Plantar warts, or warts on the soles of the feet, are an extremely common condition, especially in children (who may be less attentive to hygiene). They are caused by the human papillomavirus, HPV, but are benign and shouldn’t cause any alarm. However, they can become painful because of the pressure body weight places on the bottom of the feet. If you aren’t experiencing pain and don’t mind the appearance of warts, then you can let warts resolve on their own, which might take a few months. But if you do want to quickly get rid of plantar warts, here are some options you might consider:
- Duct Tape Wart Removal
It’s commonly said that duct tape is an effective treatment for warts. Just stick a piece of tape over the wart and leave it in place for about a week. However, you should know that while this treatment is unlikely to hurt you, there’s no real evidence that it will work, either.
- Acidic At-Home Remedies
There are a wide variety of at-home remedies that utilize mild acids or natural enzymes to break down warts. These include apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and even mush scraped off the inside of a banana peel. But again, you should know that there’s very little research backing these methods up.
- OTC Wart Peeling or Freezing Kits
Most drugstores sell over-the-counter kits designed to either peel or freeze off warts. However, these treatments only work about half the time.
- In-Office Freeze-Off Treatments
Since at-home remedies are, at best, slow at removing warts — and may not work at all — many people prefer to find a podiatrist and get professional treatment. Podiatrists are foot and ankle doctors, and can use liquid nitrogen to freeze off the wart.
- Laser Treatment for Wart Removal
If a plantar wart or grouping of warts has been particularly resistant to treatment and is causing you pain, then you can consider a laser treatment for wart removal. A plantar wart laser treatment must be performed by a podiatrist, and is equivalent to a non-invasive surgery.
Would you try some of the more outlandish at-home remedies, or head for your local podiatrist’s office right away for treatment? Discuss in the comments.