Warts
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Warts
Sept 2007
My five year old has common warts on his hands which do not
bother him. He has had one ''freezing'' type of treatment with the
pediatrician but it did not seem to make a difference. Has
anyone had any experience with a wart treatment that may have
worked for your child?
a wondering mom
I just asked my pediatrician about this one for my four year-
old. He said it is fine to use the standard (adult) over-the-
counter wart treatments you can buy at the drugstore. You know,
the kind where basically you apply a medicated bandaid over the
wart for several days in a row and some sort of acid eats away
at it. I have used these for myself and can assure you they are
easy and painless, so I was happy to hear this. The other
option of course, is simply to do nothing, which he said is
fine too.
Linda
Beetle juice! Really. A lot of folks swear by duct tape, but
my daughter's warts were on her toes, and the duct tape was too
large for little toes and kept slipping off. But a
dermatologist at Kaiser suggested beetle juice (catharidin is
the real name, I think), and it worked like magic. It wasn't
painful when applied and those stubborn warts went away
completely over a couple of months (I saw some improvement
almost immediately). You may have to ask specifically for it.
My daughter's wonderful pediatrician only suggested the tape.
It was when I took my daughter to see a dermatologist for
another reason and casually mentioned the warts that the derm
suggested the beetle juice.
Loved the movie, too
April 2006
My 5 yo son has a wart on his foot. We tried duct tape for
months, but no effect. Mostly the tape would fall off, even
when secured by a bandaid. We tried one application of
freezing with propane (Dr Scholl's), no effect. This was too
painful for my son for him to let us repeat it. I suspect that
a dermatologist or GP would use liquid N2, similarly painful.
But to be honest, we haven't asked his doc about it. My
question is, should we just leave it alone? He's had the wart
for a year now.
my son had warts on the soles of his feet, and we used the
stuff they sell in safeway--little stickers that you cover with
a pad--I think it was by the makers of compound W--the actual
ingredient is aspirin! (salicylic acid) Worked like a charm--
they never came back. I had warts all over my hands as a kid--
froze them off, burned them off-never worked--they always came
back. Finally a dermatologist prescribed 5FU (5% flourouracil)
Completely painless cream I rubbed in--30 years later I am wart
free still!
no warts
Sept 2005
My teenage daughter has a rather large wart on the side of her
nose which, as you can imagine, is making her very unhappy.
I've been taking her to a dermatologist (Dr. Dunn, who I am not
impressed with) who has frozen it off three times, but it
doesn't completely disappear and then grows back. There's no
way my daughter is going to wear duct tape on her nose for 6
weeks (which was the main suggestion from the website when a
question about warts was posted a couple of years ago), so I am
looking for other ideas. I am particularly interested in
natural or ''folk'' remedies, which the dermatologist might scoff
at, but which might actually work. This is causing my daughter
major stress!
Mom of miserable teen
Please get your daughter to a different dermatologist.
Once you find the right doctor, he or she will know what to do.
Two very good dermatologists are Dr. Warren Dotz in Berkeley and
Dr. Kristin Walker in Orinda. My kids have been to Dr. Walker
and she is excellent. My husband and I have both been to Dr.
Dotz for different things, and I highly recommend him as well.
He doesn't treat my kids, as his practice is limited to
teenagers and adults.
Karen
I just wanted to let you and your teenager know my story. I am
28 now, but when I was about 15 years old, I had warts all over
one of my hands, which were very upsetting for me. I went to a
Kaiser dermatologist who burned them off. I also had to go many
times (I'm sure it was more than 3 times), and each time the
warts grew back, until one time they did not grow back. I have
been free of warts ever since. So, it might just take a few
more times! Good luck!
Free of Warts
Most home remedies work on the theory of cutting off oxygen to the virus that
is causing the wart, hence the duct tape recommendation. There are
alternatives that are less unattractive than duct tape. I had success a couple of
times in the past with Vitamin E (or Vitamin A, I forget which), which comes in a
softgel. You poke a hole in the softgel with a needle, and squeeze the vitamin
onto the wart several times a day. I recently had a wart on my chin, the first
one in many years, and wasn't so successful. I eventually switched to
Compound W at night (It turns white and, like duct tape, is too unsightly for
daytime use on my face. Just be CAREFUL with it on the face) and Vitamin E
during the day. When that didn't work either, I used a dot of superglue during
the day and Compound W at night. All this is based on others'
recommendations; I didn't make any of this up, except using Compound W at
night when the other approaches didn't work. The wart seems to have
disappeared finally (it took over a month), but I'm still holding
my breath.
Hopefully wart-free
Hi,
I haven't tried this myself, but a friend who had a wart for a
couple of years tried hypnotherapy and said the wart started to
disappear soon after the 1st treatment! Good luck.
Jessica
My 12 year old daughter has had an extremely stubborn large
wart on her thumb for at least 18 months, and has been very
susceptible to warts for years. Apparently, some people's skin
chemistry is wart-friendly. Our dermatologist has tried a
variety of treatments, including freezing (works only on the
smallest, newest warts), candida cream (creates an auto-immune
reaction which--if it works--kills the wart), and Aldara 5%
cream. This last treatment, originally intended for genital
warts, seems to be working--finally!! The others never had
much effect.
Interestingly, our dermatologist is convinced that warts
disappear sooner, sometimes without medication, if the sufferer
visualizes the warts disappearing and has positive thoughts
about healthy skin. My daughter hasn't faithfully tried this
strategy, though. Try working with your daughter on her
visualizations, and you might ask your dermatologist about the
candida and Aldara creams. And good luck!
mom of warty daughter
I saw a dermatologist about a wart my son had, and then
mentioned this to our new doctor, Janet Perlman. She said that
she could do the wart freezing herself in her office, in
Berkeley, that there was need to go to the dermatologist for
this. This worked really well, after two freezings six weeks
apart, and my son is now wart free. She was gentle, and with a
sense of humour, reassured my son that the procedure would be
painless. It was fine.
So you might try Dr. Perlman for the wart...
She's a great doctor, I reckon, but that's another matter.
Janice
My 3.5 year old son has had warts on his hand for about 1 year.
It started as one and progressed to 5 little ones on his hand.
I had also been recommended to try duct-tape and the MD tried to
freeze it off once, but both methods were a bust. We tried the
Compound-W with bandaids for quite a while, with also some
improvments but they just came back. Finally, the pediatrician
referred us to a dermotologist. The dermo. has prescribed
Aldara, which is a 'immune response modifier''. It is applied on
the wart only 3 times a week and is intended to help boost the
immune response to fight the wart virus.
The MD gave us two very small samples, and a prescription. We
only used one of the samples and they are already almost gone.
It has worked great with only a couple of applications. It is
not a natural or alternative medication but you may want to ask
your MD about it. www.aldara.com.
fyi - we had been refered to Dr.Graham at Affiliates in
Dermotology Medical Group 510-652-8091. He was very personable
with my son and put him at ease right away.
anon
Hi - You don't have to use duct tape on a wart. What's really
working is the stuff under the duct tape - Compound W or
whatever. The duct tape just helps the medicine stay on, and
pulls away the dead skin parts of the wart that the medication
has killed.
You just have to be religious about applying the medication
twice a day and the wart will eventually peel off and not come
back.
The medication turns the wart white, so your daugther might
want to wear a tiny flesh-colored bandaid. Or not.
anon
June 2005
Does anyone have any advice on getting rid of plantar warts on
sole of foot? I have tried medicated patches and duct tape but
have had only limited success. My daughter is afraid of
freezing them off because she has heard it really stings. Any
advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
CK
I had one removed many years ago by cauterization (burning) - its
actually the numbing medication that stings when its injected. I
don't think there's much else that's effective in western
medicine for plantar's warts. mine had to be burned 3 times
before it stopped coming back - by the way they can be contagious
in shared shower stalls and such especially if you're prone to
such. That's why I
always wear sandals in public shower rooms
Compound W works wonders. When you put it on, it is cold, but
doesn't sting. It will only sting if you administer once and
when the scar look like it's coming off,you peel it off. If you
do that and then put the medicine back on, it will sting. My
advice is to use this, but do not pick at the scar. It will
take a few applications, but it really does the trick and the
wart will be gone! Good luck!
melanie
Feb 2004
My husband has been struggling with multiple, terrible warts on his foot.
He's being treated every three weeks at Kaiser with a combination of
acid and freezing -- an incredibly painful treatment -- but the warts are
hanging in there and, it seems, getting even worse. He's unable to walk
without limping for days after each treatment. He can't hike (his usual
form of exercise), he's gaining weight, and he's depressed about it.
The doctors have suggested that he might even have some sort of
immune system problem. But they keep treating these monsters with the
same combination of burning and freezing. We're all getting frustrated.
This has been going on for a year now. (The warts were quite large
when he began treatment, as he did things like Compound W at home
for a year before finally going to the doctor.)
Any other treatments you suggest? I've heard of laser surgery. But my
real question: has anybody used alternative medicine such as
acupuncture or other non-Western treatments for warts? Anybody you
suggest he see to deal with this problem? I tend to go the more holistic
route than he does, but I think he's pretty open to almost anything
(though probably would draw the line at crystals and chanting).
Any advice deeply appreciated.
Worried about Warts
Strange but true: I had a similar problem when I was a
teenager--months of repeated freezing and carving would not take care
of them--until my doctor, at his wit's end, mentioned (a little
shame-faced) that he had read in a homeopathic journal that banana
peels could be effective! Willing to try anything, I began eating a
banana before bed every night, cutting a little square out of the
peel, and taping it over the wart while I slept. Within a couple of
weeks it was gone.
anon
I had really good luck with sand and sunshine. For me, a trip to the
Middle East where I wore sandals all the time, it was hot and dry, and
the dust/heat seemed to just dry them up. I had spent some time with
home treatment, and in frustration had cut at it, so when I went I had
a big sore on the bottom of my foot. The plantar wart just didn't
come back. I also have a friend who took a 2-week vacation to Mexico
right after her warts were burned away. The salty sand and long
periods of being barefoot made them not come back. Perhaps take walks
on the beach every day. The salt and sand and fresh air may help stop
the warts growing so much. I have also heard that you should wear new
socks every day, or even twice a day, wash the socks in some kind of
intense detergent, and take your shoes and socks off at every
available opportunity. They like damp and closed, dark environments.
My husband had warts like the ones you describe. He was in terrible
pain and every time they burned them away, new ones came out around
the edges. He finally ended up changing doctors, and the new one said
keep his feet as bare as possible as often as possible. Now he feels
that they mostly went into remission rather than going away, but as
long as he is barefoot a lot (he says stay out of socks as much as you
can) they are okay and not painful or growing. Our sympathies are
with you. Winter is the hardest time to deal with this problem!
Heather
When I was a teenager I had warts all over my fingers. I had
them repeatedly burned off and frozen off, and I remember
driving home from the dermatologist with my mom, and crying
because it hurt so much. Then a doctor tried 5 fluorouracil
ointment, which is used for some skin cancers. I just rubbed
it in twice a day. My warts were all gone in a couple months--
I'm now in my 40's, and they are still gone...My son also had
plantar warts, which i treated with the stuff you can buy in
Safeway, and they just fell off after a couple weeks and never
returned. You have probably already tried that though...
ann
I had several large warts (one plantar, and a few on my hands),
which also were not responding to freezing, Compound W, etc.
Last summer, I was lucky enough to be part of a research study
that uses candida antigen (or something like that) injections.
Once a month, for three months, my largest (or oldest?)wart was
injected with the stuff. I had no response after the first
injection, but after the second one, a few of my warts
disappeared. Following the third (final) injection, within
another month or so they were almost all gone - like magic. I
have one tiny one now that just won't go (yet), but the other
areas look like I never had warts at all. No scars.
Was it painful? Yes, but then so was the ineffective
alternative And it was very brief. When I went in for the
second shot, I asked the doctor to ice the area first, and that
helped a lot.
I don't know if anyone is still doing this study, or offering
this treatment, but you might check around.
By the way, females - despite it being candida, it did NOT lead
to vaginal yeast at all (I am prone to that, and worried about
it, but there was nothing to worry about).
Formerly Warty
My husband had plantar warts. They're hard to get rid of! A
suggestion that helped was mashing up fresh garlic, putting it on
a bandage, and taping the bandage to his foot at night.
Kate
My friend had what she described as a truly miraculous
experience with accupuncture. She had done all the freezing,
etc. and was at her wits end when she sought the help of an
accupuncturist. It involved herbs and needles and she was
thrilled when after a couple of months the warts slowly disolved
away. This was in Washington DC. Good luck!! There are many
good accupuncturists in the area... Brian Barley(sp?) for one.
Lisa
To the person who posted the Worried About Warts request:
here's one I didn't see in the Advice Digest: my son picked up
planters warts (which seemed to have the survival endurance of
cockroaches) at his gymnasium. We eventually had success with
combination of eucalyptus oil (a remedy I found on the
internet) and bandaging with duct tape. They slowly grew
smaller and eventually disappeared. It did take a few months
of this treatment to work, but they have never returned. Good
luck.
nk
I had a plantar wart for the first time in my life a year ago
and it was driving me nuts. I used the salicylic acid -- 30 or
40%, not sure which but it was strong. Then did the scrapping
away. My foot felt raw and it didn't go away. I went to the
dermatologist who told me that as counter intuitive as this
sounds, the weaker salicylic acid patches work better. They
were expensive - $30 a box. They are called Trans Ver Sal and
are 15%. You don't scrap, you use a nail file bought and used
just on the wart. It worked.
Good luck, not walking is miserable!
been there
I heard a program on NPR some months ago on a scientific study
that showed duct tape would cure plantar warts.
eve
March 2003
I have several small warts on my hands, and am hoping
there's an effective way to get rid of them. A few years ago
I used a salicylic acid liquid (the one I used was Dr.
Scholl's) for the one wart I had, which got rid of it. But now I
have several more. I didn't see the salicylic acid liquid
the last time I looked for it, just the medicated patches, and I
was wondering if the patches are effective? How long does
it take? I also know about using liquid nitrogen, but when I
tried it a few years ago, it was so much more painful than
the salicylic acid treatment.
I'm also wondering if anyone knows of any other
treatments--maybe more natural ones? I know tea tree
oil is supposed to help treat toe nail fungus--will it treat
the virus that causes warts??
Want to be wart-free
A few months ago the New York Times reported that a study had
found duct tape to be more effective than freezing to get rid of
warts. I personally have no experience with either method, and
I wouldn't call duct tape ''natural'', but perhaps this is worth
trying or asking your doctor about. The article came out on the
Health section, Oct 15, 2002. Perhaps you could find it in the
archives of the Berkeley Library. You could also buy it from
the nytimes website ($3.00).
picado
This is going to sound a little crazy, but I recently read that covering the
wart with duct tape (yes, duct tape!!!) for several weeks will make warts
go away as well as or better than the standard treatment. For more info,
see
http://www.ahealthyme.com/article/bellhowell/103369699
Karen
Before Homeland Security was recommending duct tape, there was
a report in the media that duct tape was cheaper and as
effective, if not more effective, in removing warts (I think
they were testing plantar wart). A piece of tape place over the
wart daily did the trick for some people.
Anon
This is hard to believe, but I recently saw an article that found
duct tape to be effective for removing warts. No, you don't rip
them off. You leave the tape on for weeks, and the slight
irritation caused by the adhesive activates your immune system.
So your body gets rid of the virus causing the wart. You might
not want to wear duct tape on your hands, but you could
conceivably cover it with a regular bandaid.
Anon
This is hard to believe, but I recently saw an article that found
duct tape to be effective for removing warts. No, you don't rip
them off. You leave the tape on for weeks, and the slight
irritation caused by the adhesive activates your immune system.
So your body gets rid of the virus causing the wart. You might
not want to wear duct tape on your hands, but you could
conceivably cover it with a regular bandaid.
Anon
My son had multiple warts on his hands. For three months I took
him to a dermatologist who froze them (at 2 week intervals). It
was painful and expensive, and it didn't work. In fact, he was
getting more warts. Then we read a newspaper article about the
use of duct tape to treat warts. My son put duct tape on his
fingers at night only because he did not want to wear the tape
to school. Within two weeks all his warts were gone and they
have not returned.
-Amazing Duct Tape
As one who has suffered from warts and has used various over-the-
-counter and herbal remedies, I have concluded that the most
effective and dependable treatment for warts is a prescription
cream called Aldara. It acts by stimulating the immune reponse
so that your own system rejects and destroys the wart. Although
the pkg insert recommends using it every other day, on hand
warts my dermatologist recommended daily or even twice a day.
You need to apply it gingerly only to the affected area since it
can irritate normal skin. It also works for genital warts,
plantar warts and molluscum. You can ask your family doctor for
a prescription.
mdmom
Regarding wart removal. I just read that putting duct tape on
it is an effective method. Another use for all that duct tape!
Martha
I have used DUO FILM/Sallicylic Acid Wart Remover/Patch
for KIds patches. I bought them for my kids and they have
worked great. You can cut them to smaller patches for
smaller spots. I used them twice for myself, easy and pretty
quick.
No scars either.
I have had a few tiny warts on my hands and fingers for as long
as I can remember. Unfortunately during my pregnancy last year I
broke out with several large warts on my fingers. The first one
(early in the pregnancy) I used liquid salycilic acid on... I
don't remember the brand, but I found it in the grocery store.
Unfortunately I lost the bottle before the second one developed
later in the pregnancy. Since I didn't feel like buying a whole
box of bandaids just to get the mini ones I decided to go with
the Dr. Scholls patches... and since I was killing the big one I
went after one of the small ones at the same time. The problem I
had was cutting the patches to the right size. When I didn't cut
them small enough they irritated the skin around the wart and
caused painful inflamation. Because of the irritation it took
longer to fully be rid of the wart because I waited until the
irritation was gone to try again. I managed to get rid of the
big wart in about the same time as I had with the liquid. The
small one is still there. It just wasn't worth the effort to cut
the patches to the miniscule size it would take to work.
warty mom
I got a dime-sized cluster of little warts on my thumb last year
(it took me awhile to figure out what they were). I went to Kaiser
and got them treated, once, with liquid nitrogen and they are
gone. I had the same treatment for a plantar wart a few years ago-
they are very stubborn and it took several treatments, but
eventually it went away. I had tried all the over the counter
remedies for the plantar wart and nothing worked. With my thumb, I
just went straight for the proven treatment.
More natural? Well, nitrogen is a pure element, and it works. It
burns when it is put on, but it's very quick.
Tea tree oil has done nothing for my toenail fungus unfortunately
(and mine is a mild case). I've moved on to anti-fungal topicals
after doing a little 'home surgery' to expose the interior of the
nail some, and am seeing progress.
Good luck
Wart Free
There have recently been studies that show that duct tape is as
effective as the liquid nitrogen. I think the way is as follows:
Put the tape on the wart for 6 days straight, soak in warm water,
file with pumice or emery board, leave tape off overnight, repeat
until gone. You could probably find the study or news clips about
it on the web.
anon
Folklore remedy for warts that seems to work:
Put a patch of duct tape about the size of the wart on the
affected area. Leave on for six days. Remove, soak wart area in
warm water, buff wart with an emory board or pumice stone. Leave
uncovered overnight, then repeat the process. May take up to
eight weeks, but more often than not, the wart disappears!
(Common wisdom is that this that this is due to an immune system
response to the adhesive.)
It's very interesting about the duct tape. But does the idea that
it triggers an immune response make anyone else a little hesitant?
Adhesives like that aren't tested for use on human skin I'm sure.
Did the NY Times article give any info on this question?
anon
I know this sounds crazy but try duct tape. There was a study
released last year that duct tape for six(?) days was an
effective treatment for warts. I've heard it is just as
effective as those patches but much cheaper! I just did a google
search on duct tape warts and cameup with hundreds of results.
Check it out!
allison
Jan 2002
Has anyone had any success having a plantar wart removed from the ball of
the foot? My almost-16 year old daughter has been battling one for months
now, using over-the-counter medication recommended by our pediatrician.
She has soaked her foot, filed the wart, applied salacylic pads, visualized
the wart gone, with a moderate degree of vigilance, at least as much as you
can expect of an adolescent. I can tell she is in pain, although she's not
one to complain much. She is a swimmer, and our guess is that she picked
it up in the locker room. Is the next step a referral to a dermatologist?
A podiatrist? Is surgical removal successful? Any advice would be much
appreciated, including recommendations of physicians. Judy
I had one a few years ago. The nurse practioner I saw recommended an
over-the-counter med as well that didn't work. I went back and got a
referral to a podiatrist. The first thing he told me was that the
over-the-counter works but you have to get the kind that has 40% of the
active ingredient (a lot of them have less than 20%). He had me get the
stronger med and then come in a few times to have my foot "scraped". In no
time it was better after having suffered for months. So, I would check the
med you are using first. If 40% isn't working then definitely see a
podiatrist.
I had a good experience using Dr Scholl's Plantar Wart medicated pads.
They come with a sort of foam circle pad to cushion the wart while it's
getting medicated so it hurts less. Follow directions. It worked for me.
Good luck.
stephani
I had a plantar wart burned off by a podiatrist, but my recollection is
that any dr. can do it. Since then I had one other, which was removed
by vigilant use of over the counter meds. There's a pretty good
likelihood your daughter got it from the locker room. That's where I
got mine-it's a virus and contagious. Since then I've always used
flipflops in public showers, which you might also recommend for your
daughter
One of my daughters had a wart "scooped out" of her sole by a
podiatrist, after freezing it off was unsucessful. My other daughter
had a huge wart on her index finger knuckle and we succesfully removed
with with the following method: we put sap from a pine tree on the
wart in the morning and in the evening covering the mess with a band
aid. We were amazed that every day the sap would "eat up" part of the
wart. In two weeks the wart was gone, it was totally painless and
totally free. Ksenija
My sons have both have had plantar warts on their feet. They are contagious
as you know. We were successful at treating them through utter and total
vigilance with the use of the painted on salicylic acid medicine, every day,
and after irritating the wart to stimulate the immune response. We did this
with the help of our dermatologist, Dr. Warren Dotz. When the warts became
smaller, Dr. Dotz then finished them off with liquid nitrogen burn. It worked
very well. Nothing against all our terrific pediatricians but a dermatologist
makes a big difference in quick & correct diagnosis and accurate treatment of
skin issues. This has been our experience. Also, since these warts are
contagious we never use hand-me-down cleats, or share flippers, that sort of
thing. I feel for you!
Debby
I had a plantar wart removed from my foot several years ago at Kaiser
Oakland in the Dermatology dept. It was very near the ball of the foot and
deeply rooted. It took a bunch of applications of liquid nitrogen to get
rid of it, several times over a period of months. I also used the
salicylates and pumice (abrasive) between treatments. It just seemed to
take a lot of wearing down, being so deeply rooted in tough skin.
Liquid nitrogen causes pain afterward, like a burn, but was not too bad- I
just had to walk gingerly. I had one wart burned off with a needle years
ago by a dermatologist and would NOT recommend it- too painful, left a
permanent bumpy scar. You might also try the juice from fresh pineapple or
papaya- the enzyme can get in there and loosen it up, sort of like the
salicylate ( I had a wart come right off my finger while I was slicing
pineapple once ). Patience seems to be necessary in a case like this.
-Nils
Regarding the plantar wart question:
In my experience, over-the-counter wart medications don't work too well, and
really don't work on plantar warts. A dermatologist will burn it off in an
instant; it's really worth it to see a doctor. I had one burned off years
ago and I remember being nervous that it would hurt but it really didn't
much. And it was worth it to have the pain and discomfort disappear within
days.
Melanie
When I was a teenager I had a plantar's wart on the ball of my foot. This
was in a small town in Nebraska, so the only option was a general
practitioner, and he applied liquid nitrogen to the wart and "burned/froze"
it off. As I recall (this was of course eons ago) it was painful but not
unbearable. No painkillers were used. I believe he had to apply it on
two different occasions. He put a bandage on it and I had to keep the foot
dry. The wart was gone. About ten years after that, more warts appeared
on a different part of the same foot. This time I was in England and went
to what they call a chiropodist. He put some kind of chemical on to "burn"
them off, and this, too, was effective if a bit painful. He told me that
these warts are congenital. Since then (twenty years ago) there has been
no recurrence. Good luck!
Linda
Plantar wart removal: My son had a wart on his finger and we also tried
the same remedies, unsuccessfully so that it spread from one to probably
ten over 2 years. His pediatrician worked on it with some freezing
solution to no avail and only when we went to a dermatologist (Kathy
Fang in El Cerrito) and they were frozen off properly did they finally
disappear (we hope!). He had to have 3-4 treatment over a period of
time because they had become so deep and now we would return with the
first sign of a return. Judith
When I was around 20 I had a Plantar Wart removed from
the ball of my foot. I had tried applying the over the
counter topical strips with no success. A doctor tried
to "freeze" it out with no success.
Finally I went to a podiatrist who cut it out
surgicallly. That worked. I would assume that it does
hurt your daughter. At first it felt like a little
pebble in my shoe, but by the time it was removed, it
was large and painful to walk on. Sorry I don't have a
recommendation for the podiatrist - I lived on the
east coast at the time.
Plantar warts are impossible to get rid of with over-the-counter
remedies. I know, I tried them with my son and myself for over 3
months. Finally, out of agonizing pain and frustration I made an
appointment with the UCSF lazer clinic (I can't remember the Docs
name). He prescribed squearic (sp?) acid (SDBE 2%).
Basically, what this stuff does is cause the body to develop a
poison-oak-like allergic reaction to the acid. The body then thinks
it has poison oak and then works to attack the wart from inside the
body, rather than from the outside like most topical treatments (warts
build a protective case at the base which prevents the body from
recognizing it and attacking it). The squearic acid has to be heavily
diluted with acetone.
He said it would still take 10 weeks to get rid of the warts, but for
me and my son relief occurred within the first week, and they were
completey gone within 3-4 weeks. I had no side-effects until about a
week after I had stopped treatment. Then I developed a poison-oak
type rash on my arms which was treated with cortisone. From what I
know, the rash is a common side-effect with the squearic acid.
Be careful, plantar warts are highly contagious. Your daughter could
easily spread them to the rest of the family just by walking barefoot
in the house, taking a shower, etc. She should also always wear those
rubber slippers at the pool and shower. Good
luck.
I had a plantar's wart in college. I went to the
healthcenter and a GP doc carved away my callouses
over the wart (no feeling in that skin, didn't hurt a
bit) and used liquid nitrogen to burn away the wart
(that hurt like heck) and it was difficult to walk the
next 24-36 hours (I recall I still went outlet store
shopping) but the wart went away and I've never had
another. I had the usual warts on my hands as a child
and the OTC drugs/applications never worked. Get them
burnt off with liquid nitrogen and be done with it!
We have these warts in the family. My husband started with 1 on the ball
of his foot 8 years ago which he just thought he'd live with. It ended
up growing ,spreading and starting a colony. There were over 20, and
last July he went to Alta Bates for surgery. They were so deep they
needed to be cut out and he had stitches in some areas. He was off his
foot for 3 weeks. His podiatrist, Dr. Michael Di Giacomo, is very good
and the only one my husband trusts. He typically removes planters warts
in his office, but this foot was in need of special care. My 7 yr. old
son has one on his foot and we've tried the over the counter stuff,
having it frozen off by his pediatrician, and his pediatrician is now
referring us to a dermatologist.
I had a plantar wart removed from the ball of my foot (and heel) about 25
years ago, so the process used by MD's may be different these days.....They
burned mine off.
I didn't investigate other methods at the time (I was a young college
student).
The Dr. anethsitized (sp?) my foot, which hurt more than the procedure. Then
she used a tool that actually burned it. I had to be careful of infection
for a week or two till it healed and then I was fine. It never came back.
Again, I'd never tried the ointments, liquids, etc. good luck.
I had plantar warts on the underside edges of my toes on my left foot. I,
too, tried all the "home" remedies to no avail (they would recede
temporarily and then return with a vengance). I finally saw a general
practitioner about them - this was at my college, which had outpatient
medical services. He burned them off using (I think) nitrogen. It worked!
This was in 1994. My only comment on the procedure was that he did it too
fast - it should have been more than one treatment, but he decided to burn
them off with only one office visit. Normally, this would be a painless
procedure, but for me it certainly was not. In retrospect, I think it was
because he was only in the clinic one day/week and wanted to save
money/time/whatever. I complained after to the staff. Regardless of this,
I am sooooo happy that I had them removed by a doctor. I hope this helps.
Freyja
My 9 year old son had a plantar wart that took about 1 - 1/2 months to
remove. They' can be very deep which may take longer to come out. There
is an over the counter wart removal (specifically for plantar warts) that
you can use. It's important to do this everyday until the edges around the
wart start to peel. I would soak my son's foot in warm soapy water for
about 5 minutes, dry it really well and put the medicine on and around
it. I then covered it with gauze and a bandaid. The doctor had used an
emery board - the rougher the better and just filed it down as much as
possible and used just a basic wart medication. When it finally came out,
it left a pretty good size hole on the bottom of his foot, so you have to
make sure you put an antibiotic ointment on it and cover it well until the
skin grows back.
My daughter had exactly the same problem with a plantar wart (same place, same
age) which wouldn't go away despite all of the various treatments you mentioned
including having it burned off several times to no avail. We finally went to the
Podiatrist (Dr. Michael DiGiacomo in Oakland-whom we loved) and he removed it in
about 2 minutes. My daughter said it didn't really hurt. It solved the problem which
we had been dealing with for months-healed quickly and she was able to go
backpacking 2 weeks later with no problems. It was an immense relief to see her no
longer in pain when she walked on the ball of her foot.
A dermatologist is a good idea. Try Dr. Julie Billings in Oakland. Here's
what she had me do -- apply a patch called Tran-ver-sal. It is not as strong
as the other salicylic acid patches and oddly enough this is better! You
must be very consistent at following the instructions or it won't work. I
was miserable for months before getting this patch.
Dawn
I had to have a plantar wart removed from the bottom of my foot - but it was done
quickly by my GP at the first visit. He had to "burn" it off, I think with some kind of
acid or catherization. It didn't hurt, and has never returned. I wonder why your
doctor is making her go through all this, and not just removing it? You shouldn't
need a specialist, but if you do, he/she should refer you to one to remove the wart
completely. They're painful!
Further experiences. I has a painful plantar wart removed from just in
front of the heel when I was 17. I had many times tried the topical
removers with the nurse or I applying the medicine. No effect. The
Dermatologist then attempted to freeze it off many times. No effect. He
then electrically burned it off. It did not return.
Hi Judy,
I have sympathy for your daughter. I battled with plantars wart for
many years. I am also a swimmer, hmmm...
At first I also tried the OTC methods of removal, visualization, as
well as natural methods such as rubbing raw garlic! Ugh! Can you
imagine!? Anyway, I don't know anyone who has used OTC medication
successfully for this awful problem.
I finally went to my dermatologist who froze it off with liquid
nitrogen. Tell your daughter it doesn't really hurt that much. It can
take multiple treatments before it completely goes away. She really
should see someone ASAP because the "older" the wart gets, the
harder it is to get rid of them. The other reason to get rid of it is
that contact with that wart or its shedding skin can cause the virus
to spread.
I knock on wood in hopes that I have finally been rid of this
terrible virus. In some cases my warts were so stubborn I went to
UCSF for laser treatment. This treatment is pretty painful but very
effective. I'm sure your daughter will not have to go that far. I
think I had it worse than most people because I suffer from excema
which makes it easy for the virus to live.
I see Dr. James Jacobitz in Oakland. He also has an office in SF.
He'll be fine for freezing warts but I am not actually that thrilled
with him as a practitioner for my excema. You can also call the
dermatology clinic at UCSF - they do a great job. They are located on
Divisidero at Sutter (or Bush).
In high school I had what I was told was a plantar wart on the ball of my
foot. It recurred when I was pregnant. I saw Dr. Tanaka, a podiatrist in
El Cerrito, who said it was not a plantar wart but a callous that developed
because of the way my foot was shaped. He removed it at that appointment,
gave me some suggestions, and it has not recurred. I would suggest an
evaluation by a podiatrist.
Ellen
I know how your daughter is suffering and I hope this helps. Good Luck.
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