To think there must be a way to quickly get rid of warts

[Mookins14]

DD (16) has about ten warts on her hands. She has had them for ten or so years (well, the first of them, some are newer). We have tied every over the counter medicine, Apple cider vinegar (success! But short lived), duct tape, and so on. One gp tried, very ineffectually, to burn some off. She is so self conscious about them she covers her hands all the time and lives in fear of someone pointing them out as disgusting.

AIBU to think if I bring her to the doctor they should be able to do something to zap them there and then or refer her to a dermatologist to do so? It is having an impact on her confidence and I would pay anything to have them gone but I really don't want to be fobbed off by the doctor saying: oh they'll go eventually. We've tried that and they haven't.

Hmmm I don't think this would do it, but I had a small ish wart and I'd read about apple cider vinegar. I soaked a cotton bud tip and taped over the wart and would do this for a couple of days...in my case it actually DID work

But I'd suggest possibly getting a referral to dermatology

Hope your DD is ok :(

Ahh apologies OP, just re-read and noticed you have already tried apple cider vinegar

The only swiftish cure I’ve found is superglue - covering the warts entirely with it, leaving it to dry then filing it off with an emery board. Reapply, keep doing until wart disappears. Still took weeks, though. I think the science behind it is creating an abrasion/wound which your body tries to heal and in the process recognises the wart virus and attacks it.

By the time I got to superglue I’d tried everything from Bazuka to freezing to vinegar to banana skin - I’m not just weird!

I sympathise with her btw - I had two enormous warts on my left thumb and lived in fear of someone noticing and thinking they were dirty or disgusting.

Have you tried any of the prescribed stuff like warticon or aldara?
Zinc supplements can also help.

You can buy the freezy stuff OTC. Works very well, easy and quick. Go and ask a pharmacist. IME only the freezy stuff works. Anything else is a waste of money.

I'm not sure if there's a fast way, but I have seen treatments like needling that seem to be effective.

My oldest also had lots on her hands, and eventually we got rid through constant bazooka and filing- I think it just woke up her immune system so that it realised they were there and took care of them.

Probably not recommended but I got these 40% salicylic acid patches on Amazon for verrucas and they got rid of my DD's mega stubborn warts.

Normal vinegar worked for me on a couple I got on my hands when I was pregnant. Literally went black and dried up after one or two overnight applications (bit of cotton wool soaked in it taped on with a plaster.)
My daughter had a verruca recently. Bazuka gel made it start spreading so she ended up with 3. I read on here to try nail varnish. It worked! Took about 2 weeks of painting it on daily. I'd avoid filing them down as in my experience it causes them to spread. Clipping the dead bits off with cuticle nippers it nail clippers works best.

I used to have one on my finger and absolutely hated it. She has my sympathy! My horse had 'worts' and the only way to get rid is either a really painful cream or to surgically remove a huge area of flesh around it.. I don't think there is a simple solution unfortunately.

My grandad used to ‘buy’ mine off of me. He’d rub a 50p on them and give me the 50p and honestly they’d be gone in a couple of weeks. How does that work?!

Garlic worked for me! I had a few on my hands as a teen (is it some weird hormonal thing that makes you get them at that age?) 🤔 and I heard garlic worked so I rubbed garlic puree on and then covered with a plaster overnight. I can't remember how long they took to go - maybe a week or so?) but they never came back!

I think you need the doctor to refer you to a specialist. It’s unusual to have warts for that long without the body’s own immune system dealing with them.

I had warts as a child and eventually the dr use the freeze treatment on them, this was about 25 years ago, you can buy it otc now.

You’ll have to go private. The NHS no longer has the funds to pay for cosmetic work like this (and I appreciate it’s not a minor issue for your daughter). Seek a consultation from a private dermatologist. I had mine burned off several years ago and they’ve never returned.

Homeopathic Thuja, honestly didn't think it would work when someone recommend it to me but both mine and my DDs went away after a couple of weeks of using it, you can get it in Holland and Barrett.
We also had luck with verrucas using silver nitrate sticks, can get them off eBay and probably the chemist too.

Thuja / homeopath only think that worked on my veruccas. Had them for 10 years too.

Try castor oil twice a day with plasters on. I had a wart for years and got rid of it this way

My son had his frozen off with liquid nitrogen. It was extremely painful but 100% success with one treatment.

It was done privately.

She's had the same warts for 10 years? That's actually really unusual and I think you should take her back to the GP. If the GP won't deal with them they should refer you to someone who will.

I agree. GP should consider immune system problems.

Look into Swift treatment for verruca and warts. If you Google it, you can find private clinics who can offer treatment. It is a fairly new treatment and has a 70% success rate. It's worth looking into. It is quite expensive though.
I would also consider requesting a referral to check her immune system to make sure there isn't an underlying problem.

A few years ago I had 15 spread over both hands. I started with the biggest one and basically put bazuca extra strength on it every day for a week or so. I covered it with a plaster after each application had dried. It built up a thick crust over the course of the week. I then picked off the crust and it took a few layers of the wart with it. I kept doing this until the root of the wart was exposed. The root looks like a black dot in the centre. I put loads of Bazuka on the root. It hurt like hell but the next day I picked off the skin and the root had disappeared. I let the skin heal and then tackled the next one in the same way. I got rid off them all over the course of 6 months. I used the same method to treat ds’s verruca.

Second one for garlic. I cut a clove in half and rubbed it over the affected area st night then covered with a plaster. Took about 2 weeks but was the only thing that worked. I had perennial warts on my fingers which were a total nightmare. Also used it on a cluster of veruccas.