Only Witches Want Warts

I noticed the wart while clapping my hands during cheerleading practice. After examining it closely in the semi privacy of our small trailer, I realized it must be a wart. I tried to pull it off. Biting didn't work. Bleach. Scissors. Finally, I took my mothers nail clippers to it, and after several painful minutes, my palm bloody, the wart was removed. Unfortunately, it returned with a vengeance weeks later, and my hand sprouted several new growths. I didn't know much about warts, except that it was itchy, a little painful, and extremely embarrassing. They came back often, and I never found a reliable cure.

Warts are a local skin growth caused by the human papillomavirus. Although they are considered contagious, it is not uncommon for only one family member to have them. There is no evidence that warts are caused by toads, and as long as you practice basic hygiene, you can avoid getting them from your family members. Often, warts affect only one area of the body. The common wart is most often found on the hands and knees.

There are many different kinds of cures for warts. I have a large family, and most of my children, at one time or another, have been infected with warts. We have tried most of the following cures, and can speak to the effectiveness of them.

Usually, when a child has warts, you are told to wait for them to go away. While this may work, it often takes a very long time. My experience has been that as you wait, some warts go away, some warts get bigger, and new warts appear.

A common over the counter wart remedy is salicylic acid. This is found in products such as Compound W. The wart is covered with the product, often in the form of a liquid or gel, then usually covered with a band-aid. The salicylic acid dissolves the protein which makes up the wart. Within about ten days, the wart is gone. While this is effective at treating most common warts, there are some down sides. First, it is not inexpensive. If you have several children with warts, or many warts, it takes a lot of treatment. Second, the liquid is sticky, and takes a bit to dry. Not a problem if you are an adult. However, with children, the acid sometimes gets rubbed off before it has time to dry. Third, the acid dries in an unattractive white lump. As long as you cover it with a bandage, it won't be seen. If you don't cover it, then your skin colored warts become bright white lumps. Finally, salicylic acid burns. The burning pain you feel means the acid is doing its job. Once again, if you are an adult, this is no big deal. Children do not have the same pain tolerance.

Freezing is another over the counter method that works, but has some drawbacks. The treatment  freezes warts at minus 70F. This is usually effective after several treatments. In my experience, the freezing does not work as well as salicylic acid. It is also more expensive. It also hurts more. I have found that treating large warts with a combination of over the counter freeze medication, along with salicylic acid is more effective. It is not faster. Most warts still take about ten days to die.

There are many home remedies to treat warts. You can find many pages of herbal and home remedies. Here, I will share the three home treatments I have found to be the most effective. The best thing about these treatments is they are inexpensive, natural, pain free and effective. Using any of the following methods, you can be rid of warts within two weeks. These methods don't hurt, and there is no scarring afterward.

One home remedy for warts is apple cider vinegar. Simply soak a cotton ball in apple cider vinegar, then with a bandage, affix the cotton ball to the wart. This is most effective if the wart is softened in water first, then rubbed lightly with an emery board. I used this treatment on my children after they got out of the bath. It does work, and takes about ten days to two weeks. The drawbacks are: this works mainly on the hands, as it is too difficult to keep in place anywhere else on the body; it is difficult to keep kids from pulling it off to look at the wart. This is a simple, safe and effective treatment which doesn't cost much money.

A second natural wart remedy is duct tape. The theory behind it is that the wart suffocates under the tape. Again, it is quite simple. Wrap the wart with duct tape. After one week, replace the tape. Repeat until the wart is gone. To make this treatment more effective, soak the wart in warm water, then gently rub it with an emery board. This was the favorite treatment of one son. He liked the look of his finger wrapped in duct tape. It was a lot cooler than a band-aid. The girls did not favor the look of grey tape on their hands. Again, a drawback to duct tape is that it is hard to put anywhere other than on the fingers.

The most effective herbal remedy for warts is CoQ-10. One daughter was plagued by several large warts on both hands, and wrists. She had even developed a few on her face. For her hands, we tried every over the counter remedy available. We even tried different brands, with similar ingredients. We tried some of the home remedies that had worked on her siblings. Nothing helped, and the warts got so bad that the school nurse called me. She suggested a dermatologist. When I took my daughter to the doctor, he was hesitant to remove the warts, for fear of scarring her beautiful face. He suggested waiting, and trying another round of salicylic acid. He gave us a stronger prescription and said to call in two weeks. Desperate, I phoned a friend. She is a fellow massage therapist, and holistic practitioner. Immediately, she suggested CoQ-10. It is a health supplement, taken for heart health. It also supports immune function. I was doubtful, but desperate. After a week, taking on 100 mg tablet daily, the warts appeared to be getting smaller. I watched closely, and by two weeks, they had disappeared entirely. The huge wart on her hand, gone. The two warts on her face, gone. Even all the tiny warts on her hands were gone.  The school nurse phoned again. Now she explained that her teenage son also suffered from warts, and some had become embarrassingly large. She wanted to know our secret. I told her the cure, and within a month, his warts had also dissolved.

After that first treatment with CoQ-10, I have used it exclusively for my children when they are plagued by warts. I have seen it dissolve warts on hands, wrists, knees, feet, and faces. Ingest one tablet daily, until the warts are completely gone. I say this, because one of my older children called to get the name of the "magic wart pill". She heard from some of the younger kids that it worked well, and she had developed a wart on her face. She wanted it gone, but was concerned about scarring. A visit to the dermatologist had previously left a scar as the result of her treatment. I suggested she try CoQ-10. After she purchased it, she asked how to best break the capsules open to rub it on her warts. Don't rub it on your warts. Ingest it daily, and you will see amazing results.