Do you have a wart on your finger? No matter how much you try to hide it, you know it’s there. And you may be conscious of it when you’re around other people. Wondering if they see it, too.
Warts can also be uncomfortable or painful, depending on where it’s located. And it may be for more than cosmetic reasons that you want it gone. It may get in the way when you hold things, or use your hands for a variety of activities.
The good news is that you don’t have to live with it. Searching for cures for “wart on finger – best way to remove” may yield you many results. But you can check out a summary of the best ones below.
What Is a Wart?
Contrary to old folktales, you don’t get warts from handling frogs. The reality is far less fanciful.
Warts form when a virus comes into contact with the skin and gets inside to cause an infection. They are likely to form if the virus can get under the skin through a scratch or cut. Certain people may be more prone to developing warts than others. And children are particularly susceptible to getting warts.
Spreading Warts
Unfortunately, warts are contagious. This means that you can spread them to other people. And you can spread it to other parts of your own body.
Warts can spread from person to person if touched. Or come into contact with things that touch the wart. So, holding hands with someone who has a wart on the finger is a possible way to pass a wart on.
Additionally, handling towels or other clothing may also spread warts if your wart comes into contact with it.
Spreading warts to other parts of your body is also a possibility. Especially if your wart is on your finger because you may accidentally touch it to your body without realizing it. Washing your hands frequently and avoiding picking at it may limit your chances.
Wart On Finger – Best Way to Remove It
The first step in treating your wart is knowing which type you have. Here are the most common types for the finger and hand:
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Common Warts
These warts are exactly what they sound like. They’re common, and most likely to appear on fingers and hands. The size range can vary from tiny poppy seed-sized all the way up to pea-sized.
In addition, they are hard to the touch and may have a scaly, rough texture. Color-wise they can also vary from flesh-toned to grey, pink, white, or tan.
You may also see tiny black dots in your wart. Don’t panic. Those are simply tiny clotted blood vessels.
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Butcher’s Warts
Appearance-wise they look like common warts. However, in the past, they used to be found on people who handled raw fish and meat without gloves. That’s how it got the name.
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Flat Warts
This type of wart is more commonly found on the face. But it’s known to make an appearance on the back of hands, too.
They are very tiny, but can appear in clusters. The clusters look like a bunch of tiny pinheads, but they’re smooth if you touch them. They also have a flat top and are raised slightly. The colors range from pink to flesh-toned.
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Periungual and Subungual Warts
Commonly found around and under fingernails, both start off tiny. But they grow and spread, eventually forming clusters. This type of wart may be more likely to occur for you if you bite your nails or hangnails.
If you think you may have these types of warts, it’s best if you consult with your doctor first.
Treatment Options
There are different ways to remove warts from your hands and fingers. Sometimes they go away on their own without treatment. But you may not want to wait the months or years for that to happen.
Some at-home remedies you can try include:
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Salicylic Acid
If you have common warts, you can use an at-home treatment. Try a topical salicylic acid treatment. It may be available as a concentrated liquid, adhesive pad, or gel. You may also find it available in different strengths.
Before using it, it’s best to consult with your doctor. Find out the strength and type of salicylic acid you should use first.
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Duct Tape
Believe it or not, duct tape may be a viable option of removing warts. It may help because the adhesive removes the wart slowly over the course of several weeks. You may take off a layer of the wart with each time you change the dressing.
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Apple Cider Vinegar
In addition, you can also try an apple cider vinegar treatment. It’s a mild acid. So it may help burn off the wart as well as attack the virus causing it.
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Lemon Juice
Furthermore, you can also try lemon juice if you don’t have apple cider vinegar on-hand. It works in a similar way. But remember to dilute the juice before using it on your wart.
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Clear Nail Polish
Smother your wart with nail polish? Some people swear this works because it may choke off the wart. If you do this, however, remember the contagion factor and mark the bottle clearly. You wouldn’t want someone else in your household to use it.
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Liquid Butane Spray
If you like the idea of freezing off your wart but don’t want to go to the doctor’s office, this may be a solution. This over-the-counter option can be painful, though. So you may want to use it with caution.
Final Thought
Doing an internet search for a wart remedy can yield a lot of results for people hoping for a do-it-yourself option. But the further off the ranch you go, medically speaking, the less likely it is you will find a legitimate study to validate some of these techniques. We searched for techniques with some anecdotal backing to them and ones that were not dangerous to try, although you may have to try many remedies before you find the right one for you. (Having said this, as unlikely as it sounds, at least one clinical study shows that duct tape really works. So, you might want to start with that one.)
Remember though, as you try a new at-home remedy, you can still spread warts. So be careful about what you touch and wash your hands often. The last thing you want to do is give it to a loved one, or spread it to other parts of your body.
References:
https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/warts-faq-questions-answers#1
https://www.healthline.com/health/removing-wart-on-finger#the-takeaway
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