I just found this thread tonight and would like to tell my wart story
I have had a plantar wart for a year now. I tried liquid Vitamin A, the OTC brushed-on acid, and even a visit to the podiatrist to have it scraped and a very powerful acid put on it which turned it black and hurt like *BEEP* (really and I've had broken bones and body piercings but this made me want to cry the night it really sunk in).
I gave up for a few months, and it got larger. Ewww!
So I did some more Googling recently and found the duct tape suggestion, which sounded like the most cockamamie idea ever
I also learned that the black dots are actually the abraded ends of blood vessels that grow in the wart to supply it with nutrients. Gross eh!? And that warts are caused by a common virus that slips into the skin through a crack or scrape. Also, warts love moisture, they thrive in it.
Soo... duct tape. I figured why not? It's cheap and painless.
A week ago, after a shower in which I pumiced the heck out of the wart to expose it more, I made sure it was quite clean, and then I dried it very dry, with a blow dryer. I then cut off a piece of duct tape just a bit larger than the wart, maybe 1/4" extra on all sides, and pressed it thoroughly on.
I noticed that the duct tape cushioned it a bit which felt nice... but as the week wore on, I felt funny things in the wart. Like... tingling. Not painful really, but strange. And sometimes a little jab of pain, like someone stuck it quickly with a pin. But no big deal, not anywhere as bad as the black acid treatment.
I was intrigued. Tonight I noticed that the edge of the tape was coming off, so I went to put on a fresh piece after another shower and blow-dry treatment.
GUESS WHAT! I peeled off the tape (didn't hurt at all) and I noticed on its sticky surface, a big round blob of dead skin cells! Also, the wart was much softer, whitened with a dark (blood vessel) dot exposed in the center, which was cratered out. SUCCESS!
I am very excited to be killing this thing which had gotten so gross I warned my massage therapist about it, and I no longer went for pedicures, which I loved.
I will keep you updated when Operation Duct Tape succeeds
If you have a plantar wart, seriously give this a shot! Especially before you get any cutting or acid treatments from the foot doctor.*
ETA: I also re-pumiced the dead skin off the wart before I put on fresh duct tape.
* In more research tonight, I found
a reputable study that cites an 85% success rate with duct tape, versus 60% for cryotherapy (freezing the wart off)!
And for kids (or kids at heart), duct tape also comes in funky colors like red, hot pink, electric blue... not just industrial gray, heh!
But make sure the one you buy contains the rubber-based adhesive. There have been recent studies that say the clear kind of duct tape, which does not contain rubber, is not nearly as effective (only 21%).