Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsStages With At-Home TreatmentIn-Office RemovalDelays in HealingNext Steps
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Stages With At-Home Treatment
In-Office Removal
Delays in Healing
Next Steps
Knowing how your skin reacts after a wart treatment can help you look for signs of success or failure. It is normal for warts to become more unsightly as treated layers of skin are killed and removed during a period that can last up to 12 weeks.
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Stages of Wart Falling Off With At-Home Treatment
The most commonly used home treatment for wart removal involves over-the-counter (OTC, without a prescription) topicalsalicylicacid. This peeling agent dissolves thekeratinthat composes the wart and encourages an immune reaction to the wart virus when the acid irritates it.
Salicylic acid offers an easy and typically painless application, affordability, and minimal side effects.A concentration of 17% salicylic acid topical liquid is typically advised for common warts, while 40% salicylic acid is usually for larger, thicker warts like plantar warts. Salicylic acid is widely available in formulations that include a gel, liquid, or adhesive pad.
Salicylic acid can be effective and rarely painful, though it is a slow process when used as instructed. Salicylic acid resolves 70% of warts within 12 weeks of daily applications. The stages of this process begin with preparation and involve the following steps:
Preparation:
Application:
Wart removal:
Continue treating the wart until it peels off just below the level of the surrounding skin. Stop treatment when the base of the wart looks exactly like normal skin, with no signs of graininess or black dots.
When Home Treatment Should Not Be UsedWhile home treatment with salicylic acid is convenient and effective for many types of warts, you should consult with a healthcare provider before self-treatment if you have the following conditions:Alesionthat you suspect may not be a wartA wart located on your genitals or faceWarts that itch, hurt, bleed, or burnDiabetes, especially if the wart is on your footAweakened immune systemYou should also seek medical care for warts that appear anywhere on an infant or young child.
When Home Treatment Should Not Be Used
While home treatment with salicylic acid is convenient and effective for many types of warts, you should consult with a healthcare provider before self-treatment if you have the following conditions:Alesionthat you suspect may not be a wartA wart located on your genitals or faceWarts that itch, hurt, bleed, or burnDiabetes, especially if the wart is on your footAweakened immune systemYou should also seek medical care for warts that appear anywhere on an infant or young child.
While home treatment with salicylic acid is convenient and effective for many types of warts, you should consult with a healthcare provider before self-treatment if you have the following conditions:
You should also seek medical care for warts that appear anywhere on an infant or young child.
Wart Healing After In-Office Removal
Wart healing after in-office removal is typically faster than at-home treatments.Cryosurgeryis the most common first-line in-office treatment for warts. This treatment involves applying liquid nitrogen to freeze the affected skin.
The stages of a wart healing after freezing involve the following:
Cryosurgery typically does not leave a scar after the blister or scab falls off. The treated area may be lighter in color. The treated skin may take several months to return to standard color and appearance, though it can sometimes be permanent.
Treatment of a plantar wart, which grows inward, may leave a hole after wart removal. Over time, normal skin growth should help reduce the hole.
Many warts require follow-up treatment with four to six weeks between treatments. The number of cryosurgery treatments needed for complete wart removal depends on the treated wart’s location, size, and response.
What Delays Wart Healing?
Predicting the timing of wart healing and what will affect the healing timeline can be challenging. In addition to destroying the damaged skin, wart treatments aim to cause an immune response against the virus, but they don’t kill it. The factors that can interfere with this process are hard to predict.
The following factors can contribute to a delay in wart healing:
Types of Warts
Wart That Aren’t Going Away: Next Steps
When a wart is not going away despite treatment, it is best to contact your healthcare provider or adermatologist. If infection or improper healing delays wart removal, postponing proper treatment can worsen the problem and risk the potential spread of the wart virus to other areas.
There are many treatments available to eradicate stubborn warts. The most commonly used in-office treatments include the following:
Cantharidin: Cantharidin is a topical treatment that triggers the formation of a blister under the treated wart. The blister pushes the wart up until it separates from your skin. After a week, you return to your dermatologist’s office, where the dead wart is clipped away.
Pulse-dye laser treatment: Pulse-dye laser treatment, or cauterization, is typically reserved for warts that do not respond to other therapies. Since this treatment can be painful, the wart may be numbed with an anesthetic injection before treatment.
Chemical peels: Chemical peels may be appropriate for flat warts that often appear large. The treatment involves applying a peeling medicine at home daily. These treatments may include prescription-strength salicylic acid, tretinoin, and glycolic acid.
Immunotherapy: This treatment uses your immune system to fight severe warts when other treatments fail. It involves applying a chemical called diphencyprone (DCP) to the warts. It results in a mild allergic reaction around the treated warts, which may cause them to die away.
6 Best OTC Wart Treatments, According to Dermatologists
Summary
If you have a painful or unattractive wart, you may prefer not to wait until it clears on its own. A wart treatment can kill the wart and help you restore normal skin. It may also trigger your immune system to attack the virus that causes warts.
While effective, these treatments can take time for the wart to die. During that period, your skin may look much worse before it gets better. Peeling and blisters are common effects of first-line wart treatments.
Keeping up with treatments and care as advised can help you support the best results. Knowing the typical process of killing a wart can help you notice when the process succeeds or stalls and needs more care.
15 SourcesVerywell 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.Kaiser Permanents.Warts: using salicylic acid.Kore VB, Anjankar A.A comprehensive review of treatment approaches for cutaneous and genital warts.Cureus. 2023;15(10):e47685. doi:10.7759/cureus.47685Harvard Health Publishing Harvard Medical School.How to get rid of warts.American Osteopathic College of Dermatology.Warts.American Academy of Dermatology Association.Warts: tips for managing.Nemours KidsHealth.What to do about warts.Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.Cryotherapy for skin lesions.University of California, Berkeley. University Health Services.Liquid nitrogen treatment fact sheet.National Children’s.Warts: liquid nitrogen treatment.Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care.What are the treatment options for warts?Hogendoorn GK, Bruggink SC, de Koning MNC.Morphological characteristics and human papillomavirus genotype predict the treatment response in cutaneous warts.Br J Dermatol. 2018;178(1):253-60. doi:10.1111/bjd.15758Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care.Warts: overview.Cedars Sinai.Warts.University of Rochester Medical Center.Warts.
15 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.Kaiser Permanents.Warts: using salicylic acid.Kore VB, Anjankar A.A comprehensive review of treatment approaches for cutaneous and genital warts.Cureus. 2023;15(10):e47685. doi:10.7759/cureus.47685Harvard Health Publishing Harvard Medical School.How to get rid of warts.American Osteopathic College of Dermatology.Warts.American Academy of Dermatology Association.Warts: tips for managing.Nemours KidsHealth.What to do about warts.Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.Cryotherapy for skin lesions.University of California, Berkeley. University Health Services.Liquid nitrogen treatment fact sheet.National Children’s.Warts: liquid nitrogen treatment.Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care.What are the treatment options for warts?Hogendoorn GK, Bruggink SC, de Koning MNC.Morphological characteristics and human papillomavirus genotype predict the treatment response in cutaneous warts.Br J Dermatol. 2018;178(1):253-60. doi:10.1111/bjd.15758Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care.Warts: overview.Cedars Sinai.Warts.University of Rochester Medical Center.Warts.
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.Kaiser Permanents.Warts: using salicylic acid.Kore VB, Anjankar A.A comprehensive review of treatment approaches for cutaneous and genital warts.Cureus. 2023;15(10):e47685. doi:10.7759/cureus.47685Harvard Health Publishing Harvard Medical School.How to get rid of warts.American Osteopathic College of Dermatology.Warts.American Academy of Dermatology Association.Warts: tips for managing.Nemours KidsHealth.What to do about warts.Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.Cryotherapy for skin lesions.University of California, Berkeley. University Health Services.Liquid nitrogen treatment fact sheet.National Children’s.Warts: liquid nitrogen treatment.Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care.What are the treatment options for warts?Hogendoorn GK, Bruggink SC, de Koning MNC.Morphological characteristics and human papillomavirus genotype predict the treatment response in cutaneous warts.Br J Dermatol. 2018;178(1):253-60. doi:10.1111/bjd.15758Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care.Warts: overview.Cedars Sinai.Warts.University of Rochester Medical Center.Warts.
American Academy of Dermatology Association.Warts: diagnosis and treatment.
Kaiser Permanents.Warts: using salicylic acid.
Kore VB, Anjankar A.A comprehensive review of treatment approaches for cutaneous and genital warts.Cureus. 2023;15(10):e47685. doi:10.7759/cureus.47685
Harvard Health Publishing Harvard Medical School.How to get rid of warts.
American Osteopathic College of Dermatology.Warts.
American Academy of Dermatology Association.Warts: tips for managing.
Nemours KidsHealth.What to do about warts.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.Cryotherapy for skin lesions.
University of California, Berkeley. University Health Services.Liquid nitrogen treatment fact sheet.
National Children’s.Warts: liquid nitrogen treatment.
Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care.What are the treatment options for warts?
Hogendoorn GK, Bruggink SC, de Koning MNC.Morphological characteristics and human papillomavirus genotype predict the treatment response in cutaneous warts.Br J Dermatol. 2018;178(1):253-60. doi:10.1111/bjd.15758
Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care.Warts: overview.
Cedars Sinai.Warts.
University of Rochester Medical Center.Warts.
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