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Warts

Table of Contents

General Recommendations
What are warts?
What are the types?
Duct tape can cure it!? Everyone is talking about it!

Herbal Home Remedies to Treat and Cure Warts

Below is a summary of herbal home remedies, vitamins and minerals that have been traditionally.

Natural Remedy	What experts say about them
Garlic oil	Click here for a detailed review on garlic. Usage: Apply garlic oil directly on them one to two times daily for up to one month. For the pills, take 200 to 400 mg three times daily.
L-lysine	In laboratory studies, lysine stops the virus from spreading. One large study involving 1,543 subjects show that taking lysine supplements made their genital herpes sores, cold sores and canker sores less severe. Dose: Apply the cream every 2 hours for up to 1 week. For the pill, take 1 gram daily. Dosage as high as 1 grams three times daily have been used.
Tea tree oil	Research studies done in laboratory shows that it can stop herpes simplex virus (HSV). It may be effective for treating warts as well. Usage: Apply diluted solutions of tea tree oil once or twice daily. Caution: Apply concentrated or undiluted tea tree oil on open sores may cause irritation or a burning sensation.
Echinacea	Helpful Echinacea seems to boost the immune function and shows antiviral benefits. Dose: Take up to 500 mg twice daily to maintain your immune system.
Garlic clove	Anecdotal reports suggest that applying crushed garlic clove directly on them and cover them with a bandage for 24 hours helps. Try to avoid touching the surrounding skin. This will cause them to blister and eventually fall off eventually.
Aloe vera	Aloe vera shows antiviral benefits and may be helpful. Usage: Apply up to three times daily.
Selenium	Selenium improves immune function. Deficiency makes it easier for the virus to spread. Dose: Take 200 mcg once daily.
Zinc	Zinc is a trace mineral that is important in regulating the immune system and plays a role in preventing infections. Dose: Take 10 to 40 mg of zinc daily.
Apple Cider Vinegar	Anecdotal reports suggest applying a solution of ACV on a cotton ball is able to kills the virus in as little as 10 days.

General Recommendations

Treating and curing warts using natural home remedy takes significantly longer time than with standard therapy. Many of the herbs work by stimulating the immune system to allow the body to get rid of them naturally.

How to get rid of them

Support your immune system by eating nutritious foods.
Avoid eating simple sugars as they might make your immune system less effective.
Take multivitamins to support your general health.
Get enough sleep. This will keep your immune system working at its best.

Genital warts are highly infectious and should be treated by your family doctor. When you are not experiencing a flare-up, you should take home remedies to support your immune system to prevent them from reappearing. Research studies show that keeping your immune system at peak performance reduces their appearance.

What are warts?

These are skin growths that can show up on fingers, hands, feet, toes, and genital areas. It is caused by the human papilloma virus, known as HPV. Experts have identified over 100 strains of the HPV that causes them.

They do not usually cause pain or discomfort unless they are in a location where there is pressure placed on them (like on the bottom of the feet). They may disappear on their own while others may persist for years, even after multiple treatments.

They can spread to other parts of the body. Research studies show that a person with an excellent immune system will be able to prevent them from returning and to prevent them from spreading.

Genital warts (a sexually transmitted disease also known as STD, or venereal disease) can be highly contagious and can spread to the other partner during sexual intercourse. You can not easily get rid of genital warts. However, you prevent them from appearing. It is a condition that requires treatment by your family doctor.

People of all ages can get them although it seems to happen more often in children and teenagers.

What are the types?

The table below summarizes the most common types.

Types	Description
Common	Usually found in almost any part of the body such as the fingers, hands, feet, toes, knees and#top scalp. These types are caused by HPV 1, 2, 4, 27 and 29. They can spread to other areas if you bite or cut them. Even touching them may allow them to spread to another location. You will usually experience no pain. They may go away without treatment in 2 to 4 years.
Plantar	Appears on the sole of the feet. Because of the pressure placed on them, they grow into the skin rather than form a raised lump. These warts can be difficult to remove. These types are caused by HPV 1. They do not usually spread to other parts of the body but may spread locally on the sole of the feet. You will may experience pain, especially when you put pressure on them.
Genital	Genital warts are classified as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) or venereal disease.#top They appear near the sex organs or the anal area (rectum). It is highly contagious and can spread to nearby areas and to the other partner during sexual intercourse. During the asymptomatic phase (when they do not appear), you are not contagious. They are known to increase the risk of developing cervical and bladder cancer in women and cancer of the penis and rectum in men. Unfortunately, the use of condoms does not fully protect against getting them because of their location. They can be very difficult to treat and you must seek help from your family doctor.

Other less common types include:

filiform - usually found on eyelids, face, neck or lips
flat - usually found on the face and along scratch marks
periungual warts - usually found around the nails

Diagram of a plantar wart

Duct tape cures it?! Everyone is talking about it!

Duct tape myth - You will find many people talking about how putting duct tape on warts causes them to go away. There was a research report that was published by lead researcher D.R. Focht (Oct 2002) in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine that proves that it was more effective than using cryotherapy.

They suggested that one possible theory is that the duct tape causes the body's immune system to be stimulated to kill off the virus. The media caught on and reported the findings to the general public. So the world found out.

We went and look at more recent studies and discovered the unfortunate sad truth. It does not work. These more current studies are better designed than the first so the results are more accurate.

A well-designed double-blinded randomized controlled trial done by R. Wenner et al. (Mar 2007), showed that it does not work. Another study completed by M. de Haen et al. (Nov 2006) also showed that it does not work.

Duct tape does not cure warts. Scientific evidence proves that. We were disappointed with the findings, but that's the truth.

If you would still like to try it for yourself (as there are no dangers in trying it), here are the recommended steps you can follow:

Apply the duct tape on them and keep it on for about 7 days.
Remove the duct tape and soak the areas and file them down with an emery board.
If the skin become soggy and red underneath, leave the duct tape off for several days. Basically take a break.