Here’s a great tip for the Do-It-Yourself crowd: Duct tape can cure warts!
Yes, it’s true, according to Anthony J. Mancini M.D., an associate professor at Northwestern University`s School of Medicine Children`s Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
Dr. Mancini says he uses duct tape as an inexpensive and relatively painless way to treat warts. He has his patients apply the duct tape over the wart, leave it on for about a week, remove the tape, and then file the wart with an emory board. It’s that easy.
But how can such a simple household item treat a sustained viral infection?
No one knows, at least not for sure. But theoretically the tape could be debriding, or stripping the dead skin from the wart and carrying the wart virus along with it. That’s kind of how other wart therapies work. (Like the Compound W or Kryoderm freezing technique). Another possible mechanism is that occluding skin with duct tape somehow triggers the patient’s immune system to fight the virus. There’s no solid data to support this theory but doctors do use immunotherapy against warts in some patients.
How often do you hear of a doctor advocating a simple, cheap solution instead of an expensive medical treatment? Not very often! So the Beauty Brains community sends a big group hug out to Dr. Mancini! Thanks Doc!
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I have a wart on my thumb, and ive had it for a while, because when i was young my mom was like “it isnt a wart- jsut wait it will go away” .. and now it wont go away..
I tred Duct Tape a few times and it dosnt actually get rid of it.. it only makes some of it get numb and peel off. Then it jsut grows back..
Hey, I worked in a beauty department store for a year and discovered a secret. While duct tape will take months (because the air supply has to be cut off from the wart) and is often difficult on areas like your hands which are exposed, Apple Cidar Vinegar is your saviour. Apply this inexpensive staple to the affected area every night with a cotton ball or bandage religiously for awhile. The acid kills the fungus, therefore the shape or color should change while this occurs (this means its working). So if you keep this up, perhaps two times a day or longer you should be free of this in about 2 weeks minimum. Hope this helps
When I was younger I had a couple of warts on my hands. My grandmother’s solution was to take a razor, make small cuts in the skin (making sure it doesn’t bleed much) and then putting salt+lemon and scrubbing it in for a while. it took about a week to get rid of all of them and it didn’t scar at all!
Thanks for your information on this page. It is certainly beneficial to know more and be able to put it into a good use. Here is another page that may be of interest to some its all on this issue of how to get rid of warts http://www.genetal-worts-information.com/How-To-Get-Rid-Of-Warts.php
I have a really deep planters wart on the bottom of my foot. Im trying the duct tape and I’ve had it on my foot for almost a week it hurts really bad and has little brownish dots now what does that mean? And how r u suposed to get it off when u take the duct tape off I don’t get it.
Jessica: If you have a deep, painful wart you should ask your doctor about it!
The October 2002 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine reported a scientific study which supported the effectiveness of the duct tape wart cure.
Apparently, the duct tape irritates the warts, which causes an immune system reaction which attacked the warts.
A subsequent study, however, challenged the first and questioned the effectiveness of the remedy. It’s still up in the air.
My fiance’ had over 10 plantars on both feet. he had them burned by a podiatrist which was very painful and they all came back. I tried everything weekly pedicuring his feet but they only got worse. Found this website and thought what do we have to loose? We’ve been putting the duck tape on for the 6 day on/1 day off for several months now and he now only has 1 left on the side of his foot. Hard to keep the tape on there. I TELL YOU IT WORKS! be patient and consistent. be sure to clean the feet real good on the one day off with something like a pumice stone. Thank you everyone for posting. Good luck!