Warts are caused by viruses, not toads! The proper medical name for warts is Verruca vulgaris. These hard pale protrusions often occur in groups and are considered benign skin tumors caused by strains of the papilloma virus. They are contagious and can be transmitted through contact with a person who has warts or by using their towels or clothing. It’s important to treat the warts so they don’t continue to spread. Here’s how to get rid of them naturally.
NATURAL REMEDIES THAT GET RID OF WARTS
Herbs to use internally to get rid of warts include burdock root, cleavers herb, dandelion root, echinacea root, nettles leaf, and peppermint herb, all of which help detoxify the body. Look for a tea, tincture, or capsule combination that is considered a natural detox agent and consume a dose three times daily.
GOOD TO KNOW!
Daily doses of beta-carotene or vitamin A (10,000 IU), vitamin C (1,000 mg), vitamin e (400 IU), and zinc (15 mg) may be helpful for skin resiliency and repair.
Cures from Grandma’s Kitchen
Add 1 pound (455 g) of baking soda and 1 cup (235 ml) of apple cider vinegar or 2 handfuls of oatmeal tied into a cloth into the bathtub to ease eczema and psoriasis. (See the section on therapeutic baths on page 21 for more ideas.) You can also apply black tea with a clean cloth to affected skin as the tannic acid helps dry the eczema blisters.
Essential oils that can be applied topically to get rid of warts include bergamot, cedarleaf (also known as thuja), cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, garlic, lavender, lemon, niaouli, oregano, patchouli, and/or tea tree.
Salicylic acid is a substance that occurs in nature and is available in over the counter anti-wart preparations. But avoid using over the counter wart remedies on the face or genitals as they can irritate the delicate surrounding tissues.
SUPPLEMENTS THAT GET RID OF WARTS
Supplements that help get rid of warts include daily doses of vitamins A (10,000 IU), B complex (50 mg), C (1,000 mg), E (400 IU), and zinc (15 mg). You can find them all in an antioxidant formula. Also include 500 mg of lysine daily as an antiviral agent.
BEST FOODS TO GET RID OF WARTS
To get rid of warts, eat more apples, asparagus, avocados, barley, carrots, celery, cucumbers, endive, garlic, millet, onions, pineapple, radish, seaweed, and winter squash. All of these foods invigorate the blood and disperse stagnation. Avoid fried foods and hormonally treated animal products, which congest the body, overload the liver, and make it more difficult to break down other toxins.
GOOD TO KNOW!
Taking homeopathic Thuja (30c, four pellets under the tongue four times daily) will help the body’s immunity against warts.
OTHER REMEDIES TO TRY
Here are some other remedies you may want to try to get rid of a wart:
• Cover the wart (including plantar warts on the soles of your feet) with any kind of medical or first aid tape or a bandage and leave on around the clock for three weeks, removing only to change the tape.
• Gently file the wart down with an emery board.
• Moxibustion, usually done by an acupuncturist (until you learn to do it yourself), can help a wart to atrophy and fall off within several days.
• Apply duct tape to a wart for up to six days. Remove the tape and gently rub with a pumice stone or emery board. Leave the tape off for a night and reapply in the morning, continuing for six more days.
Skip This!
Plantar warts, those on the soles of your feet, are contagious and are frequently picked up in moist areas such as bathrooms, locker rooms, and around swimming pools. Avoid going barefoot in these areas and keep your feet dry. To get rid of them, first use a pumice stone to remove any dead skin. Next, make a paste of baking soda and castor oil, apply it, and cover it with a waterproof band-aid. Plantar warts are difficult to get rid of and may take three to six weeks before any progress is noted.
• Consider drawing a picture of the body with the warts and then throwing the drawing in the fire. Warts have been demonstrated to be susceptible to the power of suggestion. When working on getting rid of a wart, tell it, “You will be gone by August 21 (or other date several weeks in advance).”
• Warts can be emotionally related to harboring anger and resentment. Forgive the past and protect yourself with thoughts of joy and peace.
GOOD TO KNOW!
As with any virus, warts are contagious, but not in the normal sense of being contagious as in catching someone else’s cold. The other person needs to be susceptible to the virus. Only genital warts and those around the anus are especially contagious through contact, and care must be taken not to spread them to others. If they are in an area you shave, stop shaving. If you scrape them or use a hair removal cream, the scraping will spread the wart virus.
Thrifty Cure!
Make a compress from the inside of a banana peel to get rid of that wart! You can also take some green (not fully ripe) black walnuts and make a few incisions in the outer shell and rub the juice on the warts. There may be a slight stinging sensation or the area may turn brown, but this is only temporary. It’s a very effective cure!
Cures from Grandma’s Kitchen
Some of the most effective topical folk remedies for warts include applying the fresh juice of dandelion stem or flower, castor oil, fresh elderberry juice, raw potato, garlic oil, milkweed juice, or a paste of baking soda and enough apple cider vinegar to moisten. You can also apply a fresh slice of garlic daily to the affected area, but cover up the nearby skin with some Vaseline to prevent it from becoming irritated from the garlic. You can also prick a vitamin A (2,500 mg) capsule and apply it topically.
WHEN TO SEE YOUR M.D.
see your doctor for the following:
• You are not sure whether a skin growth is a wart.
• You are older than 60 and have never had warts.
• Home treatment is not successful after 2 to 3 months.
• Warts are growing or spreading despite treatment.
• Infection develops, including increased pain, swelling, redness, tenderness, or heat.
• Red streaks extending from the area or the presence of pus.
• You have a fever.
This How To Get Rid Of A Wart article is taken from :
The Country Almanac of Home Remedies - Brigitte Mars
