DIY Wart Removal

Today’s topic is going to be on the gross side. However, the truth of the matter is, warts are the second most common skin ailment aside from acne. We’re all human right?

In fact, I have a cure for this common nuisance and it’s something found in your pantry.

What is a Wart?

Warts are infections in the top layer of the skin. It is a form of the Human Papillomavirus Virus (HPV).

The virus enters the body through a scratch in the skin cells and grows rapidly in that space creating the wart. Warts are highly contagious and can spread through touch and contaminated surfaces.

In my case, I got a wart from a dirty bathtub in a 3-star hotel (another nightmare story for another time).

However, today I am telling you how I cured my foot demon with a cheap everyday item.

The Struggle

I had a plantar wart on the bottom of my baby toe for years. I thought I got rid of it via Compound W Wart Remover Gel and Dr. Scholl’s Plantar Wart Remover.

The Dr Scholl’s Disc was a good idea however they didn’t fit my baby toe well and would fall off. These are best for the bottom of the foot and not on curved surfaces. This is also a quick fix as 24 is not enough to permanently do anything but was a quick fix to wear during the day or just keep the demon covered.

The Compound W Gel did work great, but you need patience (which I have none). You would have to cover the infected area, wait for it to dry, then peel off the layer in a couple days. This method does work but it takes months and persistence.

Both of these treatments are cheap and painless but do not have a high success rate.

I thought I had treated mine with the combination of these items. The area looked cured but it came back over the next years with a vengeance. When I saw it started to branch out I tried to treat it again–but with something new, something holistic, and something cheap.

How Did I Treat It?

Three words — Apple Cider Vinegar.

Apple Cider Vinegar has many healing properties and could be used as a facial toner to cleaning products but it also treats virus like warts.

With using apple cider vinegar to treat warts it is best to only do so at night and let it breathe during the day. This is not a pain-free way to treat warts, however, it’s peanuts compared to burning or freezing the virus.

The Method

I would take a bottle of pure apple cider vinegar, a cotton ball, and micropore tape to treat my foot at night before bed. I would take the cotton ball and soak it in apple cider vinegar and round the ball to fit my baby toe. Then I would tape it off and wouldn’t touch it until the morning.

The first couple night the skin around my toe began to dry out turn yellow. Once the skin hardens and began to flake, I took an Exacto knife and peeled away the skin.

Here’s where the pain comes in.

I treated my foot as the nights before. However my toe was throbbing, it felt like someone was literally stabbing it. It was enough pain to wake me up from my sleep.

Upon the next day, I was shocked, the wart had turned black. After a couple more days of hardening and treatment, I began to peel it away. Although, this time a black pea-sized pebble came out.  There was no more pain after this night.

I continued this treatment until the wart was gone altogether. It took about 6 weeks.

A Word of Caution

As stated before do not touch warts they are highly contagious. I used latex gloves when shaving down the infected area. Then immediately sprayed all surfaced (knife tip, feet, etc.) with isopropyl alcohol to kill and disinfect surfaces.

I preferred to use micropore tape because it bonds to the skin and does not move. With regular scotch tape, the cotton ball would not stay in place when wet.

I would highly recommend not doing this treatment with white socks as the apple cider vinegar could leave a yellow ring.

A LOT of people like to buff their warts with a pumice stone, I would advise against this as if the surface isn’t cleaned properly (all those holes) you will spread the infection to other parts of your body.

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