DEAR DR. GOTT: How do you remove a family of plantar warts off the bottom of a big toe? My 10-year-old daughter has had them for a couple of years (shortly after starting gymnastics). There are about six or eight on her big toe right where it joins her foot. Please help!
DEAR READER: Since my last column about plantar warts, I have received many letters about various treatments. Many of the readers claim that over-the-counter and physician treatments offered limited success, with the warts either returning or never completely disappearing. Many also complained of the pain associated with these treatments, which is why they turned to alternative and home remedies.
By far the most common remedy I received was iodine. The wart is first pumiced to remove the layers of dead skin and then the iodine is applied.
One reader suggested Cassia bark oil applied once a day after removing the dead skin with a razor. She warned that it should be applied only to the wart because it can damage normal skin. She also recommended tea tree oil for common warts on the hands.
Another reader took one 500-milligram capsule of olive leaf extract three times a day and was wart-free in three months.
Another person reported success treating her boyfriend’s plantar warts with a cotton ball soaked in apple cider vinegar applied to the wart and secured with duct tape each night. After a few weeks the warts were gone.
A physician wrote in suggesting soaking the foot in hot water and gradually increasing the water temperature until the skin turns cherry red. He says that two or three treatments are usually successful in eradicating the virus, thus causing the wart to disappear.
A final reader, attempting to avoid surgery to remove her son’s wart, was advised by a friend to use an herbal product known as Wart Wonder.
I cannot recommend or condemn any of these approaches because I have no experience with them. Please let me know if you and your daughter try any of these options and what your results are.
