50 Wart Home Remedies & Treatments

Warts are pretty common and aren’t indicative of a serious health problem but they are a nuisance, sometimes painful and can cause some embarrassment.

Warts are most common on hands and feet, but can also appear on eyelids, on the face and elsewhere on the body. They can grow in clusters or singly and have a rough skin surface that looks similar to cauliflower, sometimes a black spot is visible in the middle of the wart. The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the cause of warts and yes, that means they’re contagious (it’s a viral infection). You can pick up the virus from someone else or spread warts to another part of your body from a wart you already have.

Wart removal is a simple procedure performed by your doctor (either by freezing, burning or laser treatments) but if you prefer treating them yourself or if you’re looking for some home remedy ideas, here is a list of 50 home treatments I have collected over time. Most of them are applied externally (on top of the wart) but I’ve included a few immunity system boosters that are recommended you eat (daily if possible) to help your body fight the virus and get rid of warts. If you have a tried-and-true or feel you know the best way to get rid of warts, please share it with everyone in the comments below.

Wart Home Remedies & Treatments

When you begin treating a wart be aware that depending on the size and type it is, it can take weeks to get rid of–sometimes months. The sooner you start treatment (preferably when you first notice the wart development), the quicker it is to get rid of. If you experience progress with a treatment, keep at it and be patient. Plenty of times a wart will just disappear on its own (as your body builds up immunity against the virus), but you can try one of the suggestions below if you’d like to speed things up.

Before applying a remedy, wash wart area clean with soap and water then pat dry with a clean towel. Also wash hands with soap and water before handling remedy and touching the wart. Wash hands again after applying treatment to prevent further infection.

Here’s a list of remedies to start with, the rest are organized in sections below:

1. Apple Cider Vinegar: Saturate a cotton ball with apple cider vinegar (ACV) and apply to wart, secure in place with a bandaid or tape. Do this nightly before bed, remove in the morning. Good for all warts, recommended especially for Plantar and flat warts.
2. White Household Vinegar & Baking Soda: Sprinkle a heavy coat of baking soda on the wart then drizzle vinegar over it. Do this once in the morning and once at night until wart is gone.
3. Bandaids Or Tape: Known as the duct tape treatment, keep the wart wrapped tight in tape (without cutting off circulation) 24/7 until it disappears. Bandaids, duct tape, packing tape and scotch tape will all work with the same results. Change the tape daily.
4. Baking Soda: Make a thick paste of baking soda and water, apply to wart and cover with tape or a bandaid.
5. Clear Nail Polish: Paint the wart with a coat of clear nail polish, reapply as needed until wart is gone.
6. Hydrogen Peroxide: Apply to wart each day using a cotton swab.
7. Toothpaste: Dab regular toothpaste generously on top of the wart then cover with a bandaid. Do this daily until wart is gone.
8. Aspirin: Rub wart with olive oil then place an aspirin tablet on top and secure with a piece of tape or bandaid. Change daily. Or crush an aspirin tablet fine then add a few drops of water to make a paste. Apply to wart and cover with a bandaid. Watch on sensitive skin.
9. Vitamin C Tablet: Crush the Vitamin C tablet fine then make a paste with water. Apply to wart and wrap it with tape or a bandaid to secure. Change daily.

Fruit & Vegetable Treatments

1. Potatoes: Cut a potato in half and rub the potato juice over the wart.
2. Lemons: Rub a slice of lemon over the wart for 5 minutes twice a day. You can also dab lemon juice directly on the wart.
3. Limes: Rub a slice of freshly cut lime over the wart for 5 minutes twice a day. You can also dab lime juice directly on the wart.
4. Bananas: Cut a piece of banana skin just bigger than the size of the wart. Place the peel white side down on top of the wart then cover with tape or a bandaid to hold in place. Replace daily until wart is gone. You can also rub the wart with a fresh slice of banana.
5. Eggplant: Cut a thin slice of eggplant just a bit larger than the wart and hold in place with a piece of tape or bandaid. Change daily until wart has disappeared. Good remedy for children or those with sensitive skin.
6. Onion: Rub a slice of freshly cut onion over the wart twice a day. Can also sprinkle onion slice with salt first then apply to wart. Another suggested treatment is to drizzle lemon juice on the wart then cover with a freshly cut piece of onion (wrap a piece of tape or bandaid around to hold in place).
7. Carrots: Grate a fresh carrot then mix with olive oil until you have a thick paste. Apply to wart and cover with a bandaid. Do this twice a day until wart disappears.
8. Apples: Apply a freshly cut slice of apple to the wart and secure in place with tape or a bandaid. Change twice a day until wart is gone.
9. Garlic: A few variations of this treatment: Crush garlic then cover the wart completely with the garlic, wrap tape or a bandaid to secure in place. Do this every night before bed. Apply the juice of garlic to the wart twice a day. Each night at bedtime apply a slice of garlic to the wart, wrap with a bandage.
10. Figs: Mix mashed fig with a bit of olive oil and apply to wart, cover with a bandaid. Do this daily until wart is gone.
11. Radishes: Cut a slice of radish just the size of the wart, cover the wart and secure in place with a bandaid. Change daily.
12. Pineapple: Apply a freshly cut piece of pineapple to the wart morning, noon and night until wart is gone.

Oils & Extract Remedies

1. Witch Hazel: Rub Witch Hazel into the wart a couple times a day.
2. Clove Oil: Mix a few drops of clove oil with olive oil then apply to wart, change daily.
3. Vitamin E Oil: Rub into wart then cover with a bandaid, do this three times a day.
4. Vitamin A Oil: Rub into wart then cover with a bandaid, do this three times a day.
5. Garlic Capsule Oil: Rub into wart then cover with a bandaid, do this once in the morning and cover with a bandaid.
6. Castor Oil: Rub Castor Oil into the wart a couple times each day until wart is gone, cover with a bandaid. You can also mix baking powder or baking soda and castor oil into a paste and apply to wart, cover with a bandage. Change daily.
7. Grapefruit Seed Extract: Apply a few drops to the pad of a bandaid then cover wart, change daily.
8. Oil of Oregano: Mix a few drops with olive oil then apply to the pad of a bandaid–cover wart and change daily.
9. Lavender Essential Oil: Carefully dab the wart with a drop of Lavender EO, cover with a bandaid. Do this once a day.
10. Geranium Essential Oil: Mix a few drops with olive oil then apply to the pad of a bandaid–cover wart and change daily.
11. Lemon Essential Oil: Mix a few drops with olive oil then apply to the pad of a bandaid–cover wart and change daily.
12. Tea Tree Oil: (also known as Melaleuca Oil) Dab the wart two times a day with tea tree oil until wart disappears. Cover with a bandaid during the day, remove bandaid at bedtime.
13. Frankincense: Apply a drop directly to the wart and cover with tape or a bandaid. Change bandaid daily. Reapply drop of Frankincense twice a week.
14. Vegetable Oil: Smother the wart with a thick coat of vegetable oil then apply tape or a bandage. Do this each night before bed and first thing in the morning.

Herbs & Plant Treatments

1. Dandelions: Apply dandelion milk from the stem of a dandelion to the wart. Cover with tape or a bandaid. Apply two times a day until wart is removed.
2. Aloe Vera: Apply the gel from an aloe vera plant to the wart then top with a cotton ball and bandaid. Change twice a day until wart is gone. Also see How To Heal With Aloe Vera Plants: Tips Guide for more ways to heal with aloe.
3. Basil Leaves: Crush fresh basil leaves and cover the wart, then secure in place with a bandaid.
4. Marigolds: Break open marigold leaves and apply the plant juice directly to wart. Do this daily until wart is gone.
5. Milkweed: A Native American wart remedy is to rub the milk from a milkweed plant into the wart several times a day until wart has been removed.

Wart Soaks

Soaking the warts daily in treated baths will help soften them and help the warts respond to treatment. Can also help fight the virus and prevent infection.

Soaking treatments are also worthwhile doing before sloughing the skin with an emery board or pumice stone (notes on that below in the “Tips” area).

1. Soak wart daily in a warm bath of baking soda and water.
2. Soak wart daily in a hot bath of Epsom salt and water.
3. Soak wart in very hot water until it becomes lukewarm (do this daily, don’t have the water so hot it burns you though). Plain hot water is fine but you can also add some vinegar.

Wart Immunity Boosters

Beef up your immunity system so your body can fight the wart virus internally. Here are a few suggested immunity boosters I have on hand that are recommended for fighting warts.

1. Cabbage: Eat a lot of fresh, raw cabbage each day.
2. Garlic: Add fresh, chopped garlic to your food whenever possible. You can also take garlic pills or capsules daily.
3. Limes: Squeeze fresh lime juice over food or add fresh lime juice to a glass of water and drink this twice a day.
4. Broccoli: Eat fresh, raw broccoli daily.
5. Oranges: Eat an orange once a day.
6. Bananas: Good for potassium, eat one a day to fight warts.
7. Onions: Top everything suitable with chopped fresh onion, preferably raw but cooked is fine too.

Tips

• Although it’s not recommended to cut or pick at a wart since that can cause bleeding, scarring or an infection, using a fresh emery board to gently scrub the wart before applying a treatment or right after a wart soak when the rough skin is softer is usually fine–just don’t overdo it. Throw the emery board out after each scraping and use a fresh one each time.
• Children are more susceptible to warts since their immunity systems aren’t as strong as adults, if you’re applying a home treatment to a child be aware that their skin is more sensitive than ours. Carefully watch skin reactions so no burns appear (aspirin can be harsh on sensitive or young skin).
• Cover any cuts or scrapes on your body with a bandaid while you have a wart–those little openings in the skin are a perfect environment for the virus to settle in and encourage new wart growth.
• Don’t scratch the wart, you’ll spread the virus.
• Plantar Warts: These are usually found on the soles of feet. If you have one, make sure to wear socks at all times or keep the wart covered with a bandaid. If you walk barefoot around the house, you could infect the rest of the family as well as encourage more wart growth on your feet. When swimming, make sure to wear pool shoes so you don’t spread the virus to the rest of the public.
• If your chosen treatment is working and the wart is getting smaller but the surrounding skin is getting irritated, try applying some olive oil or vaseline to the healthy skin before applying treatment, this can help protect it from irritation.

This information is simply a collection of home remedies for getting rid of warts–not professional medical advice. Please seek a doctor’s opinion when unsure or to confirm appropriate treatment for your wart.

Have I missed your favorite tried & true remedy? Please add it below.

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