Warts are harmless hard growths of dead skin cells on the top layer of the skin. They usually occur on the hands and face although warts can appear on almost any part of the body. Warts on the foot are called verrucas. These are circular and slightly raised growths sometimes with black dots on the surface. They can occur in clusters or singly.
Plantar warts occur on the sole of the foot and these are most common in children aged between 12 and 16 years. They are flat in appearance and can be very painful. Filiform warts look like short, hard threads, usually occurring on the neck, chin, face and eyelids.
Warts are contagious. They can spread quickly from person to person through people going barefoot in the changing rooms of swimming pools and sports centres. They can also spread from touching another part of the skin for instance a wart on one toe rubbing against another toe.
Ancient Remedies for Curing Warts
Ancient cures for warts included rubbing bacon or raw meat on the wart then burying the meat without telling anyone where. Some even thought warts could be ‘charmed away’ by a special person with healing gifts. It used to be believed that warts could be contracted from handling toads: another Old Wife’s Tale!
Not all natural treatments are one-hundred-per-cent effective but some people have found the following methods have worked for them. Be willing to experiment and you could find a natural cure that works for you.
Herbal Remedies for Warts
Herbal Teas: Drink teas of burdock, red clover or dandelion root
Aloe: Used in herbal medicine to prevent infections from spreading, apply Aloe to a wart to help reduce soreness and speed up the healing process
Tinctures: Make a tincture with Echinacea, Thuja or Marigold and apply a few drops to wart twice daily
Dandelion: Apply liquid from dandelion stem onto wart twice a day
Aromatherapy Treatment for Warts
Tea Tree Oil: Apply pure tea tree oil onto wart
You might also try applying lemon, cypress or lavender oil directly onto the wart but take care not to allow the oil to touch unaffected skin. For young children, dilute 1 drop of cypress oil in half a teaspoon of vegetable oil.
Cures for Warts using Fruit and Vegetables
Onions: Leave sliced onions covered in salt over night then dab the juice from this on the wart twice a day
Garlic: Apply juice from crushed garlic onto wart twice daily or apply raw chopped onion or garlic as an overnight compress until wart disappears
Bananas: Rub banana peel onto the wart three times a day
Potato: Rub potato onto the wart daily until wart disappears
Lemons: Apply lemon juice to wart every morning and evening
Apples: Each night apply a bandage that has been soaked in apple-cider vinegar onto the wart
Warning:
Should a wart feel suddenly soft, change shape, become itchy or bleed or if it feels inflamed, looks infected or starts to hurt, seek medical help.
Avoid cypress oil in first 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Sources
http://www.wartcures.net/
http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/16/261.cfm
http://www.homeremediesweb.com/warts_home_remedy.php
http://www.tipking.co.uk/Health/Remedies/Warts/
