“Hi, I’m Buck Melanoma, Moley Russell’s wart!”
In the move Uncle Buck, John Candy then flips a quarter to the warty school principal and tells her to hire a rat to gnaw that thing off her face. People have been looking for ways to get rid of skin warts naturally since the dawn of time and, fortunately for you, most of them do not involve rodents.
You can get rid of skin warts naturally, without a visit to the doctor’s office or the use of dangerous chemicals. And without the aid of vermin!
One of the more than 100 strains of human papillomavirus, or HPV causes skin warts. While this virus is strongly associated with cancer, skin warts are not dangerous to your physical health. Ugly warts do inflict a significant burden on your social life.
Unsightly warts can appear on your face, lips, hands, feet or genital area. Skin warts even have a revolting name: Verruca vulgaris. There is nothing nice about a wart.
Medical Treatments
There are a myriad of wart treatments available, both inside and outside your doctor’s office. Many medical procedures freeze the wart, burn it with chemicals or zap it with laser beams.
These medical treatments waste valuable time and money and, worst of all, they are not terribly effective.
In August of 2002, the British Medical Journal, or BMJ, published a systematic review of the efficacy of various treatments for warts. One popular medical treatment is cryotherapy, where the wart is frozen and scraped from the skin. This method is both disgusting and ineffective.
Review of two small studies found no significant difference in cure rate between placebo and expensive cryotherapy.
This review also found very little proof that other scary and difficult-to-pronounce forms of wart removal, such as dinitrochlorobenzene and intralesional bleomycin, work any better than placebo.
Modern science has not come up with anything better than Uncle Buck’s rat. Worse yet, a trip to the doctor’s office costs big bucks!
Isn’t it time you gave natural wart removal remedies a try? They are cheaper, safer and you can get rid of skin warts in the privacy of your own home.
The “Do Nothing” Method
The most non-invasive, natural remedy for non-genital skin warts is time. More than half of all skin warts disappear by themselves within two years.
There are two drawbacks to waiting it out. First, your warts are ugly and no one wants to look at those hideous things for two whole years. Secondly, warts spread faster than a bad rumor. Stop the first wart in its tracks or you may suffer from an unending supply of new verruca.
Warts are highly contagious, spewing bastard warts up and down your skin from your scalp to your feet. Get rid of them by containing their spread. The HPV virus from one wart enters nearby cracks in the skin to cause future warts.
Do not pick, scratch, tug, twist or otherwise play with your wart – it is not a toy. If you discover yourself accidently molesting your wart, immediately wash your hands so you do not spread the virus to other parts of your body.
Duct tape occlusion
Apply a piece of duct tape over the wart and leave in place for six days, replacing the duct tape if it falls off. On the sixth day, remove the duct tape; soak the wart in water and then removing dead tissue with a pumice stone. Leave the wart exposed to air for about 12 hours before putting a new piece of duct tape on.
The Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine published results from a study of more than 50 patients where half of the participants underwent cryotherapy, where doctors apply liquid nitrogen on the warts for 10 seconds every two to three weeks for a maximum of six treatments. The other half of the participants covered the wart with a piece of ordinary duct tape.
An overwhelming 85 percent of patients reported success with duct tape occlusion therapy, compared with only 60 percent success rate in the cryotherapy group!
It is not clear how the duct tape removes the warts – it is possible verruca vulgaris are so embarrassed to appear on a person with duct tape on his face and hands that the warts leave on their own accord.
Natural therapies
There is no scientific evidence to confirm a rat’s appetite for warts and, as of yet, no rats have been certified to remove warts. There is, however, plenty of research to support the efficacy of other natural remedies.
Podophyllum Extract is more commonly known as American mandrake, devil’s apple and Himalayan mayapple. Podophyllum is a plant extract with toxic qualities that kill infected skin cells.
Marigold Flower power gets rid of repulsive skin warts. An article published in Temple University’s newsletter, University Communications, touts marigold therapy as an effective therapy for skin warts. Smear marigold therapy ointments onto the wart and cover with a bandage.
Cat’s Claw or Uncaria tomentosa, is an effective natural treatment for bacterial, fungal and viral infections. It also supports the immune system to fight off viral infections, such as HPV. Try 20 mg of cat’s claw three times a day.
Green Tea is delicious and gets rid of warts. The National Library of Medicine ranks treatment effectiveness based on scientific evidence and has judged green tea as likely to be an effective therapy for genital warts.
Mix one teaspoon of pure green tea extract into a cup of boiling water, let steep for 10 minutes and drink hot or cold. Prepare and drink four cups of green tea daily until the wart disappears. Ointment made from green tea extract is effective for the treatment of genital and anal warts.
Apple Cider Vinegar is on old wart-removal standby, even listed by Mayo Clinic as an alternative treatment for our vulgar friend, verruca. Soak the wart in apple cider vinegar then scrub with a pumice stone or emery board. Apply a layer of petroleum jelly around the wart to protect surrounding skin, cover the wart with a cotton ball soaked in apple cider vinegar and secure in place with a bandage.
Salicylic Acid The BMJ systemic review reports positive results with salicylic acid. The results of 13 trials showed treatments containing salicylic acid enjoyed a 75 percent wart cure rate.
Salicylic acid is a natural product, found in tree bark, fruits, vegetables herbs and some nuts. Early pharmacologists used to extract salicylic acid from the bark of a willow tree. Salicylic acid is chemically similar to aspirin and is widely used in the treatment of acne.
Eat foods containing salicylic acid, including:
- Almonds
- Apricots
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Cantaloupes
- Chicory
- Dates
- Green Pepper
- Guavas
- Mushrooms
- Olives
- Peanuts
- Radishes
- Raisins
- Tomatoes
- Water Chestnuts
The University of Maryland Medical Center suggests even more dietary changes to reduce the symptoms of verruca vulgaris. Researchers there suggest you avoid foods associated with allergens, such as:
- Dairy
- Wheat
- Soy
- Corn
- Foods Containing Lots of Preservatives
Doctors also suggest you eat foods high in antioxidants, B-vitamins and calcium, such as:
- Blueberries
- Tomatoes
- Bell Peppers
- Beans
- Spinach
- Kale
Omit refined foods from your diet, such as bread, sugar and pasta, and items containing trans fats, like donuts and onion rings.
So what if you do not want to change your diet just to please some stupid wart? Then apply the food directly to the wart!
Cut a banana peel into a small square to use as a patch. Tape the patch into place before going to bed.
A thin slice of garlic also works, but be sure to cover the wart with a thin layer of castor oil or olive oil before taping down the garlic.
Enhance the benefits of either a banana or a garlic patch by applying 2 to 4 drops of tincture of thuja or tea tree oil. These ingredients will also disguise your wart as a garden salad, in case you are still tempted to hire a rat to gnaw it off.
While warts make for humorous movie scripts, the embarrassment of verruca vulgaris is not very funny at all. Fortunately, scientific research has verified the efficacy of several natural remedies to reduce the appearance of these unsightly bumps. Most treatments are inexpensive, safe and easy to use. Best of all, you do not need a rat.
