The risk of acquiring warts is a constant issue. However, some precautionary measures can be followed to minimize this risk. Washing hands regularly and trying to keep the skin healthy, moisturized, and free from cuts is a great way to start as these viruses invade tiny scars and cuts. Using clean and fresh towels at the gym or other public places, always wearing flip-flops with rubber soles or sandals in public locker rooms and showers, and maintaining a clean lifestyle serve as effective measures to prevent warts. If you get a wart here are the most effective treatments to get rid of them:
1. Salicylic acid
A special kind of acid called the salicylic acid is the most common treatment to get rid of warts from home. Applying the acid doesn’t hurt, although it might sting just a bit. The acid can be applied on the wart. You can also soak a bandage in the acid and apply it to the wart. This process works best when the surface with the wart is soaked well in warm water and then kept dry—this will soften the wart so the acid works better. The acid peels away the skin, eventually peeling off the wart too.
2. Freezing
The wart can be frozen with a really cold spray treatment, which is available in stores. The spray makes a blister around the wart and eventually both the blister and the wart fall off. Though freezing is a common treatment, it is advised to not use ice cubes to freeze the wart.
3. Taping
Though this may sound weird, some people treat warts with duct tape. The same sticky silver tape that is used for odd jobs around the household might actually make the wart go away. Doctors don’t really know why this works, but if your doctor approves using duct tape, you can give it a try. Sticking a piece of duct tape on the wart and changing it every few days will lead to peeling away layers of the wart, eventually eliminating the entire wart, particularly plantar warts.
4. Avoid these habits
While trying to get rid of warts, scratching or picking should be avoided, this will make them worse and they might spread to other parts of the body. The process of getting rid of the wart will take time and may have to be continued every day, which may take weeks or even months. With treatment, if the warts aren’t going away fast enough or are spreading to other parts of the body, it’s time to consult a doctor.
Though some warts go away without treatment, others don’t. Even warts that eventually go away may take a few months or even years to disappear. Every wart can potentially be a mother wart that spreads to the other parts of the body; hence, turning to suitable home remedies or visiting a doctor is wise.
