Common skin warts are actually caused by a virus. Your immune system will eventually get rid of the virus and allow your skin to return to normal. The catch is that this can take about a year!
If you don't want to wait that long, there are a number of ways to get rid of them. Freezing them with liquid nitrogen or surgically removing them can be done by me in my office. (Unfortunately, that freezing spray that you can buy over the counter is just not cold enough to get rid of warts, and the acid treatment often fails and is kind of painful.) Aldara (generically known as imiquod) is a prescription cream that can work, and does not sting or burn. However, it is very expensive and not covered by most health insurances.
As an intriguing alternative, duct tape may work (this link is for a technical audience and may require free registration) in getting rid of warts. Yes, duct tape: 101 uses, now 102!
There are only three clinical studies on this, though that's kind of interesting since you could imagine there would be none. The effectiveness is not 100%, but it also doesn't seem to be harmful either. The idea is that covering warts with duct tape causes localized inflammation and irritation, which in turn stimulates an immune system response that helps in getting rid of the warts. This is supposed to be how freezing warts works, too.
The treatment with duct tape in clinical studies is:
- Cover the wart with a piece of duct tape for seven straight days.
- Then, remove the tape for 12 hours overnight.
- Repeat Steps 1 and 2 as needed for up to 6-8 weeks.
Again, there are no wart treatments that are 100% effective. However, this method can be helpful and seems otherwise to have no harmful side-effects unless you are simply allergic to duct tape.
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