Can Duct Tape Get Rid of Warts? (2024)

FAQs

Can Duct Tape Get Rid of Warts? ›

They found that only 16% of warts resolved after 6 weeks of duct tape therapy, versus 6% in the placebo group. Similarly, in 2007, Wenner tested duct tape against a control of moleskin in 80 immunocompromised adults and found that only 21% of tape-treated warts resolved versus 22% of moleskin-treated ones.

Just because treating warts with duct tape is easy doesn't mean it's fast. In fact, you can expect the duct tape occlusion method to take weeks. It may even take months.

The duct tape adheres to the top layer of the wart. When you tear the tape off, a layer of the wart will often come off with it. This may be less painful than remedies like freezing. Additionally, it uses fewer chemicals than over-the-counter topical treatments and is more cost effective than laser treatment.

One theory is that the tape deprives the skin cells of oxygen. By “suffocating” the wart, the duct tape makes it more likely that the skin cells will die. The process of applying and removing the duct tape may also remove additional skin cells, which can make the wart less bulky and noticeable.

When a plantar wart does not go away after cryotherapy, it is usually because the entire wart was not exposed to the treatment. That can happen when a wart is very thick or the surface area of a wart is large. Another round of cryotherapy is then needed to eliminate the wart completely.

With duct tape therapy, apply a small piece of duct tape directly on the wart once every 4 to 7 days; then remove the tape, clean the area with soap and water, and remove the dead skin using an emery board. Apply another piece of tape 12 hours later. Repeat this cycle for 4 to 6 weeks.

Wart-Removing Acid:

If there are many warts, treat the 3 largest ones. Since it's an acid, avoid getting any near the eyes or mouth. Also try to keep it off the normal skin. The acid will turn the wart into dead skin (it will turn white).

Using super glue on warts turns out to be a patented method that works much the same as duct tape, except that when the glue is removed every 6 days, some of the wart is removed with it.

A majority of the time, warts may go away on their own. They can turn black without the use of medication, because your immune system is fighting them off. When this occurs, the warts will dry up and fall off.

Warts are thought to be contagious for as long as they are present on your body. The virus is more likely to spread if the skin is wet, soft or has been in contact with a rough surface. Warts can also be spread to other parts of your own body.

Is duct tape toxic to skin? ›

The tape might create a macerating and keratolytic environment, stimulating an immune response. The type of adhesive in the duct tape is likely to be important as leeching of the adhesive into the skin may be causing the immune system response. Side effects can include skin irritation and peeling.

Believe it or not, duct tape was originally described by the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics as a treatment for plantar warts on the feet. It works by stripping away the top layer of the wart and suffocates the aerobic virus, which needs air to survive.

Warts are caused by a virus that cannot survive in very hot temperatures, above about 110°F (43.3°C). Your skin usually burns above about 115°F (46.1°C). Exposing a wart to heat (hyperthermia) above 110°F but below 115°F will kill the virus without hurting your skin.

Risks. If done carefully, cryotherapy poses little risk of scarring. If a wart is thick and requires extensive or repeated freezing, nerves around the wart can be damaged, scarring may occur, and the skin may take a long time to recover. Cryotherapy can cause redness, blisters, pain, or tenderness.

But some people use wart-freezing devices too enthusiastically, which can damage skin even if there's no fire, dermatologists say. Overuse can severely damage the surrounding skin, leading to redness, blisters or the death of tissue.

It is important to note that cryosurgery, or cryotherapy, does not cure the underlying HPV infection. Currently, no treatment can do so. Warts may heal and regrow. In other cases, the body may rid itself of the virus by destroying any remaining HPV cells after wart removal.

You put the medicine or the tape on a wart for several days and then file down the dead skin on the wart. You use the salicylic acid treatment for 2 to 3 months or the tape for 1 to 2 months. If your doctor prescribes medicine to put on warts, use it exactly as directed.

Salicylic acid treatments – with the use of salicylic acid applied as pads, gels, or other methods, patients can expect it to take anywhere from four to six weeks to fully address a wart.

The infection can also be transmitted indirectly from contaminated objects or surfaces, such as the area surrounding a swimming pool. You are more likely to get infected if your skin is wet or damaged. After you become infected, it can take weeks or even months for a wart or verruca to appear.

Most often, warts are harmless growths that go away on their own within 2 years. Periungual or plantar warts are harder to cure than warts in other places. Warts can come back after treatment, even if they appear to go away. Minor scars can form after warts are removed.