Difference between revisions of "Remove Facial Warts"

Warts will usually go away on their own. If they are in a visible place, such as the face, most people will want to speed up the process. This article will show you a few ways to get rid of facial warts.  

[[Category: Warts]]

#Try apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar can be used on all types of warts. The acid in the vinegar attacks the wart area, causing it to peel away from the healthy surrounding skin, taking the virus with it. It is safe to use on the face and other parts of the body. Dilute it up to 50% with water.<ref name="rf1">http://nc.as.ua.edu/blog/apple-cider-vinegar-cures-warts-indigestion-and-tremors/</ref>  

#Crush garlic and use it as a mask. Garlic’s caustic effect will cause the facial wart to blister and fall off in about one week. The substance allicin in garlic has an antiviral effect that kills a broad spectrum of viruses, including human papilloma virus.<ref name="rf2">http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-4632.2004.02348.x/abstract</ref>

#Apply a banana peel. Banana mash contains a proteolytic enzyme (an enzyme that breaks down protein) that digests and dissolves the facial wart. This can be an easy and soothing way to remove facial warts. Use surgical tape to adhere the inner part of a banana peel to the wart overnight.<ref name="rf3">http://students.umw.edu/healthcenter/files/2011/08/Warts.pdf</ref>

#Look into using betadine. Betadine is an antiseptic that helps fight the virus causing the facial warts. Betadine surgical scrub can be gently rubbed on the infected area for five minutes daily until the lesions resolve. Similar products exist in stores, for example: Bactrine or Bazuka. You can apply it twice daily.<ref name="rf4">http://www.oxforddaysurgery.com.au/Files/Files/PC-SD-6-29-Cantharadin-Treatment-of-Warts-Molluscu.aspx</ref>

#Apply milkweed cream. Milkweed cream can be found at your local health care store or apothecary. An enzyme found in the milkweed plant digests and dissolves the wart. These products are made from the sticky sap of the milkweed plant. These plants have also been shown to be a possible anti-acne treatment.<ref name="rf5">http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=5&sid=822163f9-16a9-4608-9a7b-b03694e78ea6%40sessionmgr120&hid=104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=99808756&db=a9h</ref>

#*Retinoid (Tretinoin) Cream. Daily topical application of this cream may trigger resolution.<ref name="rf6">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3274422/</ref> Retinoid cream disrupts the wart's skin cell growth. When applying Tretinoin cream to the facial warts, the following guidelines must be followed:

#*Cantharidin or other topical agents containing trichloroacetic acid. Cantharidin contains an extract from a blister beetle. When it is applied to the skin, a blister will form around the wart. The blister will then lift the wart off your skin and the dermatologist can remove the dead portion of the wart.<ref name="rf7">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1578244/</ref>

#*5-Fluorouracil. This cream will stop the replication of DNA and RNA, which should stop wart growth.<ref name="rf8">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16703777</ref>

#**Apply the cream twice a day for three to five weeks.<ref name="rf9">http://www.uptodate.com/contents/skin-warts-beyond-the-basics</ref>

#Investigate keratolysis. Keratolysis involves the abrasive removal of dead skin from the surface of the skin. This works through a combination of chemical treatment (usually, the use of salicylic acid), which softens and kills the cells of the virus, and manual exfoliation. When the wart becomes soft from the chemical treatment, and then a pumice stone or an emery board is used to remove it.<ref name="rf10">http://www.healthcentre.org.uk/cosmetic-treatments/wart-keratolysis-for-warts.html</ref>

#Request cryosurgery. Liquid nitrogen is used to freeze and destroy warts,<ref name="rf11">http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Warts/Pages/Treatment.aspx</ref> which are then scraped off with a curette. Cryosurgery is a good way to treat stubborn warts that have resisted all noninvasive treatments. Talk to your doctor if you wish to seek this treatment, though there are over-the-counter versions of this treatment.  

#Try pulsed dye laser therapy. Laser therapy uses heat energy to destroy the wart and the red blood cells that feed it. The therapy is usually well tolerated, and does not leave scars or pigment anomalies. The pulsed dye laser is fast and efficient, but its cost makes it less accessible than other options. This treatment has an 80% or greater efficacy when used on warts.<ref name="rf12">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7496552</ref>

#Talk to your doctor about intralesional bleomycin sulfate therapy. If you have severe facial warts, you may wish to try this highly effective procedure.<ref name="rf13">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3263129/</ref><ref name="rf14">http://archderm.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=552706</ref> The doctor will inject your wart(s) with intralesional bleomycin, which is a drug usually used to treat cancer. A single injection may be enough to remove the wart, or you may need to follow up for more injections every three to four weeks.<ref name="rf15">http://www.warts.org/bleomycin-treatment.html</ref> This therapy causes little or no scarring and may cause slight pigmentation that usually fades within a year of treatment.<ref name="rf13" />

#*This treatment may be very expensive, but it has a very high success rate (92% in one study)<ref name="rf14" /> and is more effective than cryosurgery.<ref name="rf15" />

#Consider immunotherapy. For warts that have not responded to other treatments, immunotherapy is another option. Your doctor will try to rally your immune system to attack the wart, either by applying a chemical (such as diphencyprone) to the wart or injecting it with a molecule (usually Candida antigen).<ref name="rf16">https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/contagious-skin-diseases/warts</ref><ref name="rf17">http://www.warts.org/warts-immunotherapy.html</ref> The hope is that these will cause a reaction from your immune system, which will attack both the injected substance and the wart, eliminating it naturally.<ref name="rf18">http://www.healthcentre.org.uk/cosmetic-treatments/wart-immunotherapy-for-wart-removal.html#further info</ref> It may also help decrease the reoccurrence of warts, since your body will learn to defend against HPV virus.<ref name="rf18" />

#Ignore the warts and let them heal themselves. If you can, just ignore the warts because they can sometimes go away on their own. You can cover the warts with bandages or even be stylish by using a scarf or a bandanna to cover facial warts. Study shows that most warts will resolve themselves after two years.<ref name="rf19">http://archderm.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=527886</ref>

#Do not pick your warts and maintain proper hand hygiene. Stop touching the warts and leave them alone. Practice the universal precaution of good hand hygiene so that you don’t transmit the warts to others. Picking warts can worsen your problem.<ref name="rf20">http://www.uhs.wisc.edu/health-topics/skin/warts.shtml</ref>