How to Remove Warts
How to Remove Warts Without Visiting the Doctor
Many people who have warts want to know how to remove warts at home without paying for expensive medical treatments. Many have heard that doctors’ treatments are not necessarily effective at completely eliminating the warts, or that the warts do come back after an expensive medical treatment. So it makes sense to start off with a far more affordable at-home treatment first to see if that will work for you. There are several different options that you can consider as at-home treatments.
Duct Tape
If you want to know how to remove warts at home, you may first want to start with the duct tape method. Warts are caused by the human papillomavirus, and the goal of the duct tape method is partially to irritate the skin around the wart to trigger an immune response and to suffocate the virus, too. Scientific studies have proven this method to be effective, but it does take time to work. Generally, you will wear duct tape over the wart every day for about six days. Then you will remove the tape, soak the wart in water for about 20 minutes to soften the skin, and then scrape it thoroughly with an emery board. Tape will then be reapplied, and you will repeat the process for about two to three months until the wart is gone.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Another treatment option you can consider if you want to know how to remove warts at home is an apple cider vinegar soak. You will want to soak your wart in warm apple cider vinegar, diluted slightly with water, for about 20 minutes a day. The apple cider vinegar is very acidic in nature, so it will work to peel away the layers of the skin, ultimately peeling away the wart itself. If you follow this method, you will want to ensure that you continue the treatment until the entire wart has been removed, or the wart will redevelop on your skin.
Garlic
You can also use garlic and duct tape together as a treatment option. Garlic, like apple cider vinegar, is acidic in nature, so it works in a similar fashion as the apple cider vinegar does. If you want to know how to remove warts, you simply slice off a piece of fresh garlic and adhere it to your skin with a piece of duct tape. The garlic will go to work gradually removing the wart and surrounding the skin layer by layer, but some scraping may also be necessary, as with the basic duct tape method. A drawback with this method is that it can be odorous, but most find it to be effective.
Over-the-Counter Treatments
While the above natural treatment options are great solutions to try for how to remove warts at home, you can also try some of the over-the-counter treatment options. There are several different options available without a doctor’s prescription in the pharmacy aisles of local stores, as well as many effective products available online. Most of these work to freeze away the wart, and this often would be the first treatment option your doctor would try if you make an appointment to see your physician. You should be aware that if your at-home treatment options do not work as you would like, there are medical treatments available.
What Would Your Doctor Do?
So if your quest for how to remove warts at home is ineffective and you ultimately decide to make that doctor’s appointment, what might your doctor do? Your doctor may attempt freezing or burning the wart off, or he or she may try laser therapy, too. If these do not work or if the wart is very large or deep in size, surgical removal of the lesion may be necessary.
