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Treating Warts, Naturally
By Laurine Brown PhD |
| Common warts are rarely harmful. But they can be bothersome, painful, and, especially for kids… embarrassing. Adolescents are mercilessly affected, children occasionally, and adults rarely. I recall an elementary school classmate who was relentlessly teased about a wart in the middle of her forehead and nicknamed “wart-head.” I guess I was lucky that at least my childhood warts were localized to my hand. Still I was embarrassed to let anyone see the disgusting hard cauliflower-shaped growths that seemed to have taken over my palm. These painful childhood memories primed me to seek effective treatment ideas when my school-age daughter complained of a wart painfully rubbing her writing finger. Of course, I didn’t know as a youngster that warts are contagious (but not from kissing a frog) and caused by human papilloma viruses (HPV). Furthermore I didn’t know that my childhood attempts to bite or cut the warts off probably spread them since the virus is contained in the blood and in the shedding skin cells. In healthy people warts usually disappear on their own (within a year or two) as the immune system overcomes the invading virus. But for others it takes longer. Conventional medical treatments often cut, burn, or freeze warts off by applying salicylic acid or liquid nitrogen. But they can be painful, costly, and the warts can stubbornly grow back. Thus I was fascinated to find that a growing body of research shows warts can respond favorably to a range of non-invasive natural treatments, like imagery, topical herbs, and immune-boosting nutrients. Natural remedies often take 2-3 months to work, so be patient. Happily, my daughter’s wart dried up and “fell of” within about 2 months of trying imagery along with garlic and tea tree applications. Here are some ideas… HYPNOTHERAPY and GUIDED IMAGERY - Warts are often responsive to mind-body healing approaches, perhaps through activating the immune system. Hypnosis is a widely recognized treatment. One controlled trial found that twice-weekly hypnosis sessions (where people are told to imagine their warts disappearing) resulted in greater wart disappearance than did salicylic acid, placebo, or no treatment after six weeks of therapy. Andrew Weil, MD also recommends guided imagery. It costs nothing, is safe, pain free, and requires only a few minutes each day. It’s best to try visualizing right before falling asleep and just after waking up when your imagery may pass more easily into the unconscious mind. Choose an image that is personally meaningful to you and practice it regularly. For example…one man was fascinated by steam shovels and got rid of a large wart by imagining a steam shovel scraping away at it morning and night. My pet-loving young daughter visualized a dog digging at her wart from the top, and a ground squirrel tunneling it out from the bottom. A friend who loved Tinkerbell visualized the fairy circling her body with a magic wand to clean up toxins and debris, including a painful plantar wart on her foot. TOPICAL TREATMENTS Duct Tape: A study of 61 kids found duct tape (“Special Magic Wart Tape”) may be more effective than liquid nitrogen. One group covered the wart for 6 days, removed the tape, soaked the wart in water, rubbed it with a pumice stone, and reapplied new tape. After 2 months 85 percent of the kids who used duct tape saw their warts disappear compared to 60 percent of the nitrogen group. Garlic: Antiviral. A preliminary trial with children found that, in all cases, their warts cleared completely after an average of 9 weeks of topical garlic use. Crush or slice fresh garlic cloves and apply directly to the wart, avoiding the surrounding skin to prevent irritation. Cover with a bandage and leave it in place overnight. Wash in the morning. Blisters should form. Repeat as necessary until the wart disappears. Tea Tree Oil, Aloe Vera Gel and other herbs: Antiviral. Place a small dab of either on the wart 2-3 times a day until the wart is gone. If irritation occurs, dilute the oil or extract with distilled water or vegetable oil. Herbalists also recommend topically applying the caustic yellow juice in the stem of a plant, Greater Celandine (Chelidonium majus ) which blossoms with delicate yellow flowers. I acquired a plant from a local gardener and used it successfully to treat a wart recently. Rub the milky juice of the stem on the wart once a day & let it dry, being careful to avoid the surrounding skin. Repeat as necessary. Folk Remedies: Rubbing warts with a piece of cut potato or the inside of a banana are two popular remedies. We really don’t know if it’s the food or the immune-boosting “belief” that works. IMMUNE-BOOSTING NUTRIENTS Zinc: Zinc boosts the immune system, which may help fight off the wart virus. In a double-blind study, supplementation with oral zinc sulfate for two months resulted in complete disappearance of warts in 87% of people treated, whereas none of those receiving a placebo improved. However the high doses (up to 135 mg/day) used in this study should only be used with medical supervision. Andrew Weil MD recommends a moderate dose: 30 mg zinc picolinate (which is an easily absorbable form). |
| References: General: Weil, A. “Treating Warts, Naturally” Self Healing, Sept 2005; pg 2; Balch PA, Balch JF, Prescription for Nutritional Healing, pg 677-679; Warts, Healthnotes 2004 viewed at www.vitacost.com/science/hn/Concern/Warts.htm. Hypnosis: Spanes NP, Williams V, Gwynn MI. Effects of hypnotic, placebo, and salicylic acid treatments on wart progression. Psychosom Med 1990;52:109–14. Duct Tape: Focht III, DR, Fairchok M, Spicer C. The Efficacy of Duct Tape vs Cryotherapy in the Treatment of Verruca vulgaris (the Common Wart). Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, October 2002; 156:971-974. Garlic: Silverberg N. Garlic cloves for verruca vulgaris. Pediatr Dermatol 2002;19:183. [Letter] Celandine: Weiss RF. Herbal Medicine. Gothenberg, Sweden: Ab Arcanum, 1988, 337; Greater Celandine, Healthnotes 2004 viewed at www.vitacost.com/science/hn/Concern/Warts.htm. |