There are over 100 types of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) which can cause warts. Those strains which are responsible for the common wart are relatively harmless, but others can give rise to more serious problems.
The problem with any virus based disease is that it can spread to different parts of the body, and can even be transferred to other people.
The medical ways for treating warts include surgical removal and various freezing techniques.
But for alternative methods you need look no further than your kitchen. While a number of the remedies shown below are classified by some as ‘old wives tales’ there is anecdotal evidence that they work.
Check them out and be sure to wash your hands well afterwards to keep the warts from spreading.
1. Apple Cider Vinegar
This doesn’t actually kill the virus, but its high acidity attacks the “flesh” that makes up the wart, kills the wart itself, and allows it to peel naturally from the skin.
Simply soak a cotton ball in apple cider vinegar and apply it to the wart; secure it with a strip of gauze or cloth. The wart should die and come off within 1-2 weeks.
2. Milkweed
File your wart, or use a pumice stone to get it slightly exposed. Break a few leaves off the plant and squeeze the bottom of the stem to release the white sap. Apply to the wart and reapply as needed.
3. Bananas
Bananas contain a proteolytic enzyme that eats away at the wart. Scrape the inside of a banana peel, and apply it to your wart twice a day. Repeat until the wart is gone.
4. Vitamin C
Crush up 1 vitamin C tablet, and add enough lemon juice or water to make a paste. Apply to the wart, cover with a bandage and reapply daily.
5. Basil
Basil has a multitude of anti-viral components. Just crush a handful of fresh, well-rinsed, basil leaves until they are soft. Apply to the wart, cover with a bandage or clean cloth, and reapply daily until the wart is gone. This could take up to two weeks.
6. Dandelions
Pull the head off of a dandelion and rub the milk onto the wart, then cover with a bandage. Do this twice daily until the wart is gone.
7. Honey
The best honey for this purpose is Organic Manuka honey from New Zealand as it is one of the most potent types of honey in terms of the concentration of its antibacterial/antiviral properties.
File away the wart and then cover it thoroughly in a thick layer of honey and wrap a piece of cloth around it. Leave it like this for 24 hours, changing the bandage and reapplying the honey daily.
8. Potato
This is probably the best known ‘old wives tale’ remedy of all. Peel a potato, cut a round slice off and rub the slice on your wart 3 times a day. You can also bandage the potato to the over the wart and leave it on until the wart disappears. Change the bandage daily.
9. Pineapple Juice
Pineapple juice softens the wart as it has a high level of acidity, and an enzyme in the juice to dissolve and eat away at the wart. Take care – it will sting at first!
2-3 times a day, soak your wart in pure pineapple juice for 3-5 minutes. Afterwards, pat the area completely dry.
10. Use a needle!
Ice the wart until the area is numb. Hold a sharp needle over a flame to sterilize it. Push the tip well into the wart and poke the wart all over. Discard of the needle and wash your hands. Now that your body is alerted to the fact that there is a wart, the immune system should attack the virus that is causing the wart and destroy it.
Not every remedy will work with every type of virus, so you may need to try a few alternatives before finding the correct one.
Have you ever suffered from warts? Did you try any of our suggestions?
Share your experiences by making use of the comments feed below.
