Duct Tape Warts

For reasons I don't quite recall, my father and I were chatting about duct tape. Among other things, he's the handiest man I know so I'm not completely surprised at the amount of information he possesses about duct tape. However, when he casually threw out that duct tape helps remove warts, I was more than skeptical.

"Been watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding, lately, Dad? Have a bottle of Windex in your workshop, there?" No, he assured me. He'd read about this on medical websites and in qualified sources. He has reasons to be very knowledgeable about medical conditions and cures and so I knew there had to be something to the story. Searching around on Google, I had to tip my hat to him when I found many references to the use of duct tape on warts including a medical study supporting the effectiveness of the practice. I myself do not suffer from warts but I do recall having had two as a young girl. One was located on the back of my neck and was constantly pinched by any necklace I would wear. It was "frozen" off with liquid nitrogen (which hurt so much I remember it now over 30 years later) and left a heart-shaped scar on the back of my neck. The other was on my hand and was also frozen off.

But why and how does duct tape work in removing warts? The study believes the material in the sticky tape irritates the warts causing the body to fight back and attack the warts. It's a little concerning to me that there's something in the tape that would make my body want to fight back but it's possible that it's the rubber in the tape itself that brings about this effect. In one study conducted with transparent duct tape, which does not include the rubber found in regular tape, there was no benefit to using the tape on warts.

The alternatives - ongoing pain, potential shame, and the expense of other therapies - all tend to favor the use of duct tape. Having someone apply liquid nitrogen to a wart has its own risks. I'm pretty sure I'd prefer the less painful method. And who doesn't have a roll of duct tape laying around?

It's not uncommon to have various kinds of bumps and variations in your skin. How do you tell if one of those bumps is a wart?

There are many different kinds of warts but all have some common factors. They are usually round. They are small. They are often located on one's hands or feet, although you can find them on other parts of the body such as the face, neck, or chest.

A wart may be rough or smooth. Sometimes they look like a variation of a pimple but they don't go away as quickly and they may stand a little higher. The tops of some may resemble cauliflower, with a sort of roughened texture.

They are caused by a viral infection and while they usually go away on their own, they can last from as little as a few weeks to many years. Because they are caused by a virus, they are contagious. Depending on their position on the body, they can be embarrassing or uncomfortable which is why people are often eager to get rid of them.

Wash your hands and the wart on which you intend to apply the duct tape. Apply a sufficiently sized piece of duct tape to cover the wart and provide a seal around the area.

Leave the duct tape on for six days.

At the end of six days, remove the duct tape and soak the wart in water. I cannot find a reference to how much time the wart should be soaked but 20 minutes in warm water should sufficiently soften the skin. File the wart carefully with an emery board or pumice stone and let the area dry overnight. Make sure to wash your hands and use sterile/clean instruments throughout the process.

Repeat the six day routine for two months, letting the area dry overnight after the filing, and then reapplying the duct tape the next day.

Photo used under Creative Commons from aaronisnotcool.