus Research http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.virusres.2016.12.017.

King-fan Loo, Steven, and William Yuk-ming Tang. "Warts (Non-Genital)." Clinical Evidence 6 (2014): 1-28.

Miller, D.J., and R.J. Strauch. "Management of Cutaneous Warts of the Hand." J Hand Surg Am 40.11 Nov. 2015: 2274-276.