How to Cure & Get Rid of Warts

Warts are caused by the human papilloma virus. They are contagious and can be passed from one person to another simply by touching someone's wart. For this reason, good personal hygiene and frequent hand-washing should be practiced, even if one's wart is being treated. Genital warts are passed through anal, oral and vaginal intercourse and usually require the attention of a doctor.

Things You'll Need

• Salicylic acid treatment
• Adhesive tape
• Q-tips
• Vinegar
• Band-Aids

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Instructions

• 1

  Determine what kind of wart you have. Examples include plantar warts, which usually grow on the bottom of feet, common warts, which are typically seen on elbows, hands and knees and flat warts, which are often discovered on the face. Genital warts, which require different methods of treatment than the other types, grow on and around the genitals.

• 2

  Soak the wart in hot water and file it down with a pumice stone or an emery board. This will help salicylic acid treatments absorb into the skin.

• 3

  Browse a pharmacy or supermarket for a wart treatment that contains salicylic acid and is meant for treatment of the kind of wart you have. Compound W has a line of many such wart treatments, from medicated pads to liquid gels.

• 4

  If over-the-counter treatments prove ineffective, consider natural treatments.

• 5

  As suggested by Jonathan Hatch in an article on how to get rid of warts, cover warts with an adhesive tape, like duct tape.

• 6

  If treating the wart with tape does not work, soak the tip of a Q-tip in vinegar, apply it to the wart and cover with a Band-Aid. Change the cotton and Band-Aid daily or whenever they fall off.

• 7

  If neither over-the-counter nor natural treatments work, schedule an appointment with a doctor, who will be able to recommend stronger treatments, like freezing the wart or cutting it out.