Loading...Most warts don’t hurt. However, a person with plantar warts, those that develop on the soles of the feet, may find walking painful. A dermatologist could perform surgery or cryotherapy (freezing), but recovery time from such procedures is a big disadvantage. Is there a simpler way to make plantar warts disappear?
What Can You Do to Make Plantar Warts Disappear?
Q. For about a year now, I’ve been getting plantar warts. It started with just one but now there are more.
The dermatologist has been freezing them off, but they’ve come back. I’d like to get rid of them quicker.
Apple cider vinegar worked for a few but not all. Is there any method that might work better?
Remedies to Make Plantar Warts Disappear:
A. An online resource for doctors suggests using the least expensive and least painful treatment first (Al Aboud & Nigam, StatPearls, March 29, 2017). We interpret that as home remedies for starters.
Since you have already tried soaking the soles of your feet in dilute vinegar (equal parts vinegar and water), you might try other home remedies. Most of these use kitchen products such as bacon fat, banana peel, minced garlic or turmeric powder. They are applied overnight under a bandage.
Hot Water vs. Plantar Warts:
We first heard about this remedy from an old friend, Dr. Dean Edell. Dr. Edell was a skeptic about home remedies, but because this one was published in a medical journal (Cleveland Clinic Quarterly, volume 29: 156-161, 1962) he was more enthusiastic. Here is one reader’s report about its effectiveness:
Q. Hot water worked to get rid of my plantar warts after three years of trying every other medical approach and old wives’ tale known to man. Even my dermatologist was close to giving up on me.
Soaking my feet in hot water for an hour every night is what turned the trick for me. I found this recommendation on the University of Washington website.
A. We have been writing about hot water soaks for treating warts for almost three decades. Dr. Samuel Moschella of Harvard Medical School suggested this treatment for his patients who did not want surgical removal. He recommended soaking the affected foot in hot water (110 to 113 degrees F) for 30 to 90 minutes every week. It could take six weeks or more to see improvement. Please do not burn your feet with very hot water!
Will Castor Oil Make a Difference?
Q. My husband had plantar warts on his feet that resisted all the dermatologist’s treatments. He finally tried this home remedy which worked after several weeks.
He daubed the warts with castor oil and then covered them with duct tape. After a few days he would reapply the castor oil and tape. This did the trick.
A. We have heard from many readers that castor oil or duct tape can be helpful against warts. This is the first time someone recommended combining these two approaches in one remedy. Perhaps the dual action is better than either alone. Thanks for sharing this hybrid remedy.
Duct Tape for Plantar Warts:
Duct tape has stirred a lot of controversy among dermatologists. One small randomized controlled trial showed that it worked significantly better for children than freezing the warts (Focht et al, Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Oct. 2002). That study used the usual silver duct tape.
Another study using clear duct tape in adults found it was no better than placebo (Wenner et al, Archives of Dermatology, March 2007). We could conclude that duct tape doesn’t work against warts, or that it doesn’t work for adults or that clear duct tape doesn’t resemble silver duct tape. Without further research, we won’t know which hypothesis is most plausible.
Soaks to Make Plantar Warts Disappear:
Some readers have had success soaking the area in old-fashioned Listerine.
Q. I had a plantar wart for years, and the OTC wart products did not help. I would scrape it with a razor blade because it felt like a pea in my shoe. A doctor burned it off, but it came right back.
Then I developed toenail fungus, so I tried soaking my foot in Listerine and vinegar. After several weeks, I remembered the wart. When I checked the bottom of my foot, it was completely gone. That was over 20 years ago, and it never came back.
A. We have no idea why soaking your foot in Listerine and vinegar would make a plantar wart go away. Perhaps the ingredients in Listerine, menthol, eucalyptol, thymol and methyl salicylate, have antiviral activity.
You are not the first reader to report that soaking feet in Listerine, with or without vinegar, could make plantar warts go away.
When all else fails, the heartburn medicine cimetidine (Tagamet) may be the answer. Here are the details.
There are, unfortunately, no comparative studies to determine which of these wart remedies might be most effective for you. As you have discovered, warts often come back, regardless of the treatment you use. We have gathered a number of wart remedies in our book, The People’s Pharmacy Quick & Handy Home Remedies. You might find it in your local library or look for it in the Books section of our online store.
CD
Smothering them with nail polish worked for ALL the warts my kids had, not just plantar. Apply 1-2 times a day as needed. There always seems to be one ‘Mother’ wart that shoots out offspring. That’s the one you really need to concentrate on. It seems once that one is gone the others don’t survive. I found a nail polish that was “gun metal” grey, and the boys thought it was cool! Plus, no pain like when we tried to have them frozen off.
MA
My mother-in-law always recommended Terramycin. I stepped on a tack in college and had a persistent “corn/callous” that was finally diagnosed as plantar wart years later. I am not prone to warts and had never had one. After trying many other things, I found terramycin at a pet store that carries medication. Often it is behind the counter and available without an Rx, It is generally for eye applications in pets. I put it on for a few days with a Band-Aid over; the wart turned blackish and fell off; never had a recurrence.
Lee
The plant-based remedy, Thuja Occidentalis, is what we used on my son’s plantar wart. It was frozen twice and came back. 1 1/2 vials of the Thuja, and it disappeared and never returned.
Since they’re caused by a virus, that needs to be dealt with – not just the symptom. Haven’t needed to try, but oil of oregano might work since it has anti-viral properties.
Becky
I cleared up a plantar’s wart that was on the side of my foot with good old silver duct tape. That was years ago, and it never came back.
Jody
My husband suffered with plantar warts for years, and like everyone else tried a number of remedies: burning, freezing, duct tape, etc to no avail…until we started taking 8 capsules of Yucca with grapefruit juice on an empty stomach. Yucca is a plant with antiviral properties; we started it because we learned it was effective against arthritis. After a few weeks, my husband noticed the plantar warts falling off, one by one until they were totally gone! They have never returned, nor do we have arthritis in any of our joints! Has anyone else heard of the health benefits from Yucca?
Donna
My mother suggested I try, upon waking each morning, to put my saliva on the wart, completely covering it with my spit. It worked after doing this every morning for 6 weeks. The huge plantar wart was on the inside of my foot. I was going to have to have it surgically removed. It literally fell off in pieces.
Barb
Hearing about using hot water soaks, or heat in general, is interesting. When I was in my teens, I had 5 plantar warts burned off the bottom of my foot, but one popped up on my big toe. Over the summer that year I went to the beach, hot sand, every week. Within a couple months that wart fell off…probably like heat treatments.
WILLIAM
One trip to the doctor=no more plantar wart.
I was treated with a solution derived from the cantharides beetle. It was called cantharadex then but I think the name has changed.
Dr. scraped off some skin, applied the solution, put a bandage on, and told me that it would sting for 24 hours.
And it did! But no more wart!
Deborah
I have had wonderful success with an essential oil, oil of oregano. I place a drop or 2 on the site and cover it with a band-aid. Usually it takes only 2 or 3 applications and within a few weeks the plantar wart is gone! You must be carefully handling the essential oil, as it will burn normal skin.
WarmTilesLolly
Echinacea pills – this worked for me. IDK the dosage; but I got the bottle at a discount store! Took one pill each day, and after about 2 wks, the warts on bottom of my foot were gone.
Jennie
I had a couple of plantar warts on the bottom of my foot.It felt like little nails . I tried the duct tape after reading about this on your site. I was amazed how fast it worked. In a few days the callus came off, and I actually peeled the little black splinter things out and no more pain. If it wouldn’t have been for COVID I would have already been to dermatologist. So glad
I tried this.
Also, tried castor oil for a couple of little places
on my arm for which I would have normally gone to dermatologist They peeled off within a few days, too.
Terri
We cured my son’s wart with a homeopathic remedy, Thuja Occidentalis. It had been frozen at the doctor’s twice but came back. One and a half vials of the Thuja, and it was gone never to return.
Paula
Oregon
I found that depriving the wart of oxygen effectively kills them in a week or two. At first I used clay, but later realized I could just paint a wart with acrylic craft paint in the morning and evening and it would be gone in short order. This was very handy as the kids were growing up. :-)
Derek
Martinez, CA
Seems like as many remedies as warts out there. I’m a swimmer and frequently in pool showers, almost daily. I’ve had a few warts on my toes. A couple at the large crease of my big toe and one that was on the side of my 2nd to big toe. The warts were large and at times uncomfortable. The ones in the crease of my foot could sometimes crack and bleed from starts off the blocks. I’ve had these warts 2-3 years and I know at one time used salicylic acid to remove the one that was on the side of my toe. It hurt like heck and created a crater that healed. That wart grew back- that was over a year ago. I gave up. Well, about two weeks ago all the warts I had turned black and exfoliated. I’m in shock! Nothing used, except I also had a bout with pneumonia. I had a fever of 102 for four+ days. I can only guess that my immune system FINALLY kicked into enough gear to fight them. I did go on an antibiotic for seven days (levofloaxin), but think the warts were on their way out before I started up the antibiotic (and warts are viral). Seemed odd and I haven’t seen much for documentation citing the coincidence of fever and warts suddenly disappearing, but it’s my theory….just don’t think I’d want a prescribed fever to get rid of any future warts, so odd- but I’m happy they are gone.
Ruth
Seattle
After working on this for more than three years, what finally worked for me was cutting the dead skin away each night with a scalpel, dabbing the area with oregano oil mixed with a gentle oil like canola, and then fixing a cotton ball soaked with apple cider vinegar to the spot with a band aid overnight. It took 2-3 weeks of this on top of years of other things. Totally healed now!
Carl
Central Florida
Twenty five years ago I had a plantar wart on my heel for a few years. Sat in a hot tub so hot that I got out most of the way but left my lower legs in. When I finally got out I think my body temperature was high but within a week the wart was considerably smaller. Within 2 weeks it was gone never to return.
Tom F
Charlotte NC
In my twenties I had a persistent plantar wart on the sole of my foot, right in the middle of the weight-bearing area of the heel. First my GP tried to burn it out with an electric cauterizing probe, but after it healed it was slightly bigger than before. Then a dermatologist injected it with something approved only in Canada. About 10 days later, a bloody lump the size of a pea came out. After it healed it was still there. Next was a podiatrist who would debride and apply salisylic acid and a moleskin cover every Saturday morning. On the tenth week it was so deep and hurt so bad I had to pull over and rinse it out in a gas station bathroom. Finally I tried applying castor oil daily with moleskin cut in a donut shape and a second layer to keep the oil in. About 6 weeks later it was gone forever. My theory is that it needs to be kept soft with some kind of oil to stop the irritation and let the body take care of it. It seemed like the main cause of growth was if it hurt a bit when I put weight on it. This was all 40 years ago but I seem to recall it quite clearly; apparently it was a rather traumatic time. I’ve never had a plantar wart since. Good luck!
Barb
Illinois
In my late teens I had a planter wart on my back. My grandfather said, “Give me a penney and I’ll get rid of it.” And he did, though I know not how. It felt like he held it on the wart for a few minutes. But the wart was gone in a week, never to return. In my 70’s now, I often wish I’d asked him about his many talents and knowledge.
Terri
Sebastian, FL
My husband has had plantar warts since he was a kid. He always put a dab of Clorox bleach on them with a Q-tip for a few days and they would go away and do not return. Warts have roots like weeds they spread out, like weeds you need to kill the roots. The Clorox bleach is strong enough to get to the roots so that wart will never return.
Lolly
ga
I had 3 plantar warts on ball of one foot. Podiatrist shaved, cut them off, etc. Then I decided to try logic. If warts are viral, my body needs to fight the virus. . . hmmm . . went to Dollar Store and got basic echinacea tablets.
After 2 weeks, the warts were gone never to return. Echinacea works best when taken for only 10 – 14 days, then should be stopped so that the body doesn’t rely on it. Normally, the body can fight off viruses without help.
Wart Free
Houston, Tx
I tried many treatments; freezing, cutting, super glue, duct tape. Finally got results from 40% salicylic acid cut to fit self adhesive pads by Curad/Mediplast (purchased at medical supply) and freezing by dermo. Freezing 5 separate times and each time my foot would swell up for 4 days. It was uncomfortable but I was tired of the warts and they were spreading so I really needed to do something. Hopefully, they won’t be coming back. Had some luck with super glue on the top of hand with tiny warts but not with the plantar warts.
Sheila
Oregon
Okay this might not work for everyone, but it did work for me, and they have never come back. I kept clear fingernail polish on them and I would put it on and make sure if I took a bath or shower to make sure I covered them as soon as my foot was dry enough to make it stick. It took about 6 weeks more or less to get them to disappear. Cheap easy effective.
Marilyn
I am using the clear nail polish on my “suspected” plantar wart on the tip of a toe. Very odd place but annoying just the same. I also have something like a wart that is under a ring on my right hand.
The ring irritates the skin and makes it itch. I have started with the clear nail polish and the itch has stopped. It is also slowing going away.
Gail
Bellevue, WA
Have used Turmeric mixed with a dot of olive oil twice now. The trick for not having a yellow mess is to get the best waterproof bandage and just put on enough of the mixture to cover the wart. When the black dots appear in the wart, that should take care of it. It takes awhile for the skin buildup to wear down to normal again.
Turmeric worked for my daughter also!
Frank H
North Carolina
I believe it was such a wart that I had on the sole of my foot some 60 years ago. Applying tincture of iodine, which used to be in everybody’s medicine cabinet but which did sting when applied to a cut or scrape, did the trick within not many days.
Patience
New Jersey
You could try apple cider vinegar, olive oil, coconut oil, first aid tape over spot at night…These remedies helped me with a spot on the side of my head to the left of my forehead and it disappeared within two weeks after all of the above. Good luck! (I might have tried other things, too, but can’t remember).
Jon
Tucson
Tea Tree oil over a few weeks completely eliminated my Plantar Warts. I had tried all the other remedies but only Tea Tree oil worked… I applied it to the warts at least once a day.
Christina
Kirkland WA
All the above strategies (plus others) did not affect my daughter’s plantar warts. We tried therapeutic grade peppermint essential oil applied directly twice a day and they went away.
William F. Wallace
My doctor put some fluid called ‘cantharadex’ (from the beetle that produces the fluid called ‘Spanish Fly’, which if taken internally causes irritation of the urinary tract, which could be misinterpreted as sexual arousal – but its dangerous this way) on my wart after he shaved some skin off. Put on a bandage and told me not to remove it for 24 hours. The wart disappeared and never came back. This was decades ago and so I don’t know if that product is still available. Simple and effective.
Marlene
Mount Dora, FL
Regarding plantar warts, this is what worked for me. After having two PAINFUL nitrogen treatments, my sister suggested I apply essential oil of oregano and cover it with silver duct tape. I did that for two weeks and the wart was gone, has never come back, and left no trace that I ever had one!
Kathleen
Vitamin E oil, applied several times a day, cured my son’s plantar warts within a few weeks. It beat the doctor’s cure of cutting them out. That was very hard to watch.
Pam
PA
I have used silver duct tape for plantar warts. This was several years ago, and I don’t remember how long I had to use the tape. It did get rid of the warts, but a side effect was a fungal infection – athlete’s foot. I had never had athlete’s foot before using duct tape.
I have found that the key to getting rid of the wart(s) is to make sure that the thread-like roots are removed.
Sabrina
Raw Garlic. We sing the praises of ingesting this wonderful bulb but it works its magic on plantar warts too. On the hands slice a thin piece and put it directly on the wart with a band-aid to keep in place. Replace as often as needed, but at least in the morning and before bed, until wart falls off.
The feet, especially soles, will take a little more ingenuity. Even if you can do it only at night it will get rid of warts.
“Burning” or “freezing” warts never worked for me. I use a lot more fresh garlic in my cooking now and rarely get a plantar warts anymore.
PKK
Nebraska
I used my metal foot callus remover first then soaked my foot in straight, not diluted, apple cider vinegar. The good stuff, “Mother”, because I drink it ( it burned not gonna lie) twice daily for 7 days …… plantar wart gone.
Sady Abernethy
Florida
I had a planter wart on my heel for over 30 years. I had it cut out, hit with a laser, duct tape, cancer creme, and still no relief, the pain was horrible. Finally, I read a article about Dead Sea Salts. I purchased a bag from Amazon, dissolved a couple of tablespoons of it in hot water, put it in a pan and soaked my foot every night for over a month. I could see it slowly shrinking, and after about two months it was totally gone! I think you could use more of the salts if it is not working. I am after a year wart free!
Marty
Suncoast of Florida
I suffered from Plantar warts for years, at one point it became so painful it was difficult to walk. I tried many over the counter remedies and all they did was cause them to spread. I read about a home remedy using duct tape and urine, each night I would soak a small cotton swab in freshly deposited urine and affix it to the plantar warts with duct tape and remove it in the morning. After several weeks the warts started to disappear. Today, I am free of warts for a couple of years. It sounds gross but it worked and I would recommend it to anyone suffering from plantar warts.
Jane H
Has anyone tried liquid bandage? With or without duct tape?
Indy GF
Indiana
My teen’s plantar warts were healed with nightly topical application of castor oil, then socks worn to keep it from staining the bed sheets. I don’t recall exactly how long it took–may have been a few weeks.
Michael
N. Central Nebraska
A skeptical physician I know failed with standard medical remedies but had success with opening up gel caps of vitamin A and applying the oil directly on the plantar warts. Apparently the vitamin A disrupts the wart’s RNA (warts are viral) and they just dried up and disappeared, never to return.
Anita
Louisville, KY
I had a huge wart on my finger that always returned after doctor visits to have it frozen. What finally got rid of it was taking an oral garlic supplement which stimulated my own immune system.
Rob
ON
I had a particularly stubborn wart on the bottom of my small toe (probably picked it up a public swimming pool surface), and it was a nuisance for years. During one particularly aggravating episode I tried a new approach that worked for me. I applied Compound W liquid (not the “freeze” solution, the older plain liquid), as described on the package. But in addition, I also applied a Dr Scholl’s plantar wart removal disc and then put a bandaid around it. I repeated this daily for about a week. The combination of the two items made the wart dissolve away finally.
Ro
IL
Possibly the Listerine works because Listerine contains thymol, which is derived from thyme or oregano oil. Undiluted Oil of Oregano would cause a “burn” if applied directly to the skin. Don’t know if there are any antivirals in Listerine, but Oil of Oregano has been shown to be effective against MRSA.
Maureen
Virginia
I got rid of mine using the tree oil. Rub it on the wart and cover with duct tape. Change daily. Also, I hear apple cider vinegar on a cotton ball and tun duct taped over the wart works well. The banana peel did not work for me. Good Luck!