So I got a few warts on the bottom of my foot, and the only thing I can figure is that I must have got them from going barefoot at in the pool showers (?). Anyway, any good ideas for getting rid of them? Does the ducktape method work well? Or should I just fork out some money and get them frozen off by a doc?
I literally just watched a commercial for a home use freezing pen or something along those lines for exactly this purpose. Don’t know where you can buy them - but I’d try your local drugstore first… the duct tape idea makes me cringe.
- Mike
I just had this conversation with my daughter’s doc yesterday! Go to your pharamacist and ask for the strongest over the counter stuff available. She said that it comes in all strengths, and you simply have to buy the strongest.
I have used the Doctor Scholl’s medicated disks (little foot patches treated with Salycic acid) and they have worked well to remove planar’s warts from my feet. Costs about $8 at the pharmacy.
I had a wart on my shin at one time. I removed it by cutting it off with fingernail clippers. Seemed to work well, bled a like a stuck pig though.
I’ve gotten rid of few by using liquid viamin E. Cut open a jel cap and squeeze the jell onto the wart and cover with a band aid. Do it right before bed each night. Works well but not fast. Takes 4 to 6 weeks.
Wife says duct tape works too. She reads all the home helth remedy books.
Aldara Cream 5%.
You will need a presciption and it can be expensive. It is made for removal of genital warts. A Doc prescribed it for my foot, because it wouldn’t interupt my training. It worked perfect. It took about 2-3 weeks and the wart hasn’t returned.
Oh boy - the wart thread again.
OK. First, if it is on the BOTTOM of your foot: don’t buy the freeze stuff. That works OK for raised verruca on the top of the foot or about anywhere else, really, but the virus (human papillomavirus that causes the wart) is pretty deep on the bottom of the foot because the skin is thicker here than anywhere else in the body (esp the ball and heels).
Get some OTC salacylic acid of any variety (i.e. Duofilm, compound W, Walgreens brand). Highest OTC concentration is 17% in liquid form. Before bed, shave off as much of the callus covering as possible (don’t worry if it bleeds some, those little pin-point black dots you see in the lesions are capillary ends as warts are very vascular). Pressure to stop bleeding if any. Put a small drop of the salacylic acid on the lesion(s) THEN cover with duct tape, black electrical tape (or some type of vinyl tape that is occlusive and won’t breath). Go to bed and leave on all night. In the morning, take the tape off, shower and go about your day. Next night, repeat. It is important to remove as much of the white, macerate skin that will form from the acid before application each night.
You are basically trying to destroy the skin that the virus is in. Since the virus does NOT invade the dermis, you only have to wear away the epidermis (it is thick though) so no scarring will occur.
There is also evidence in the literature (Journal of Pediatrics) that cimetidine (Tagamet) which is now an OTC medicine for acid reflux will help the body “rev up” you immune system against the virus. Dose is 400mg 3 x day (OTC pills are 200mg so you need 2 at a time). You can also try this. There are also some newer topical, 5-fluorouracil type meds (Carac, Aldara) than can be helpful, but evidence is anecdotal only with the thicker skin on the foot (again, works better on thinner skin).
You will then hear about every remedy under the son from Grandma, etc. (i.e. cut a potato and rub on them, etc.) 
Good luck!
Duct tape works. there are studies with this. Larry Eichenfield, a dermatologist at UCSD, recommends starting with duct tape. I had plantar warts on my right foot last year. First noted them when one of them started hurting the right 4th metatarsophalangeal joint. I decided to try the duct tape before I started using salicylic acid plasters, etc.–gone in 3 weeks.
that is much sooner that most and it could have be happenstance, but plantar warts are usually very recalcitrant.
Put duct on the wart after your bath. Dry it, wait a couple of minutes to let it dry enough to let the tape stick. Remove it at your next bath and reapply. Keep this up until the wart is gone. (If you see no improvement in a month, try salicylic acid plasters trimmed to the size of the wart and duct tape it in place, or get some duofilm or salicylic acid liquid.)
If you try it. Let us know. I start all my patients with warts on duct tape first. It costs me money, since I’m not freezing nearly as many, but it works, most of the time.
I’ve had much better luck with freezing than salacylic acid for warts (not on my feet). The salacylic acid takes daily applications for several weeks to get rid of them, freezing them once or twice gets rid of them in a couple of weeks. Depending on where the warts are on the foot the OTC freeze stuff can work pretty well. My daughter had them on the underside of her toes, between the “ball” of the toe and the foot, where the skin isn’t so thick–one freezing and they were gone in a few days. I agree it would be pretty tough to get rid of them on the ball of the foot or heel, where the skin is pretty thick & tough.
You and me both. Apparently, the method i used is just like the doc does. Cut off the wart with a blade and put more acid on it. Bleeds like hell, though
Well, what do you guys think of this sucker:
http://marajade.dyndns.org/albums/Randomness/Wart/CRW_6183.jpg
http://marajade.dyndns.org/albums/Randomness/Wart/CRW_6187.jpg
I’ve had it on my foot for a long, long time, like over 10 years. It really didn’t bother me but about a year ago, I decided thot I wanted to get rid of it. Duct tape at first didn’t work. Then, I try something called Wart Peel which is a very strong acidic compound. That irritated the wart, but it ate into the skin around the wart and with the wart being in that location, it caused me all kinds of issues. I seriously think that wart and the pain it inflicted on me caused a lot of my issues that I’m having in my left leg. Ok, that strong acid didn’t work so I’m not going to a dermatologist to get it frozen. It’s working OK and I’ve been 3 times so far, and it’s still there. If that doesn’t work, we are going to try to inject it with bleomycin to get rid of the thing. And if that doesn’t work, I’m just going to live with it. It’s really causing me pain when I try to get rid of it and the only reason I want to get rid of it is because it’s not suppose to be there and looks nasty.
You want to cut a lot of it off, but you don’t want it to bleed. Bleeding can spread the virus around and just make the wart grow.
Man that is NOTHING! You DO NOT want me posting pictures of some of the nasty warts/lesions I’ve seen. Worst case was a very good local high school CC runner who got a full ride to UNC Chapel Hill to run X-country. Had the warts forever, spread to most of the bottom of his foot, and he could never undergo excision/tx because of his season/training. So his parents get my name and bring him to me about 2 weeks before he is to go away to NC. Right - spent about an hour with him under general in the hospital with the laser breathing laser pflumes 
I know I didn’t get paid enough for that, but I did get to watch him running through college
Anyway, think carefully about the bleomycin injection - it hurts REALLY bad, but I find it tremendously effective. Causes a very nasty, black, blood filled bullae in a few days that is mighty unpleasant. Also, some insurance payors will cover the stuff (and it is extremely expensive). But, it violates my #1 rule for wart treatment. If the wart is painful or in a painful location - may as well just surgically excise the thing. That hurts, but it hurts anyway, and has the highest cure rate. But, it the lesion is not painful, I like to try other “non painful” modalities first because we know that most warts will resolve on their own eventually anyway (could be years and it can spread, but hey …)
Good luck anyway!
WD-40 and needle nose pliers!
About 3-4 years ago, I went to a dermatologist in Atlanta and he zapped it with a laser. I had it zapped at least 6 times and the fucker actually spread! It was about the size of a pencil eraser and grew to the monstrosity that it is now.
So, what do you think I should do with this thing? Keep freezing it, try laser again, try bleomycin, or cut the damn thing out? My derm and I agreed that we’ll do 1 more freezing session and see how it looks after that. Ideally, I’ll do IMFL on Saturday, come back to Austin and get the sombitch either excised or bleomycined on the Tuesday or Wednesday afterwards, and then let my heel heal. I’m open to suggestions but ultimately I want the thing gone. I’ll take some pain for 2 weeks because this thing has caused me enough pain and injuries already. Gone, damnit! No more! Nuke it from orbit, take a hot poker and burn it off, or inject it with harmful chemicals. Just get this damn thing off my foot so I can run again.
get a scapel and cut it out or hook up with a friend that works somewhere were you can get liquid nitrogen. I personally found the cutting it out method to also work well with toe nail clippers. just keep clipping and put a towel underhte foot so you don’t bleed on the carpet or floor. Lots o fun. If you can’t do any of this to yourself, you may have issues so go see rroof.
and make sure you get that “core” out of there or you will be doing minor surgery again!
I’ve had pretty good success with using toenail clippers at getting smaller ones to go away.
Doesn’t cutting away the wart or using toe nail clippers like everyone is suggesting just spread the wart? I don’t want to do a little surgery on my foot only to have the wart spread to being a whole colony on the bottom of my foot . . .