Nobody likes a wart, just the word alone makes you turn your face in disgust. How warts got such a bad rap I don’t know, but personally, I want nothing to do with them. Especially after reading which virus is behind all the hoopla.
So which virus is likely the culprit? According to Webmd.com, ‘Common warts are actually an infection in the top layer of skin, caused by viruses in the human papillomavirus, or HPV, family. When the virus invades this outer layer of skin, usually through a tiny scratch, it causes rapid growth of cells on the outer layer of skin – creating the wart.’ (1)
“HPV is ubiquitous,” says dermatologist Conway Huang, MD, an associate professor of dermatologic surgery and cutaneous laser surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “We all come in contact with it,” throughout our lives, such as when shaking hands, turning doorknobs, or typing on keyboards. (1)
Scientists have identified more than 100 unique types of the virus. And most people will have at least one common wart at sometime in their lives, usually on their hands. (1)
Warts come in all shapes and sizes.
Common Warts
- Common warts usually grow on fingers, hands, knees, and elbows. A common wart is dome-shaped and is usually grayish-brown. It has a rough surface with black dots.
- Flat warts are also called juvenile warts, probably because kids get them more often than adults do. These warts are small and about the size of a pinhead. They’re smoother than other kinds of warts and have flat tops. A flat wart may be pink, light brown, or yellow. Most kids who get flat warts have them on their faces, but flat warts can also grow on arms, knees, or hands. There can be as many as 100 flat warts all clustered together.
- Although most warts are painless, a wart on the bottom of the foot – called a plantar wart – can really hurt. It can feel like you have a stone in your shoe. To prevent plantar warts, do not walk barefoot in public places – like a gym locker or at a public pool. Also, change your shoes and socks every day and keep your feet clean and dry.
- You’ve probably seen filiform warts. They’re the kind that witches in movies and fairytale books have on their chins or noses. But you don’t have to be a witch to get one! A filiform wart has a finger-like shape and usually is flesh-colored. It often grows on or around the mouth, eyes, or nose. (2)
No need to go to the dermatologist to remove warts, although it might be faster it’s usually not pain-free to you or your wallet!
Try this method first:
How to Get Rid of Warts
Method #1: Duct Tape (1)
Here’s what to do:
- Thoroughly wash and dry the body area with the wart.
- Cover it securely with a piece of duct tape. Leave the tape in place for 6 days.
- Remove the tape and soak the area in warm water for about 5 minutes.
- Use a clean file or pumice to abrade the wart, gently scraping its surface. Dedicate this file or pumice to one person and use it only for this purpose, so that you do not spread the virus to other people or other areas of your body.
- Leave the wart uncovered overnight on the day that you remove the duct tape and soak the wart.
- Apply a clean piece of duct tape the next morning, and repeat the process until the wart is completely gone. The amount of time and repetitions it takes to get rid of the wart varies from individual to individual and wart to wart.
Method #2: Apple Cider Vinegar (3)
Here’s what to do:
- Thoroughly wash and dry the body area with the wart.
- Soak a cotton ball in Apple Cider Vinegar making sure it is saturated
- Squeeze excess ACV from the cotton ball and place on the wart.
- Cover it with a bandaid
- Repeat this process every morning and night until the wart is completely gone
- For good measure do one final treatment to ensure that the roots have been killed
As with the process above it may take several weeks to 2 months but it is effective and painless.
