Diseases and Conditions
Plantar warts
What you can do
What to expect from your doctor
Overview
Symptoms
Causes
Risk factors
Complications
Diagnosis
Treatment
Lifestyle and home remedies
Prevention
Preparing for an appointment
Lifestyle and home remedies
Many people have removed warts with these self-care tips:
- Peeling medicine (salicylic acid). Nonprescription wart removal products are available as a patch or liquid. Usually, you're instructed to wash the site, soak it in warm water, and gently remove the top layer of softened skin with a pumice stone or emery board. Then after the skin has dried, you apply the solution or patch. Patches are usually changed every 24 to 48 hours. Liquid applications are generally used daily. You may need repeated applications on a regular basis over several weeks to months to see results.
- Freezing medicine (cryotherapy). Nonprescription medicines that freeze the wart include Compound W Freeze Off and Dr. Scholl's Freeze Away. The Food and Drug Administration cautions that some wart removers are flammable and shouldn't be used around fire, flame, heat sources (such as curling irons) and lit cigarettes.
- Duct tape. Using duct tape to remove warts is a harmless but unproven approach. To try it, cover the wart with silver duct tape, changing it every few days. Between applications, soak the wart and gently remove dead tissue with a pumice stone or emery board. Then leave the wart open to the air to dry for a few hours before covering it with tape again.