Have you ever had a wart?

[jeter]

God, I have this one. It is the wart from Hell. I have been treating it for like 3 months now. My dermatologist says that it takes a while for them to go away.

But first she said that it would take "a few treatments." Then it was "a couple of months." Now she says it may take up to 4 to 6 months.

I don't mind the length of time. Like I said, I have been treating it for a while now. But I just want a straight answer. How long does it take to treat this mofo.

Has anyone had any experiences with this? How long did it take you to treat it?

[BiggJawn]

1. anywhere from 3 weeks to 5 years.

I had one on my wrist that took 5 years, one on my finger that took 3 years and others that didn't outlast the bottle of smelly stuff.

NEVER any on my "lil buddy"! :evilgrin:

[HERVEPA]

2. Have they tried freezing it off?

[jeter]

4. I'm doing that now

That's why she says it'll take months. I get it freezed every two weeks and use the cream every day.

[jeter]

7. How long does it take if you freeze it?

Should I get it removed by lazer I wonder?

[Kolesar]

26. I had one freezin' treatment

It was ineffective and it hurt. I was limping for a week.

[Avalux]

3. Here's the deal

your wart is caused by a virus, and could be hard as hell to get rid of; sometimes takes a really long time. You'll never get rid of the virus, so chances are you'll have recurrences of warts throughout the rest of your life. You may not though - may never have another one. Viruses are strange creatures.

[amazona]

9. whoa...unnecessarily negative, I think

I suppose in theory the wart could recur, but we had a huge outbreak in my family, with some huge warts involved, in the 1960s, and they never recurred on any of us, even though a few decades have passed. Maybe it depends on the virus?

[Avalux]

23. There are many different kinds of viruses

that cause common warts - human papilloma viruses (same species that causes genital warts). It's entirely possible there will be no recurrence, but a lot of times there are. If you had a wart early in life, that virus is still in the layers of your skin even if you've never have another. Wasn't trying to be too negative, just trying to explain how it works.

[amazona]

5. lots...about 5 seconds...your derm is incompetent!

Your doctor is stealing from you. There is no reason for multiple office visits to treat a wart. Any properly equipped dermatologist or often even a family practitioner can freeze it off in a few seconds -- even the HUGE ones.

I would go to a different derm immediately and have the wart removed. Like I said, even in the 1960s, it was an office procedure that was finished in moments.

I would also take all of the paperwork from the "months" of treatment and report the first dermatologist to your state medical society. There is simply no reason for this. You have been ripped off. THis is nuts.

[jeter]

10. amazona, I have it freezed every other week

It doesn't come off though.

[ZenLefty]

11. Sometimes they don't freeze off in a few seconds

Their roots can go deep.

[jeter]

13. How much would it cost for lazer treatment?

[ZenLefty]

15. I have no idea

In the poorer parts of town (which I hail from), there was the 'cigarette burn' treatment, which was free. It wasn't 100% effective, though, and it could leave a nasty scar.

[brainshrub]

6. Did you know that Duct Tape works on warts?

It does. No kidding.

[HEyHEY]

22. I read that

But how long does it take?

[ZenLefty]

8. Weeks. Sometimes 52-104 of them.

They can be stubborn. And the more you attack them, the stronger they seem to get.

The over-the-counter stuff (salycilic acid, or Compound W) takes the longest. I would bombard it with double the recommended dose, and carve the dead skin away between treatments.

I had better luck at the doctor's office; they would hit it with liquid hydrogen every week or so, and that seemed to get rid of it in about 5-6 weeks. But a $10 co-pay made that a little pricey (and now my co-pay is $20).

[grasswire]

14. duct tape

That's the latest treatment of choice for warts. You cut a circle the size of the wart and cover it. Keep it covered for six days, then take the tape off, soak the wart area in water, rub it with an emery board, and re-cover.

In this study of pediatric patients, the treatment continued for up to two months or until the wart went away. 85 per cent lost their warts, compared with 60 per cent of the patents who received the freezing treatment.

[GumboYaYa]

27. It worked for me.

I was amazed. I had a wart on my toe for years. I tried everything and nothing worked. Low and behold, duct tape cured it.

[cmd]

32. or old fashioned adhesive tape

Same principal. I killed one off on my foot many years ago with tape. You have to keep it on and keep it sealed. No peeking. I kept it on seven days. My doctor recommended it.

[Sparkle]

12. I have never seen a wart. Is it something like a mole?

[WoodrowFan]

16. it's caused by a virus

see this link, warning, don't look at pictures while eating.

http://www.zfootdoc.com/wart.htm

[Mandate My Ass]

17. This may be an old wives' tale but...

it worked for me. My mom wouldn't take me to the doctor's for wart removal so my friend's mother said I should rub raw white potato on it every chance I got. I was skeptical but had no other alternative so every time we had potatoes for dinner I'd pick up the discarded skin and rub the white potatoey part on my wart for a good five minutes. The directions I was given was to rub hard and extract as much of the milky white potato juice to cover the wart as I could and then not to wash it off.

After every application the thing got tinier and drier and more shrivelled and I believe within a matter of weeks it fell off.

[grannylib]

18. I have a little one that keeps recurring on my thumb and I just

bite it off when it starts to crop up. Been working well so far!
(And yes, I spit it out...)

[Avalux]

25. Don't DO THAT!

The virus is in what you're biting off - and contagious. You could get warts in your mouth.

[grannylib]

31. oh. yikes. have been doing it for 20 years but maybe not a good idea

[izzie]

19. As a kid and I pulled it off. My mother almost killed me but....

well it was gone. Bloody mess as I recall.

[spinbaby]

20. Sell it

Old wart cure that's as likely to work as anything else.

[Kolesar]

21. Buy High-strength Salicylic Acid plasters at the pharmacy counter

(I may have some old ones leftover that I can mail you).

I had one freezing nitrogen treatment and will never do another.

You can ask for plasters that are ~25%, not the weak 5% like Compound W.

1. Soak your foot in the hottest water you can tolerate for about 10 minutes. Towel dry, let it finish air drying.

2. Cut a plaster to the shape of the wart and stick it on. Tape over it with medical tape. Leave it on for 24 hours.

3. Peel off the plaster

4. Soak your foot in hot water again.

5. Using an emery board and/or an X-acto knife, cut away the newly-dead skin & wart.

6. Apply another plaster, wait 24 hours and repeat the cycle

Keep this up for about five days, you may wish to take a few days off for your foot to recover.

My dermatologist would have me put a cream called Efudex on the wart during the off days. Efudex is a medication to inhibit regrowth of skin cancer for cancer patients.

Since you cannot buy Efudex w/o a prescription, I would say try the plasters for 5 or 10 weeks and see how you like the results.

The real trick here is the high strength plasters and the hot water that kills the virus.

Notes: Warts do not have deep roots--it just seems that surgery leaves deep looking wounds, so people think they have deep roots. Good luck. If your dermatologist wants to compare notes with my dermatologist about Efudex, I can get a number. It is in my address book. Good luck!

[Kolesar]

33. More treatment details

This is a pm that evolved into a post....

My treatment took at least six weeks. I also had some office visits where the dermatologist did his own slicing, then put some sort of antibiotic liquid on it.

If you don't get results in six weeks, don't panic. If I had it to do over again, I would skip the doctor initially and just try the 40% plasters, razor knife and hot, hot water treatment for a long time.

I had successfully treated small plantar warts with Compound W in the distant past.

I also read that there is some "correlation" between athletes' foot fungus and wart virus. If you have any fungus, treat that! Keep your foot dry and powder it. (I am assuming you have a plantar's wart on your foot, not elsewhere).

I think that duct tape idea sounds like good treatment if you care to switch treatment plans. I think it cuts off the oxygen supply. I have heard of people using nail polish, too.

[grasswire]

24. another recommendation is...

...banana peel. Use it at night, tape a small piece of banana peel over the wart.

The idea is to irritate the wart in a way that will goad your immune system to reject it.

Extract of the thuja plant is the remedy you'll find at natural foods stores, but that did nothing for me. I believe there's an oral medication obtainable from holistic practitioners, too.

[HereSince1628]

28. I had one at the base of my ring finger and pulled it off

I had been bothered by it for months, and tried Compound W and such.
I had been collecting fingernail clams by hand all morning and my skin was really soft. I worked a corner of it free, and then in one yank ripped a hole about an eigth of an inch deep and a quarter of an inch in diameter...it stung like H@##, but only bled a little, and it didn't grow back.

[otohara]

29. Best Treatement - Supplements

Zinc May Effectively Treat Warts http://www.wholehealthmd.com/news/viewarticle/1,1513,1100,00.html

More supplements to consider: Vitamin B complex, 50 mg. 3 times per day, is important in normal cell multiplication. Vitamin C, 4,000-10,000 mg. per day, has a powerful antiviral capacity. L-Cysteine (amino acid), use as directed on the label, is needed for normal skin. Vitamin A, 25,000 IU per day, is needed for normalizing skin and epithelial membranes. Vitamin E, 400-800 IU per day (can be applied to common warts. Cut open a capsule or apply oil every day. Vitamin or enzyme cream can also be applied directly to common warts.) Zinc, 50-80 mg. per day, increases immunity against viruses. Multivitamin and mineral complex, taken as directed on the label, helps normal cell division.

Vitamin C daily is most important in maintaining effective immunity against warts.

Warts

Warts are growths on the skin that are caused by a group of viruses called human papillomaviruses. Most warts are benign and harmless. Some, however, have been linked to an increased risk of cancer. The three types of warts that occur most frequently are plantar warts, common warts and genital warts. Plantar warts occur on the soles of the feet. They may resemble callouses, although they can often be painful to the touch. Many can be identified by their hard center. This type of wart rarely spreads to any other part of the body. Common warts can occur anywhere on the body although they are most commonly found on the hands, fingers, elbows, knees and face. These occur in areas that are constantly under friction. They usually have a rough surface and are slightly darker than normal skin. Common warts may spread if they are handled too much, and these warts are highly contagious. Genital warts are soft growths found around the genital area and anus. These are usually pink in color and may resemble tiny cauliflower heads. These are sexually transmitted and highly contagious. The virus that causes genital warts has been linked to cancers of the genitalia.

How alternative medicine may potentially help?

There are nutrients that may help improve circulation and the healing of warts. Others will boost immunity to help fight against the viruses that cause warts. There are a couple of herbs that may help in the actual removal of a wart.

Herbs

Aloe vera gel can be used topically to treat warts.
Tea tree oil may be an effective topical remedy.
Castor oil can potentially help to remove warts.
Shiitake and reishi mushrooms have potential anti-viral properties that may be helpful.
Vitamins

B-complex may help to improve cell multiplication.
Vitamin C has potential anti-viral properties.
Vitamin A may help to promote healthy skin.
Minerals

Zinc can potentially increase the body's immunity against viruses.

[CO Liberal]

30. I Had One On My Forehead Frozen Off a Few Months Ago

It fell off a few days later. Today, you can't even tell where it was.

[Scottie72]

34. It depends....

Now I had the WART FROM HELL on my thumb. It started to grow and I also began to get more warts on my hands on fingers. (Not good) I was sent to a dermatologist who tried a few types of treatment which included cryo (freezing with Nitrogen) treatments. After a few months he gave up and passed me onto another doctor. His approach was three fold. First he numbed my hands up and then took our a scaple and cut off the layers of dead skin on the warts, he then would freeze the warts. Now luckily I had some local numbing, because when it wore off my Hands thobed in pain. I then was able to obtain some demerahol sp? Anyway the doctor wanted me to home treat the warts also between our visits (which I did). I think it took that doctor about 3 - 4 months to finally get rid of the warts and I have been wart free for about 1.5 years now.

The bad news is that you are more likely to have the warts return so you have keep watch and jump on them early if they start to return.

[SmileyBoy]

35. Yes. On my left foot. I had to have a third of my foot removed.

A MEGA-HUGE mosiac wart. It became infectious. I had to have a good part of the bottom of my left foot removed when I was 12.