WARTS

Warts are caused by a virus, which builds a little ‘house’ – the wart – to keep itself comfortable. What’s nice and cozy for the virus, however, isn’t so attractive on the skin. Warts usually aren’t painful, but the ones that form on the bottom of your feet or your fingertips can cause irritating pressure.

Most warts will disappear on their own, although it may take months or even years before they’re gone. To speed things up, here’s what you can do.

Put on little tape. Some people find that covering a wart with adhesive tape for a few weeks will cause it to disappear – presumably because the tape keeps the wart moist and cut off its oxygen supply. It’s some important to change the adhesive tape once a week and to air out the area periodically to keep your skin healthy.

Apply some vitamin A. Evidence suggests that applying liquid vitamin A to the wart every day for two weeks can cause it to disappear. Doctors recommend buying vitamin A capsules, pricking the end with a pin, and squeezing the liquid on the wart.

Imagine them vanishing. Researchers have found that some people can literally make their wart disappear by spending several minutes a day mentally visualizing that they’re shrinking or even crying for mercy. It sounds kooky, but doing this once or twice a day may help warts disappear more quickly.

Apply a wart remedy. There are a number of safe, effective wart-removal products that you can get from pharmacies. Most of these contain mild acids that wear away the wart over a period of weeks.