Never Pulen! Warts have no chance with these remedies

Warts: How to get rid of them
Warts do not just grow on the feet or hands - they can also be found all over the body. They differ in shape, color and size. From a medical point of view, the warts are not dangerous. But they look ugly, which is why many people are scratching at them. But that should always be avoided. Instead, the following remedies and home remedies for warts can help.

The cause of warts are viruses called human papillomaviruses (HPV). There are about 150 subspecies, about 10 of which cause warts. By contact or smear infection of the skin, initially only the uppermost skin layer is affected. By propagation in the cell nuclei, the virus is also transmitted to the lower skin cell layers. The period between infection and genesis of the warts can be weeks to months.

Do not scratch warts. Instead, use the means described in the article. Image: muro-fotolia

Risk of infection in the swimming pool

Very often, those affected become infected in swimming pools, where an already infected person can easily spread the virus. Professor Ulrike Wieland of the German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology reports: "A pool visitor with a nipple takes a shower, moves barefoot on the edge of the pool, settles on the bench. Everywhere on the slip-resistant, rough floors, his viruses stick. The next visitor enters. If he has a fine crack on the sole of his foot, then he has infected himself in no time. "In addition to minor skin injuries, the skin is also endangered there, where it is already damaged by an eczema or a fungal attack.

On the feet, a wart is often particularly uncomfortable, as the entire body weight presses on this. "It grows inwards and forms a thorn-shaped extension. It can reach as far as fatty tissue and lead to pain, "explains Professor Gerd Gross, dermatologist at the University Hospital Rostock.

Warts can appear isolated or beetartig on the skin. The most common types of warts include Vulgar warts, also referred to as "ordinary warts", genital warts, plantar warts, flat warts, brush warts and senile warts.

Therapy against warts in conventional medicine

Warts are harmless and sometimes even disappear by themselves. However, this requires a lot of patience for many people due to their low immune defenses. "Your immune system recognizes it only after a different delay," says Gross. After months or years, an inflammation develops, which can lead to the healing of the wart.

Why the doctor?

Going to the specialist is advisable to exclude other skin diseases. If patients do not want to wait until the wart disappears by themselves, and this is not always the case, the specialist will usually prescribe a therapy with salicylic or lactic acid to soften and remove the large horn portion of the wart tissue. Wartspatches have a similar active principle. Ursula Sellerberg of the Federal Association of German Pharmacy Associations in Berlin explains: "The surrounding skin should be protected by the application of zinc paste or vaseline".

Professor Gross advises after three days of treatment with the softening agent to daily foot baths in an antiseptic solution or in salt water. When used for two to four weeks, the wart sometimes disappears on its own. If this is not the case, the wart can be surgically removed by the specialist. As further therapies cold and laser therapies or treatment with an immune modulator come into question. The complete removal of the wart is in the foreground, because from "residues" of infected tissue in the depth dangerous nodes and cysts can form.

Wart combat with home remedies and natural remedies

There are many herbal home remedies that can be used to combat warts. These include, for example, castor oil. The affected skin on the face and hands should be rubbed several times a day with the oil so that the warts slowly recede and disappear.

Another home remedy for warts is the juice of the celandine leaf. If you rub the washed leaves with stalks between your fingers and thereby rub in the affected areas of skin, the goods should also regress. Even a self-made cream of 10 ml celandine Urtinkzur from the pharmacy and 100g conventional, well-tolerated skin cream can act three times a day against the warts.

Milkweed, natural tea tree oil, Swedish edible bitters and marigold ointment are also considered home remedies to combat warts. In homeopathy, Antimonium crudum can be used in broad horny warts, which occur on the soles of the feet and are accompanied by calluses.

Prevention of warts

Since the formation of warts is triggered by a virus, only limited preventive measures can be taken. Human papillomaviruses are so resistant that they can hardly be eliminated with the usual disinfectants. That's why experts recommend that you take your own precautions in the most vulnerable places, such as swimming pools. These include wearing slippers and using your own towels, which are washed after the bath or sauna at 90 degrees. (Sb)