Warts are abnormal skin growths that can be very unsightly. Mostly caused by the action of the human papillomavirus, warts can cause the skin to dry up and look very unsightly. Many people resort to the use of over the counter medications for treating warts. But they may not be very effective and can also cause a lot of side effects with long term use. The good news is that there are several very effective home remedies that can be used for treating warts. Home remedies for removing warts work by destroying the viral action on warts and dry warts to such an extent that they fall off after a certain time.
The home remedies discussed here are tea tree oil, garlic, onion, potato, banana peel, green tea, apple cider vinegar, pineapple juice, aloe vera, etc. These remedies take time to exert their influence on warts. They are however very simple and easy to use and can be continued even if you are always on the move. Home remedies are also good in that they help the skin to rejuvenate along with the healing process, leaving the skin entirely blemish free and soft to touch. However, they require several months of diligent application to affect the skin.
Tea tree oil
When it comes to home remedies for removing warts, an acidic solution works best. The acidity of tea tree oil is excellent for drying warts and with every application, warts will soon start shrinking and drying and finally, dry warts will be separated from the skin and fall off without much ado. Tea tree oil is very strong and hence one must be careful while applying it directly on the skin. Dilute the tea tree oil with a little water and apply on warts. Allow it to remain there for as much time as you can. Reapply every few hours for best results. Continue treatment for several months until warts start drying and fall off. For warts that are very stubborn and big, try reducing the amount of water you add for dilution and apply frequently.
Garlic
Garlic is a naturally potent solution for all kinds of bacterial and viral problems on the skin surface. It is also easy to apply and easily accessible as it is a constant fixture in your kitchen. Garlic has antiviral properties that help in eliminating the effects of HPV and removing warts completely from your skin by drying it and shrinking it entirely. Take a few cloves of garlic and crush to form a smooth paste. Apply generously on the wart and cover with a gauze tape. Allow it to remain on the wart the full day and reapply every two hours. Apply a fresh paste at bedtime and leave it overnight as well. The constant action of garlic on warts will soon cause blisters to form and finally, warts will start drying and falling off.
Onion
Though not as potent as garlic, onions too are great home remedies for removing warts and are much less offensive in terms of odor. The sulfur compounds in the onions which make them acidic will work on warts as well and slowly start drying off before it falls off. Extract the juice of onion by crushing the onion and squeezing the juice out through a cotton cloth. Apply the juice on the wart and allow it to dry on the skin. Reapply every hour and remember to leave a fresh coat at night as well, with reapplication at least 2-3 times at night too, if possible. Onion juice will increase blood circulation on the skin affected with warts and soon warts will be deprived of nutrition and fall off completely. Wait for a few months before you see results.
Potato
Potato juice acts as a natural astringent, allowing the skin to become dry and fall off with every application. Using potato as one of the best home remedies for removing warts will work well. Grate a potato after removing its skin and make it into a pulp. You may also extract the juice by squeezing the grated pieces through a clean cotton cloth. Apply the paste or the juice on the wart and seal it with a band-aid. Allow the pulp or the juice to dry on the wart. With frequent application, the skin on the wart will start becoming dry and turn dark due to lack of blood supply. Soon it will fall off. Since potato is also a lightening agent, the blemish or pigmentation created as a result of the wart will also be removed with the continual application.
Banana peel
Banana peel is an excellent skin beautifying agent that can be used at home. Frequent application of banana peel will make the skin soft and smooth to touch and remove all the dryness and blemishes from the skin. For wart removal, you need bananas that have the maximum potassium content. Look for bananas that are greenish yellow – which is when the potassium will be most active. Apply the inside part of the peel on the skin and allow it to dry. You can use it overnight as well for best results. Banana peel has a caustic effect on the warts, and soon, the warts which start shrinking with the application of banana will fall off, leaving your skin fresh and luxurious. Remember to use a natural scrub for scrubbing off the dead cells after every application of this natural remedy.
Green tea – one of the most natural home remedies for removing warts
Rich in antioxidants that help in removing free radical damage to the skin, green tea is also an excellent remedy for treating warts on the skin. Take 2-3 cups of green tea every day to increase the antioxidant supply to the skin and reduce the action of HPV on warts. For external application, take a teabag and add to a cup of boiling water. Allow it to steep for five minutes. When the tea bag has become cold, apply on the wart and allow it to remain there for 10-15 minutes. Repeat every day thrice along with internal consumption of green tea. The warts will soon start drying and fall off. Green tea helps in repairing the cell damage and prevents further free radical damage to the skin, making your skin glowing and beautiful from within. The polyphenols that are present in green tea also reduce skin inflammation.
Apple cider vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is a medicinal solution that is prepared by fermenting apples. Its skin rejuvenating and repairing properties have been praised for centuries. Being antibacterial in nature and due to its acidic qualities, apple cider vinegar helps in removing the warts by shrinking and drying it and allowing it to fall off without much action. You need an unfiltered solution along with the ‘mother’, which is the top medicinal layer that gets settled on the apple cider vinegar for treating warts. Wash the wart with warm water to soften the skin on and around it. Using a cotton ball, apply it on the skin and secure the cotton ball in place with gauze. Allow the apple cider vinegar to be on the skin for about 15-20 minutes and wash it off. The application can be repeated three times a day until the warts disappear.
Aloe vera
Aloe vera is an anti-inflammatory and healing agent with amazing medicinal properties that can even cure cancer. The polysaccharides and glycoproteins that are present in aloe gel are what help in reducing the skin inflammations and promoting the healing as well as skin regeneration process. Aloe is also wonderfully cooling and helps in controlling pain as well. Take a fresh aloe stalk and extract the gel from it. Apply it directly on the skin by soaking the gel into a cotton ball and allow it to dry on the skin, securing the cotton ball onto the wart with a band aid. Allow the aloe gel to touch the wart for at least an hour. Repeat the procedure 2-3 times a day and continue until the warts start falling off.
Pineapple juice
Pineapple juice is a very acidic juice and helps in treating a number of skin problems and eruptions by acting as an exfoliant and removing the top layers of skin. Bromelain, which is an enzyme present in pineapple juice is also highly anti inflammatory in nature, helping the skin to remove the warts by shrinking it and drying it off thoroughly, so that it vanishes in time. Being very acidic in nature, you can directly rub a piece of pineapple on the warts every day and allow the juice to dry on the skin. Reapply every one to two hour for best results.
You must also make sure that you exfoliate the skin frequently to prevent dead skin cell accumulation on the surface as a result of the acidic action of pineapple. The juice of pineapple can cure smaller warts in a few days. However, larger warts might require more time for the action of pineapple to affect.
