The kids and I were going through old pictures today when we ran across a picture of the worst wart ever. 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, click ahead!
*IMPORTANT*
Don’t use this remedy on your face — it’s too harsh. If you have warts on your face, use some other method. Or better yet, find a wart somewhere else (someplace discreet) and treat that — your body may very well get the idea and kill the facial warts after that. OK? Promise you won’t do this to your face? Then here we go.
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/cutting it out (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!
A huge wart dying: the black specks are a tell-tale sign that the wart is going away. It was completely gone a few days after this.
Oh, I forgot to mention something pretty cool: I was only treating the warts on his hands, because his feet-warts were too painful and I didn’t want to torture him until I knew it would work. So when the warts on his hands were entirely cleared up, I had him take his socks off so I could start working on the soles of his feet. (sounds funny that I say I had him take his socks off, but due to the hideousness of his warts, I’d insisted he wear socks 24×7 except while he showered). But lo and behold, THOSE warts were gone as well, without even having been treated! I guess his body sorted out how to get rid of them and then just attacked them wherever they happened to be.
My kid said it hurt quite a bit but not as bad as having the wart frozen off. Also I think you’ll want to be sure you’re ONLY putting the apple cider vinegar on the wart itself. No need to put it on your unaffected skin. So make sure the cotton ball / q-tip top you’re using is the same size as the wart.
But yeah, I would still hang in there and do the ACV nightly and nail polish daily (picking it off again at night) until it’s totally black, then just stick with the nail polish for a few days without picking it off, and the wart should fall off after a few days. Let me know how it works for you!
We tried everything to get of one wart on my son’s elbow and one on his hand (home freezing kit, Compound W, duct tape, tea tree oil, grapefruit seed oil, patches, freezing it off at the doctor’s …). It just kept looking like it was going and would then reappear. I stumbled across the ACV cure and decided to try it. We just put an ACV-soaked q-tip piece on the wart, covered it with a thin layer of gauze and covered it with waterproof medical tape overnight. In the morning, we removed the medical tape, swabbed with ACV and left it to dry. We have been doing the swabbing during the day and the bandaging over an ACV-soaked piece of cotton at night. In just two days, we started to see the little black bits come to the surface. We are still working on the warts. It has only been 4 days since we started. I haven’t tried the nail polish but might start to do that once we see more of the black bits come to the surface. I didn’t like the idea of putting yet another chemical-laden substance on his young skin, so I am giving just pure ACV a fighting chance. It seems to be working so far. Oh, and it didn’t hurt my son at all the first day, it stung the second day and it hurts less and less each time (nothing so bad he couldn’t handle it). I read elsewhere that if it stings it’s because the wart is fighting back and there’s “action” going on there. So, I guess the stinging is good because it means that the wart is trying to survive but is being attacked. Once it no longer stings, it’s supposed to be on its way out.
Supposedly, the nail polish helps “suffocate” the wart and also helps to keep it, as it’s being destroyed, from spreading to anyone else. But if you’re seeing little black spots you’re on the right track. My son’s wart went entirely black within a day or two of the black spots first appearing, so if they remain tiny black spots or if they go away, I’d recommend trying the nail polish. Good luck!
My wart is black and everything. How long does it take to come off? What should I do to speed up the process?
The ones that were not treated?
They just went away. Once the body figured out how to fight the virus, they all disappeared.
I have been using the ACV remedy, but my wart has become an open sore! It hasn’t turn black either. Do you think I should continue to use the ACV and nail polish, or should I wait until it heals?
Ouch! You know, if it isn’t turning black, I would leave it alone. Are you sure it’s a wart?
Does it need to be unfiltered ACV? Thanks!
It shouldn’t have to be. I just used the cheapie stuff from the grocery store.
I noticed this is getting a lot of traffic lately.
Don’t use this method to clear tiny warts on your face. If you have warts on your face, find a wart somewhere else that is hidden, and treat that instead.
i have the same wart im hispanic and have had it for tree months and now its starting to open up like a flower with layers i just came from the doctors and they froze it off my has already turned black crusty and dry before going to the doctors but im going to try this since they told me i would have to go every week to get it froze off but im not willing to pay every visit so wish me luck
Good luck!
i need help hsd warts ever since i can remember
tried everthing went to hundreds of dermatoogist they cant help me
i will start on wednesday i just hope it isint that
sore cant stand pain
regards sharon thanx for remedy
My son says it does hurt. Hang in there. Just treat one out-of-the-way wart, too, and let me know how it goes.
I have been using Neem oil, I put a drop or two on my wart and then out a band aid on it . I noticed a my wart which at spilt open in 4 ways healed instantly , and now my skin color is returning to normal and all the black dots are appearing . I think it’s actually working .
I have been battling warts since I was in high school and nothing helped me except burning them off at a doc office.. Ouch.. The freezing just made them grow..! I’m so going to try your method I hope it works for me
thank u for sharing
You bet! Be consistent, and let me know how it goes!
We do the apple cider vinegar trick but put an aspirin on top and put a bandaid or duct tape over it all. My little girl’s wart turned black over night using that method.