Warts--tiny, rough, tumor-like outgrowths on the skin--are usually caused by an invasion and fast multiplication of one of the 30 varieties of papiloma virus. Almost all warts can be painful, embarrassing and infectious by touch or by skin that has been shed. There are many methods--physical, herbal and medical--to remove warts.
Drug Therapy
The easiest way to get rid of a wart is to use over-the-counter drugs. Read the descriptions on the labels carefully, and choose the one best suited to your condition. Apply according to the directions, and within a few weeks, depending on the wart and your body's reaction to the drug, the wart will disappear. In most cases, there is no guarantee the medicine will reach down to the wart root. This means the wart can reappear and will be tougher to eliminate. Also the medication might have side effects such as bleeding and pain.
You also can try a salicylic acid preparation. A protein called keratin forms the biggest part of a wart and its bulky coating on top. Salicylic acid can melt keratin and provide relief from warts of all kinds and sizes.
Freezing or Crytotherapy
Sometimes doctors treat warts with liquid nitrogen, a freezing substance. The top dead layers of the wart skin are removed, and a freezing spray or swab of liquid nitrogen is applied to the wart. A blister will appear that will dry up and disappear along with the wart within a few days. There might be some pain and infection associated with the process, but it is a fast efficient method for removing warts, hardly leaving any scars behind.
Home Remedies
Swab the wart twice a day with tea tree oil, or rub a clove of garlic over the wart as many times as possible during the day. You also can try massaging the wart with a banana peel or a vinegar-soaked piece of onion, keeping the peel or onion taped to the wart overnight.
Choke the wart by covering it tightly with tape, preventing air from reaching the wart. Replace the tape every day. Keep it over the wart at all times to provide a warm environment for the skin to become softer.
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