Remove Warts

If already know all about warts and you don't have time to read this entire page and simply want to know the best way to permanently remove warts (without any harsh medical procedures or painful over-the-counter products) then I recommend you read this guide.

Warts are small, benign (harmless) growths caused by a viral infection. They occur on the skin or the mucous membrane. The mucous membrane is the tissue that lines the nose, throat, digestive tract, and other body openings. The viruses that cause warts are members of the human papilloma virus (HPV) family. Warts can be transmitted from one person to another and they can travel from one part of the body to another.

Hand Warts (Common Warts)

Common hand warts grow around the nails, on the fingers, and on the backs of hands. They appear most often where the skin is broken.

Foot Warts (Plantar Warts)

Foot warts are also called plantar warts. Plantar warts usually occur on the ball of the foot, the heel and the bottom of the toes. The skin in these areas is subject to weight, pressure, and irritation and has a tendency to crack or break open, providing an opening for the virus. Foot warts usually do not stick up above the skin. People of all age groups can get plantar warts. But they are most common among adolescents between the ages of twelve and sixteen. The virus can be picked up in locker rooms, swimming pools, or by walking barefooted on dirty surfaces. People with diabetes mellitus (see diabetes mellitus entry) are very likely to develop plantar warts. The warts develop in areas where sores did not heal properly.

Flat Warts

Flat warts are smaller and smoother than other kinds of warts and tend to grow in large numbers. Although they can appear anywhere on the body, flat warts appear most often on the legs of women and the faces of children and young adult males.

Genital Warts

Genital warts are a type of sexually transmitted disease (STD). A sexually transmitted disease (see sexually transmitted diseases entry) is a condition that is passed from one person to another during sexual activity. The forms of HPV that cause genital warts are very contagious. A person who has sexual contact with someone

Over The Counter Treatments

Many over-the-counter wart treatments are available that remove hand and foot warts. These products are usually in the form of lotions, ointments or plasters. They work by removing the skin affected by a wart virus. After treatment, the skin and wart simply drop off. These products must be used with care, however. The chemicals they contain are quite strong and can affect healthy skin as well as infected skin. People with diabetes or heart conditions should not use these products.

Non-prescription drugs are also available for the treatment of flat warts. These products cause the skin to become saturated with water. Over time, the skin layer peels off, taking the wart virus with it. Flat wart remedies can take as long as three months to work, depending on the size and depth of the wart.

If you need to remove your wart quickly there is a safe technique to remove your warts in as little as 3 days.

Moist patches are also another way to get rid of warts. They are placed on a wart for forty-eight hours. Then they are replaced with a new patch. In some cases, the patch may irritate the skin. In that case, the person should switch to a milder medication or stop treatment for a while.

Professional Treatment

One method involves the use of chemicals stronger than those found in non-prescription drugs. The use of these chemicals is often effective, but they may produce some burning and discomfort for a few days.

A second method of wart removal is cryosurgery (pronounced KRY-oh-SUR-juh-ree). Cryosurgery is the process by which tissue is frozen with liquid nitrogen, which has a temperature of about 330° F (200° C). This process freezes the tissue very quickly and the frozen tissue can then simply be removed.

Another method of wart removal is electrocautery in which an electric needle is used to burn the wart. The tissue around the wart is killed and can be peeled off, taking the wart with it. Laser surgery works in a similar way. A laser beam is aimed at the wart and the heat of the laser kills the skin around the wart, and the skin and wart simply fall off.

Side Note

Some warts very resistant to over the counter treatments and even professional treatment. If you have a suborn wart and traditional treatments have not worked (or simply do not want to pay the big money for them) I highly recommend the wart removal technique in this guide.

A number of alternative approaches have been recommended for the treatment of warts. The suggestions listed should not be used for genital warts, which should be treated by a doctor.

For the treatment of common or plantar warts you can try the following:

• Apply a paste made of vitamin C powder to the wart for one to two weeks.
• Place a crushed or sliced clove of garlic over the wart for seven consecutive nights while sleeping.
• Soak the wart in water. Then make scratches in the wart with a sterile needle. Apply drops of thuja dissolved in alcohol to the wart. Repeat several times a day for one to two weeks.
• Tape a piece of banana peel on the wart over night, with the inner side of the peel touching the skin. Repeat nightly for one to two weeks.
• Use duct tape to "suffocate" the wart

Strengthening one's immune system is an objective of some forms of alternative treatment. A stronger immune system may be able to fight off the viruses that cause warts. A well-balanced diet rich in vitamins A, C, and E may help strengthen the immune system. Avoiding stress is thought to be another way of strengthening the immune system.

There are many traditional and non traditional ways to get rid of warts. Based on my research and the results people are getting the best way to permanently remove warts (including planter warts) without any harsh medical procedures or painful over-the-counter products is to follow the steps outlined in this guide.