There are many methods by which you can attempt to get rid of warts. There are home remedies, over-the-counter treatments, and medical treatments. Some may be more effective than others; but you may wish to consider some of the many possibilities.
The minor surgical procedure called curettage is one method that may be helpful. In this procedure, a surgical instrument called a curette is used to scrape away the tissue which makes up the wart. Curettage is a safe procedure when done by a medical professional in a manner which will lessen the risk of infection. Sterility of the surgical environment and of the wound itself is essential.
In cryosurgery, the wart is frozen to facilitate its removal. Most physicians will use liquid nitrogen for this procedure. The way it works is that the freezing kills the cells of the wart. This is often a preferred method of wart removal, as it is not invasive surgery. However, care must be taken to insure that the surrounding healthy skin cells are not damaged.
Laser surgery is one of the more recent treatments for warts. In addition to the risk of infection, and its effects on the immune system, this method is generally not recommended because it requires anesthesia. Laser surgery is usually only a suitable course of action if other methods have failed, and if removing the wart is absolutely necessary.
Injections of either cantharidin or candida are also used in wart removal. While their effectiveness varies, the warts often return after the skin has healed.
Imiquimod is a topical cream which aids in wart removal by helping in the production of interferon. This in turn assists the immune system in destroying the virus which caused the wart. It will also help in preventing the virus from spreading.
There are a number of over-the-counter methods being sold for the purpose of wart removal. Their effectiveness varies, but the primary concern is the possibility of destroying the healthy skin cells around the wart. Most over-the-counter methods use salicylic acid. There are many of these products available; they contain either adhesive pads or salicylic acid in small bottles or tubes.
Another over-the-counter method is a caustic pencil of silver nitrate. This method works by burning the wart. Cryosurgery kits are also sold over-the-counter. These kits are considerably more expensive than the other over-the-counter methods.
Although numerous studies have debated its effectiveness, a home-remedy treatment using standard duct tape has been shown to be helpful in some cases. In a process which takes up to two months, duct tape occlusion therapy simply consists of keeping clean duct tape on the wart for six days, carefully scraping the wart with a pumice stone, and continuing this cycle until the wart is gone. Although as of yet inconclusive, the theory of how this method works is that the specific type of rubber adhesive in the duct tape stimulates one’s immune system.
Although warts are caused by a virus, the theory that warts are also a sign of potassium deficiency has led many who prefer home-remedies to attempt wart removal by the use of banana peels. Some say it is often quite effective. As bananas are one of the most potassium-rich foods, keeping a fresh banana peel on the wart may cause the potassium to directly enter it. If one uses a fresh peel at least twice a day, the wart is supposed to shrink and fall off within a few days to a few weeks. Many people insist that this method does indeed work.