Loading...Q. My husband has terrible plantar warts. They have been frozen multiple times by a dermatologist. Acid patches ate away at his healthy skin but not the warts.
The warts have spread and are practically covering his entire heel. We are at a loss. Is there any remedy to get rid of these warts once and for all?
A. Plantar warts occur on the toes or soles of the feet and can be quite painful. Treatment is not always successful, as you have discovered.
Readers have shared remedies including turmeric paste, duct tape or banana peel on the wart. The turmeric powder is mixed with a little olive oil, applied to the wart and covered carefully with tape. The socks you wear may become stained, so don’t use your best pair. Change the turmeric daily.
To use banana peel, cut a piece of the peel to the size of the wart and tape it to the foot with the inner side of the peel against the wart. This too is changed daily; some people wear it only at night.
Any of these remedies may take up to six weeks, so be patient. Another approach that some have reported as helpful is the oral heartburn drug Tagamet (cimetidine) taken twice daily.
JM has offered this experience:
“I treated two plantar warts on a big toe that I had tried all the treatments on with little success, including among these; combinations of Compound W & duct tape, banana peel, garlic, etc. I will admit that because of chronic fatigue, I likely did not stick with the treatments long enough as I would forget. But after years of this, I have recently expanded my knowledge into essential oils and I put oregano essential oil neat plus Compound W maximum strength and covered this with the soft white paper tape for wounds, and the warts rapidly went away. Folks, this is for those that are the most recalcitrant to cure!
“If I can use anything that is more natural and doesn’t interfere with my digestive system, I prefer to, so maybe others of like mind may find this useful. Indeed, the oregano under the tape may be all that is necessary. I quickly add that it is generally recommended that essential oils are to be used in a carrier oil such as a quality castor oil, coconut oil, etc. (1 drop to 1/4 tsp ratio generally), but if one is using only a couple of drops for a plantar wart and the essential oil is quality, this is likely o.k. Try the oil in a carrier oil first to see if you react in any way.
“Further note on garlic. From my experience with garlic, which I consider one of nature’s premier medicines/foods, likely if I had used the juice of the garlic in some way like an essential oil, it may have cured the wart also. I use garlic as an anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and anti-pathogen. It is amazingly effective if one has a gum problem. Just slice off a piece and place the wet side against the area that is uncomfortable (using common sense, i.e., if the wound is exceedingly raw, be careful). I quickly add that I always use organic, and don’t know if that makes a difference.”
photo credit: happyfeet34 cc cropped
TP
Great advice. I will try the castor oil as I have some here.
Mercedes Serle
France, Villeneuve-La-Garenne
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Jon
Tried 3 patients with 1 warts each on their hands.
Fastest and best results -but it burns and stings:
1. Oil of oregano (undiluted) one drop a night – 5 days gone.
2. ACV works fast as well; soaked in cotton ball one drop – 10 days
gone but it may grow back.
3. Mediplast works well – cut strip size of a wart apply that with
band aid – 4 to 14 weeks, gone but it may grow back.
4. Duct tape works ok -3 months wart is gone but it may grow back.
5. Laser but expensive.
Worst results:
1. Tea tree oil
2. Cutting
3. Liquid Nitrogen
The winner is Oil of Oregano
Rob
United States
I completely rid myself of a bad plantar wart I had for 2 years using epsom salt, duct tape and salicylic acid.
One treatment alone is usually not enough to get rid of a plantar wart. Since they’re essentially warts that have been pushed into your skin instead of protruding out, you need a method that will get inside the skin and/or push the wart out to be hit it with the treatment. Some salicylic acid pads work to create pressure around the wart, forcing it out. Epsom salt soaks and duct tape make the area more vulnerable to the acid as they soften it up. the Epsom salts seem to dry it up as well after the soak.
Persistence is key. I tried a few days here or there. Even a week at a time. But at the end of the day I need about 3 weeks of dedicated treatment. Now that huge plantar wart is completely gone and there isn’t even a mark showing anymore. No scar whatsoever.
I created a blog specifically for the purpose of documenting my progress. It goes into great detail about the method I used and I have before and after photos which should help encourage you. These warts can be killed!
http://stubbornwart.blogspot.com/
DES
*** Laser treatments work
I am surprised that no one has mentioned laser treatment to me in 2 or 3 years of having these warts on my feet.
Not even my family doctor or a foot specialist after being referred.
Laser treatment in a professional laser clinic or lab will kill the planter wart permanently.
It might take a second treatment but it is a permanent fix to the problem.
Why is this information not more commonly available to everyone?
I have had this treatment.
Please give it a try, you will be amazed with the results.
Very important information to avoid this spreading this germ in your family.
I was told this information by the health professional and I was surprised that no one else told me this before.
1. Wash the shower floor regularly with a bleach solution to kill the bacteria
2. Do not share any wash cloths or shower sponges or especially foot files with your partner or you can give them the warts
3. Wash your socks in a solution with bleach added
4. For colored socks use a special bleach for colored clothing
The laser treatment is a very brief shot of laser and it is painful so I am not going to sugar coat it but it is very short and it works so be brave.
The pain will subside very quickly and you will be able to walk out of the doctors office.
If you have a large area of warts on the bottom of your feet schedule the treatment over several visits.
You will be able to make it more tolerable and manageable that way
Glad to help
Wish someone had given me this advise a long time ago
Good luck with your treatment
christine
Duct tape is supposed to work great. I had a way on my foot frozen yesterday and it’s black today.
Wart hater
PA
I don’t recommend laser treatment for severe cases . In my personal experience, the surgery required a long and painful recovery (one month on crutches – they were all over one foot, none on the other). I would’ve been able to tolerate that, but they came back so soon that I couldn’t tell if it was healing tissue, scar tissue, or warts. I am just over six months post-op and am back to trying home remedies. Duct tape works well if you can find a way to keep it in place. I work on my feet and it slides around a lot. Good luck. Persistence seems key.
Kitty
I had the same success with “The Oil of Oregano” for my plantar ward; it took about three weeks, worked like charm.
Eric Jackson
No, he meant “beetle juice.” This is from the Mayo Clinic website:
Cantharidin- Your doctor may use cantharidin — a substance extracted from the blister beetle — on your plantar warts. Typically, the extract is paired with salicylic acid, applied to the plantar wart and covered with a bandage. The initial application is painless, but the subsequent blister that forms can be quite painful. Your doctor clips away the dead part of the wart in about a week.
CWO
I had a wart on my foot which was removed by a doctor, only to have three warts appear in its place. I tried some homeopathic thuja – just one dose and then totally forgot about it until about 2-3 weeks later when I was discussing my wart problem, pulled off my sock and to my shock all three warts were completely gone.
Mariellen Gilpin
beetle juice?? beetle juice?? Did you perchance mean beet juice?
RG
My daughter used liquid bandage–worked quickly, and she’s been 2 years with no signs of any warts.
Sharon
You need to find a REAL dermatologist. I contracted plantar warts from the gym, and it was awful. I went to a podiatrist who proceeded to hack at them and place salic acid bandaids on them which actually caused them to spread on my feet and toes. I had nickel size warts approx 4 or 5 on each foot and smaller ones on my toes—it was serious and extremely painful even when I was not on my feet.
The podiatrist instructed me to “scrape” them with pumice stone. Oh my goodness, painful and worthless. I would ask anyone and others offered up these “witching” remedies, homeopathic stuff, what a joke.
Finally I came to find out that a cousin of mine had them and I called him. Go to a dermatologist that provides laser treatments. I had to return 3 times and have them lasered because they had grown and spread due to the terrible advice and prior treatments. The laser treatments were uncomfortable, however after the first treatment the pain was reduced and thereafter as well. The warts were GONE and never returned.
I really hope that you get this message and take care of them properly because I know how painful they are and how they limit your activities.
S. Ries
Some years ago, I worked as a lab assistant for a virologist. He was doing active research concerning ridding planter warts with unconventional methods. He even experimented using his own son by having his son put his foot into a a black box with a lit lightbulb in it for a period of time. The wart went away and surgery was not necessary.
Lydia
My friend and I both found that ours disappeared after taking prenatal vitamins for about a year. I had them almost as bad as the photo above, but they all disappeared. Two have returned in the years since being on prenatal vitamins, so I’m back on them now. I don’t know if it’s the extra folic acid or something else in them, but perhaps the reader could try them.
K.H.
I suffered from plantar warts on my big toe and on the ball of the same foot for many years. I used all the methods mentioned in the article with little, to no help. I finally saw a podiatrist and he applied a topical solution made of beetle juice to my warts and covered it with tape. A handful of these treatments made the warts disappear within a few months and they’ve been gone for over a year now.
TOM N.
Iodine applied directly to warts cleared multiple warts on back of my hands in short order, many years ago. No reoccurance…. previously suffered acid and experimental navy doctors experiments with no cure.
DW
I had plantar warts on the bottom of both feet. The dermatologist gave me this remedy. Sit on the side of the tub and put your feet in the hottest water that you can stand. Dunk them up and down in the hot water and do this twice a day. It didn’t take much time for them to go away.
TP
NC
Did this really work?
Sue
I can’t recall how I heard of this approach, but it definitely worked; you just have to be careful about the water temperature. Soak your foot each night for about 5-10 minutes in tap water that is as hot has you can tolerate (not scalding!)You will gradually see a change. Please do not try this if you have diabetes or any skin-sensitive issues.
JMS
My cousin had serious plantar warts and was treated by a podiatrist for over a year with no lasting relief. He changed to a podiatrist who used “needling”. The needling produces an immune response in the body. After one treatment the pain subsided and warts went away and have not come back. It took a while for the areas to completely heal. It has been a year and still no return of the warts.
Mary L.
I had a wart on my thumb since childhood. I tried everything I read about and it always came back. I read on People’s Pharmacy about using castor oil on knees and joints and started using it. My joints were feeling so much better.
While telling a friend about using the castor oil, she said her grandmother had put it on the warts on her hand as a child. In a week they were gone. I then looked at my thumb and low and behold the wart on it was gone. The skin is smooth with not a trace of roughness:-) Thanks to the castor oil I think it is gone forever. I don’t know if it will work for plantar warts but castor oil is cheap and worth a try.
Melanie S
I had plantars warts on my feet in my late teens and 20s. After enduring the acid and freezing cures I tried Vitamin E oil. I would just buy the little softgels and puncture one each morning and evening, apply the oil, and cover with a bandage. The wart completely disappeared an has never returned. (and I am 49)!
Karen
The original poster might also want to consider replacing his entire shoe-and-sock wardrobe, and perhaps burning (or permanently disposing of) his old supply. Don’t donate those shoes to charity.
jes
I used apple cider vinegar on mine. I soaked a cotton with it and put it on the wart, then covered it with duct tape every night then removed it in the morning. It took a couple of weeks, but solved the problem.