Duck tape for warts: Has this actually worked for anyone?

<p>One of my kids has a small cluster of warts on the bottom of his foot. I had planned to take him to get them frozen off but our neighbor, who is an RN, said duck tape works better. We decided to try it but the tape comes off after every shower. If it would really work, we’d stick with it but it is sort of a hassle . . .</p>

<p>Freezing worked fine for my daughter. It required 2 visits to pediatrician. If it doesn’t work, you could always go back to the duct tape.</p>

<p>Duct tape did not work on my daughter’s warts when she was younger; her skin started to erode in general under the tape. HOWEVER, what did work was Tagamet. Our physician had read an article in a medical journal about the active ingredient in Tagamet being successful in ridding 15 out of 17 kids of warts in a small study. We tried it and it worked. (Don’t remember the doseage, but he helped us figure it out.)</p>

<p>Have you tried WD40? :)</p>

<p>Oh, and taping her fingers (to try to get rid of the warts) did make her stop sucking her two middle fingers. (D was pretty young when she had warts.)</p>

<p>Yes it worked for my daughter. She had a couple of warts on her foot and freezing had not worked at all. Then she injured her ankle and was in a cast for 6 weeks. When the cast came off there was now a large ugly cluster of warts (maybe they liked the dark moist conditions?). We decided to try the duck tape route. It took a while (2 months maybe) so required patience, but it got rid of them all. As far as I remember (it was a while ago) we would leave the tape on for 2-3 days then replace it.</p>

<p>She had been prone to warts and did not get them again for a long time after that.</p>

<p>I have never tried the duct tape thing, but a friend of mine has found it successful.</p>

<p>They do sell the freezing stuff over the counter. You could give it a try before a doctor visit.</p>

<p>Tagamet orally?</p>

<p>I’m currently trying to get rid of one persistant wart w/a small waterproof bandage over a dot of neosporin - trying to duplicate the duct tape airproof approach w/o duct tape.</p>

<p>I’d suggest giving the duct tape a try for a while before going to freezing off. I’ve had several frozen off and it is quite painful. Maybe combine Compound W w/duct tape. I’d give it 3 weeks or so . . .</p>

<p>I had nasty ones on the bottom of my foot, the duct tape works IF you use it to tape radish slices on the warts and replace daily (grandma’s home remedy secret). Worked for me…</p>

<p>Warts are viral and self limiting. They can go away by themselves if left untreated, but sometimes the bottom of the feet ones can be deep and painful. The raised mound that they create is a thickening caused by one’s own body response to the situation. How long has your child had the warts? If they have been there a long time, seek medical attention. If they are relatively new, try the least traumatic thing first. This is not duct tape! That is like ripping off a hang nail! Why not purchase some OTC salicylic acid and apply it after bath/shower daily and let it soften over a few week period? It will turn brown and one day just fall off in the tub…</p>

<p>[Duct</a> Tape More Effective than Cryotherapy for Warts - February 1, 2003 - American Family Physician](<a href=“http://www.aafp.org/afp/2003/0201/p614.html]Duct”>Duct Tape More Effective than Cryotherapy for Warts | AAFP) </p>

<p>actual research shows duct tape more effective than cryotherapy.</p>

<p>A painless cure:
Rub a piece of potato on the wart.
Then, hide the potato in a cupboard and wait.
As the piece of potato rots away, the wart will melt away, too.</p>

<p>My grandmother swore by this cure. She said it almost always worked <a href=“because%20warts%20often%20go%20away%20by%20themselves?%20or%20was%20it%20magic%20from%20the%20potato?”>i</a>.* ;)</p>

<p>The duct tape totally worked for my daughter. She had a few warts on the bottom of her foot… we tried compound W, freezing… The duct tape worked after a few weeks. </p>

<p>WHY DUCT TAPE</p>

<p>Two theories were proposed as to why duct tape works:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Debrides (removes dead skin) from the wart, thereby gradually eliminating the wart virus that resides in the skin.</p></li>
<li><p>Occluding the wart with duct tape somehow gets the patient’s immune system activated to attack the wart virus.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>DUCT TAPE TREATMENT PROCESS</p>

<p>There are various ways to use duct tape on warts:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Patients apply the duct tape to the wart, keep it in place for six or so days, then remove it, soak the wart, and pare it down with a filing (emery) board.</p></li>
<li><p>Apply over-the-counter salicylic acid wart remover liquid to the wart before bedtime. After letting it air dry for a minute or so, apply the duct tape over the wart, completely covering the area. Remove the duct tape the following morning. Each time they remove the tape, they are debriding some of the wart tissue. Repeat the application each night, until there is no remaining wart tissue.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>If you are a diabetic, do not self treat, go to a doctor.</p>

<p>Duct tape worked for me. It took awhile, and I had to scrape away at it for a good bit (it was a large one exactly on the ball of my foot) but it worked eventually. Just remember to put a small piece that just covers the wart, when I started I had a larger piece that covered a lot more area and wasn’t as effective.</p>

<p>Yes, our daughter took Tagamet orally in larger doses than for stomach issues (which I think Tagamet is supposed to be used for).</p>

<p>I think it was a dematologist who suggested we try the duct tape since freezing/burning warts off is painful and there is no guarantee they won’t come back. D’s skin was so sensitive that skin under the tape got painfully bad, so we eventually quit that. It was our regular MD (who was a pharmacist before entering medical school) who noticed the warts, mentioned that he had recently seen an article in a journal about Tagemet’s use in treating kids’ warts, and got us started on that. It worked and the warts did not come back. (It took about six weeks, I think.)</p>

<p>

I remember my doctor’s description of what freezing them off would be like. “This will be really painful and the pain will get worse and worse and worse and just when you think you can’t stand it any longer it will stop. Then I’ll do it again”. Perfect description. (I love my doctor). At least it worked for me. Didn’t work for my daughter and she did not want to do it again if possible which is why we tried the duck tape (which as I mentioned earlier did work for her).</p>

<p>I had heard the tagemet thing as well. I think that was our next stop if ducktape had not worked.</p>

<p>My daughter had warts so many times over a period of 3 or so years. Here are my experiences:</p>

<ol>
<li> Duct tape never worked for her and was a big hassle.</li>
<li> Freezing warts would work, temporarily, but often the warts came back bigger in the same spot.</li>
<li> Went to the dermatologist and he applied an extract from the blister beetle, who, as a defense apparently secrets a liquid that causes blisters (the beetle, not the dermatologist). The extract is ‘painted on’ the wart, tape is applied for roughly 6 hours, then removed. The wart will blister up and fall off in a few days to a week. We liked this best because it was pain free for her (she would sometimes have 8-10 warts to treat) and was quicker than over the counter and home remedies.</li>
</ol>

<p>The dermatologist explained it this way: Warts are a sneaky virus that the body does not recognize. The purpose of making it blister is so that the body’s immune system will recognize the wart virus and work to destroy it. However, some people are more susceptible to the wart virus, and so they may return multiple times. Knock on wood my daughter’s have been gone for a year now.</p>

<p>My son, on the other hand, had one plantar wart on his foot. We had the pediatrician ‘freeze’ it, it went away and never came back and he never had another wart.</p>