Your skin is your largest organ and in many ways you can determine a variety of health conditions simply by looking at the color, texture and other telltale signs, like warts. Warts are small skin eruptions that can show up just about anywhere as flat, protruding and different color growths. Most wart outbreaks are the result of the human papillomavirus (HPV) which many people have as a non-threatening asymptomatic condition but could be dangerous if sexually transmitted.
There is currently an HPV vaccine for teens to help prevent the spread of HPV however it has not been determined yet if this vaccine can eradicate wart growth. In the meantime, conventional medicine can remove warts by using several techniques which include excision (surgically cutting off), cryotherapy (freezing), laser, or chemical peel treatments.
Rather than rush into a potentially invasive procedure, try these 4 fact based natural remedies to remove warts. They are safe, laboratory tested, easy to apply, and just may save you money as well.
Tea Tree Oil (TTO)
This highly aromatic oil comes from a tree indigenous to the swampy southeast Australian coast. It has been found that the anti-fungal, antibacterial properties of TTO are highly beneficial when applied to warts.
In a study by researchers from Northern Ireland Public Health Laboratory, Department of Bacteriology which was published in Complimentary Therapies in Clinical Practice (11/08), it was stated that,
“We detail the first report in the peer-reviewed literature of the successful treatment with TTO of a pediatric patient with warts on her right middle finger. TTO was applied topically once daily to the lesions for 12 days, with a successful outcome, including complete re-epithelization of the infected areas. The case highlights the potential use of TTO in the treatment of common warts due to human papilloma virus.”
Vitamin A
The following is the description of a case study of the topical treatment of vitamin A by researchers at the of Health Sciences, School of Kinesiology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada and published in Virology Journal (1/12),
“The subject is a healthy, physically-active 30 old female with a 9 year history of common warts on the back of the right hand. The warts resisted treatment with salicylic acid, apple cider vinegar and an over-the-counter blend of essential oils marketed for the treatment of warts. Daily topical application of natural vitamin A derived from fish liver oil (25,000 IU) led to replacement of all the warts with normal skin. Most of the smaller warts had been replaced by 70 days. A large wart on the middle knuckle required 6 months of vitamin A treatment to resolve completely.”
Duct Tape
That’s right, it’s not a typo, duct tape. Actually it is called Occlusive Duct Tape Treatment developed by Dr. Jerome Litt. It may not be a formal scientific approach but it is fact based, shown in a study by researchers at the Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH.
Published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, the study was a comparison between removing warts with cryotherapy (freezing) or duct tape. The protocol is described here in Clinical Medicine and Research (CMR),
“The cryotherapy treatment consisted of treatment every 2 to 3 weeks with a 10 second application of liquid nitrogen for up to six treatments. The duct tape arm involved applying a piece of duct tape the size of the wart directly to the wart and removing it 6 days later. An emery board or pumice stone was then used to [gently] scrub the wart after soaking it in water. The wart was left open to the air overnight. The 6-day cycle was repeated the following morning. This process was repeated for up to 2 months [most results were seen in one month].”
The conclusion stated,
“Duct tape occlusion therapy was significantly more effective than cryotherapy for treatment of the common wart.”
Beetle Juice
If you’re in Canada you may want to pick up some Cantharidin for your warts. This is the remedy derived from the blister beetle and is not available in the United States. The description of its mechanism is described as causing, “epidermal cell death, acantholysis [loss of intercellular connections], and clinical blister formation by interacting with mitochondria.”
Cantharidin is applied and covered to eventually form into a blister which heals within one to two weeks. The process is then repeated. CMR reports that, “Cure rates have been reported to be as high as 80% for common, plantar and periungual warts.” and that there is no pain from this remedy.
These 4 fact based natural remedies to remove warts could be all you need to get your skin back to normal. Even if you have struggled with warts for years these approaches just may work.