The kids and I were going through old pictures today when we ran across a picture of the worst wart ever. You’ll have to click “more” if you want to see it — don’t look if you’ve got a strong gag reflex. And actually it wasn’t the worst wart ever, now that I think of it. He had some on his feet that were bigger than a fifty cent piece. (Bah! And after all that I forgot to add a More link so it displayed the whole thing! d’oh!)
But anyway, the whole reason I’m posting this is because we’d forgotten how bad it was, and what a miracle it was we found a remedy that actually works. And since someone had asked the other day how we got rid of his warts, I figured I’d post the solution here. If you want it and don’t mind the gross picture, go ahead!
You’ll need ALL of these things (getting the right combination is important)
– Apple Cider Vinegar
– Cotton Swabs
– Duct Tape
– Clear Nail Polish
– cheap, DISPOSABLE emery boards (a pack of 5 from Sally’s would work)
– hand sanitizer
On the first night:
1) Lightly buff the surface of the wart with an emery board. Wash away the dust and use some hand sanitizer, and throw away the board.
2) Break the cotton off the top of a swab. You should have a ball about the same size as the wart. In Ethan’s case, we had to use small cotton balls instead.
3) Dampen the cotton with the vinegar, put it on the wart, and duct-tape it in place, sealing off the edges as best as you can so you can sleep.
In the morning, remove the duct tape, wash everything and let it dry, and then give the wart a few coats of nail polish.
At night, pick off the nail polish and put on a fresh swab of vinegar with your duct tape.
After a day or two, you’ll notice some black specks on the surface of the wart. It’s dying. My son said this hurts a bit.
Keep repeating this process for a few days until the wart turns completely black. Then skip the apple-cider vinegar swab and duct-tape routine. Don’t worry about picking off the nail polish either at this point. Just add a fresh coat every day. After a few days, the wart will fall off and should be gone for good.
These are some things we had tried:
– Salicylic Acid Patches
– Compound W
– Freeze-it-Yourself Kits
– Freezing it at the Doctor’s Office
– Lemon Juice
– Wrapping in Duct tape only
– Wrapping in Duct tape With salicylic acid patches
– Tagamet / Zantac (supposedly can wake up a dozing immune system)
– Burning it with the end of a still-hot match
– Slicing the top off it with a razor (I think this is what made it bigger. NOT my idea and I don’t recommend it)
He even tried the suggestion to rub the wart several times per day with a washcloth and repeat, “Wart, Go away.”
None of that worked. The vinegar solution caused the wart to turn black and die in a matter of days, and within 2 weeks the wart was gone completely. In fact, even his smaller, non-treated warts disappeared quickly as well after that.
Anyway. Here’s the picture of the wart about to die. Hopefully yours isn’t this nasty. If it is though, take hope .. and start using some vinegar!
