Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHome RemediesOTC TherapiesSurgeries and ProceduresCAM Therapies
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Home Remedies
OTC Therapies
Surgeries and Procedures
CAM Therapies
While someplantar wartsgo away on their own, others may require treatment.Dermatologists(doctors specializing in treating skin conditions) can freeze, burn, or surgically remove warts in their office.
Laser treatment, injections, and chemicals may be necessary for stubborn warts. However, some people find that over-the-counter (OTC) treatments and home remedies work well for smaller warts.
This article explains plantar wart home remedies, OTC treatments, prescriptions, and procedures.
Konstantin Aksenov / Getty Images
Warts have no overnight cure; treatment usually takes weeks, not hours. Common at-home treatments for plantar warts include covering the wart with duct tape and strategies to prevent further occurrences on yourself and others.
Duct Tape
Duct tape is sometimes used to cover a wart and peel away the wart’s layers over time. However, there is little evidence to support this remedy. Research comparing topical preparations, duct tape, and placebo (a purposely inactive treatment) in children found that duct tape did not perform better than the placebo.
Duct tape side effects may occur in some people, which include:
Prevention
Dermatologists recommend:
Covering warts with a bandage is a good way to avoid accidentally scratching or exposing them to others. Preventing warts from spreading is often the only treatment many require. Generally, untreated warts won’t hurt you. However, if your wart causes discomfort or you have many of them, you should see a healthcare provider for an evaluation and treatment.
Over-the-Counter Therapies
There are many OTC products for treating plantar warts, with most containingsalicylic acid. A healthcare provider can also prescribe salicylic acid in a stronger form.
In one study, researchers noted that salicylic acid cleared warts about 50% of the time.The treatment duration varied from six to 17 weeks.
Experts recommend using 17% salicylic acid.Before applying, bathe the skin for five minutes to soften it. Next, apply the topical salicylic acid daily for 12 weeks. Avoid use on the face.
6 Best OTC Wart Treatments, According to Dermatologists
Surgeries and Specialist-Driven Procedures
If you don’t successfully get rid of warts on your own at home or with OTC treatments, you should see a healthcare provider. They have many methods of treating warts in their office.
Cantharidin
Cryosurgery
Cryosurgery (cryotherapy) involves spraying liquid nitrogen onto the area to freeze it. It is one of the first-line treatments for warts. It may be preferred because it is quick, easy, and inexpensive. However, side effects include pain, discoloration, scars, and relapses.Cryotherapy has a cure rate of between 39% and 92%.
Electrosurgery
Electrosurgery is a therapy in which a healthcare provider uses an electric current to burn off a wart. In one study comparing cryotherapy and electrosurgery, researchers found the treatments were similarly effective.Electrosurgery had a 75% clearance rate, while cryotherapy was 73%. However, wart recurrence at 24 weeks recurred slightly more often in the electrosurgery group.
Curettage
Curettageis often used with other treatment methods, like freezing or burning. During this procedure, a healthcare provider will use a knife or spoonlike tool to scrape off the wart gently.
Excision
If a healthcare provider wants to biopsy your wart, they will likely do anexcision(surgical removal). This allows them to get the borders and enough material for lab analysis.
Laser Treatment
Laser therapymay be an option when warts don’t respond to other treatments. A study found that laser therapy had a cure rate of 85%.However, the effects varied depending on the location of the wart. For example, on the heel, the rate was 100%, but on the front part of the foot, it was 69%.
Chemical Peels
Peeling medicines can be applied in the office or prescribed to use at home. These peeling agents may include TCA and salicylic acid.
Anticancer Agents
While warts aren’t usually cancerous, they still respond to some anticancer medicines, includingbleomycinand interferon.These are both injectable medicines that can be painful.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapyuses your immune system to fight the wart. One medication in this category isdiphencyprone(DCP), which causes a mild allergic reaction around the wart, causing it to go away.Another option is candida antigen injections.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
Complementary and alternative treatments for warts generally have limited evidence supporting their effectiveness.
Some natural remedies people use for warts include:
While the evidence is limited for CAM, some people like to try them before using more invasive approaches.
13 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Academy of Dermatology Association.Warts: Diagnosis and treatment.
Craw L, Wingert A, Lara-Corrales I.Are salicylic formulations, liquid nitrogen or duct tape more effective than placebo for the treatment of warts in paediatric patients who present to ambulatory clinics?.Paediatr Child Health. 2014;19(3):126-127. doi:10.1093/pch/19.3.126
American Academy of Dermatology Association.Warts: Tips for managing.
MedlinePlus.Salicylic acid topical.
Ockenfels HM.Therapeutic management of cutaneous and genital warts.J Dtsch Dermatol Ges. 2016;14(9):892-899. doi:10.1111/ddg.12838
DermNet.Cantharidin.
García-Oreja S, Álvaro-Afonso FJ, Tardáguila-García A, et al.Efficacy of cryotherapy for plantar warts: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Dermatol Ther. 2022;35(6):e15480. doi:10.1111/dth.15480
de Planell-Mas E, Martínez-Garriga B, Viñas M, Zalacain-Vicuña AJ.Efficacy of the treatment of plantar warts using 1064 nm laser and cooling.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(2):801. doi:10.3390/ijerph19020801
Gopal J, Anthonydhason V, Muthu M, et al.Authenticating apple cider vinegar’s home remedy claims: antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral properties and cytotoxicity aspect.Nat Prod Res. 2019;33(6):906-910. doi:10.1080/14786419.2017.1413567
Zedan H, Hofny ER, Ismail SA.Propolis as an alternative treatment for cutaneous warts.Int J Dermatol. 2009;48(11):1246-1249. doi:10.1111/j.1365-4632.2009.04184.x
Ferreira, I.J., de Menezes, L.R. & Tavares, M.I.B.Morphological and structural evaluation of nanoparticles loaded with tea tree oil for the therapeutic treatment of HPV.Polym. Bull.2022; 79, 5457–5479. doi:10.1007/s00289-021-03780-0
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