A battle between me and my wart

DebE13 · Post by **DebE13** » Sat Nov 19, 2016 6:03 pm

It's going on two years now.....I have a wart on my middle finger that has become very personal because it is winning. I can't get rid of it and it's expensive. I've tried compound W, 80% TCA, duct tape, garlic and whatever else claims to be a cure. I've had it treated with liquid nitrogen three times ($300+) and it's still there. Actually, there are 4-5 vessels there. My doc said to come back for another treatment but I'm tired of Wasting my time and money.

Is there any home remedy that actually works? Can it just be cut out?

Post by **tex** » Sat Nov 19, 2016 7:32 pm

Deb wrote:Is there any home remedy that actually works? Can it just be cut out?

Yes it can, but it's necessary to get rid of the roots, and older technology can be painful. The reason why doctors use liquid nitrogen these days is because it's fast, simple, cheap (as far as their cost is concerned), relatively safe, causes only minor discomfort for the patient, and it doesn't require any special skills. Anyone can buy a liquid nitrogen applicator (at least the last time I looked, their purchase was not restricted).

I'm not sure that this is a bona fide "home remedy", bit here's my experience:

Back in the good old days (roughly 40—50 years ago), a small to medium-size wart decided to take up residence on my belly, right at my belt line. When I was home for the summer (out of college), working on the farm, the hot, dusty, work would often cause it to become irritated and inflamed. Now I didn't have any particular objection to it homesteading there, as long as it was satisfied with minding its own business, but I didn't appreciate it irritating my hide whenever it decided to throw a tantrum. I finally got tired of its inconsiderate behavior, so I asked my old country doctor about the possibility of removing it. He said, "Sure, we can cut it off and cauterize the spot to stop the bleeding".

But heck, back in those days he probably would have charged 15 or 20 dollars to do that. LOL. So one afternoon when I had a few minutes of spare time, I plugged in my soldering iron and cleaned the lead solder off the broad tip. I dug out a scalpel (an Exacto knife with a very sharp blade), and I sterilized the blade with a cigarette lighter. I sliced off the wart, and naturally the blood began to flow rather freely, so I picked up the soldering iron and pressed the tip to the site and held it there for a few seconds to make sure the roots were dead and the blood vessels were cauterized.

Yes, that procedure is a bit painful, especially the part about branding oneself with a hot soldering iron. So as they say, "Kids, don't try this at home".

I don't remember, but I probably applied a band-aid for a few days so that it could heal without being irritated by my belt/jeans. It healed smoothly, without any issues.

Surely there are still a few doctors around who remember how to do that (but there's no telling what they would charge these days).

Tex

LauraAnn · Post by **LauraAnn** » Sat Nov 19, 2016 9:35 pm

Omg! That sounds like something a guy would do! what ever happened to the old banana peel thing? Just kidding Tex, but that is so yucky!

jessica329 · Post by **jessica329** » Sat Nov 19, 2016 9:39 pm

Have you tried apple cider vinegar with the mother? Soak a cotton ball, squeeze any excess liquid, secure it with as many band aides as needed directly onto the wart. Repeat nightly and use en emery board to file it down before putting on the new cotton ball/band aid. A word of advice: eventually the wart will harden and die (took a week for me). You may be tempted to cut it out. Don't do it!! What a mistake! Once you cut it out, you can't continue treatment because the cider will burn like hell. Then the horrid wart will come back. Be patient and file it down. I have not had mine come back. Like you, a few years ago I was going broke constantly having them frozen off (which of course never worked). Good Luck!

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Sat Nov 19, 2016 10:52 pm

I agree with jessica - Apple Cider Vinegar - and use nail file or pumice stone to rub off/file down dead skin gently

holistically / functionally - warts are linked to Virus activity in the body, namely a mild strain of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).
it is an indicator that your immune system is struggling to fight virus activity
maybe investigate increasing intake / starting :- coconut oil, zinc, increase food intake of Vit C ie veges that are high in Vit C, CoQ10

DebE13 · Post by **DebE13** » Sun Nov 20, 2016 6:10 am

I'd be up for Tex's idea to stop piddling around with the darn thing. Right now there is no build up of skin since everything peeled off from the last treatment. She went a little wide with the treatment the last time so there is a bright pink ring of new, tender skin around the stubborn wart. I'm sure my husband would have no problem pulling out a soldering gun from the workshop to do a little surgery..... although the more I think about that, hmmm- I think I will pull out the apple cider vinegar and see what happens.

I take extra vit C to go along with my iron pill and use quite a bit of coconut oil in daily cooking. My son got me on the kick of adding it to my coffee (not bad).

Vanessa · Post by **Vanessa** » Sun Nov 20, 2016 7:44 am

When I was a kid I had a HUGE grouping of warts under my big toe (very painful and gross). They spread out to my foot. We must've had decent insurance in those days because I had to go back for weekly nitrogen treatments probably six times. But it eventually worked. There were so many that it didn't surprise us that the number of treatments back to back would be a must.....

brandy · Post by **brandy** » Sun Nov 20, 2016 12:34 pm

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11952542
http://www.jwatch.org/jd200206110000001 ... tment-zinc
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/drp/2014/709152/

oral zinc sulphate, from 10 mg -25 mg per day for up to 8 weeks.

Something to try if the vinegar/filing doesn't pan out.

I've done everything in your thread. I'm currently working on a quarter size wart on the side of my heel.
I've had it lasered off twice about 20 years ago. That was painful, took 12 weeks to heal and it keeps coming back.

DebE13 · Post by **DebE13** » Sun Nov 20, 2016 5:03 pm

Thanks! No choice but to not give up. The proliferation of cells gets to be a lot and it becomes bothersome.

I had a plantar wary when I was a kid. Just sat on the underside of my big toe for ages. Eventually it became eight and were removed. I could barely walk out of the office but they never came back. That was also pre MC and all other issues so I'm sure my immune system was much healthier.

Post by **Rosie** » Mon Nov 28, 2016 4:08 pm

When I was growing up in the country, the cure was milk weed sap. We would break a stem of a milkweed plant, and a whitish sap would flow out of the stem. We would rub the sap on the wart, about once a day for a few days, I really don't remember how many days exactly it took. The wart would be stained a brownish color, dry up, and go away. I got rid of several warts that way. If milkweed wasn't available, just about any thistle sap would do, although not as fast. Monarch butterflies eat the sap of the milkweed plant to deter predation by birds. Evidently some compound in milkweed accumulates in their body, and when a bird happens to eat a Monarch, it throws up. So a bird only does that once! Of course right now it is going into winter, so not many thistles are growing.........

Rosie

DebE13 · Post by **DebE13** » Mon Nov 28, 2016 8:50 pm

Thanks Rosie- I have a ton of milkweed, of course not now, in my garden. I love them! I'm sure my neighborhood, not so much. I collect the pods and let the seeds fly every year. I can't make them all stay in my yard but they are one of my favorite smelling flowers. Hopefully I won't be battling the wart in the spring but at least I have something easy to try.

I love the butterflies and hummers they attract.