Advice needed regarding warts on my 4 year old

[LooJG]

Hey everyone,

I'm wondering if you can provide your advice/support/words of wisdom/thoughts on the following...

I have a beautiful 4 year old boy who has been suffering from warts since the age of 2! He initially had a small blister like growth in the top of his hand (we didn't have a clue what it was) but was eventually diagnosed as a wart by our gp. They provided a paint which made no difference and over about 6 months he hot another on his thumb. He sucked his thumb and we tried the yucky nail varnishes to try and stop him but this failed and so I spent months trying to find a plaster that would not come off with him sucking his thumb. I eventually found an athletes tape which was super sticky and started to use that.. I had been to the doctors a number of times up to this point to attempt to get them removed as I was concerned over them spreading. They would not treat or refer him due to his age and the warts being purely cosmetic.

He eventually got one under his lip line due to the thumb sucking. At this point we had tried a number of over the counter gels And even herbal remedies.. this was particular difficult due to his age (He would cry or not sit still when I tried to apply them which was awful for us all). Eventually he got referred and we then went to an appointment to be told they would not touch them again due to his age and the fact they were only cosmetic.

I eventually took him to a private dermatologist as he got another on his index finger and my concerns were growing over them spreading even more. The dermatologist was reluctant to help again due to his age and tried once to do cryrotherapy but sensed it would be too distressing and stopped after seconds.

Currently my son goes to bed with a plaster and a bandage on his thumb to avoid him sucking the wart. One wart has reacted well the the treatment gels however he has 2 more beginning to form. He is now being seen by our private dermatologist on the nhs who still refuses to do cryrotherapy due to traumatizing him. She has however referred him for an operation on his lip where he will be asleep whilst they remove.

She will no longer assist with his hands as feels that she cannot do a anything else and I don't think she partciaulry wants to.

I am due to visit a new private dermatologist on Tuesday who has agreed that she would be happy to carry out cryrotherapy on my son using a numbing cream.

He starts school.in September and I am desperate to get rid of them out of fear he may become self conscious or be teased. Also I am concerned how they could continue to spread leaving this impossible to treat if we do not get rid of them now.

He is sensitive and I dread the day he tells me that somebody has said something nasty to him.

I am particularly careful about hiding my feelings about them (even though it is breaking my heart) and we call them his spots to avoid him feeling bad about himself, particularly as the term warts are often used to describe ugly witches and even the gruffalo at his pre school.

My question to you all really is..

As parents.. what would you do?

I spend half my time feeling guilty about wanting these gone? Am I being selfish? Would you put your child through cryrotherapy which could be painful and some say traumatizing to a child.. to protect them them further spreading and potential teasing in the future?

He is my only child and he is so precious. I just want these to be a thing of the past for us all 😔

My ds had similar at this age. I was gutted when he got one on his nose. He wasnt bothered in the slightest and called them his bubbles. We tried over the counter gel, bazukka i think it was called and then the dr gave us some liquid to apply but he said it hurt, so i only put it on a few times. Eventually they went there own. I'm unsure if either of the treatments we used helped but it was quite a while after the final treatment that they went. It literally took about a week for them to disappear completely. He was about 5.5 when they went.
Good luck. I hope something works for you soon.

My daughter had warts over hand for about two years at a similar age. We did try some over the counter stuff which didn't seem to do anything, but eventually they all disappeared by themselves, almost overnight.

I wouldn't put him through the cryotherapy at his age - that is likely to be far more unpleasant for him than the warts and it's very likely they'll go away without treatment anyway eventually. They do sound like they are much more of a problem for you than him. Nobody ever commented on my DD's warts at school. She has a birthmark on her arm that is much larger and more noticeable than the warts and nobody's ever mentioned that either.

Sorry. I know you said you tried herbal remedies. But Have you tried apple cider vinegar?

Thanks ladies for responding! That sounds encouraging that both of your childrens warts seemed to disappear in their own! Our dermatologist has said she believes they will eventually go..I've just found it so unbelievable, as he has had them for so long! I hope they do one day

If I am honest, yes it is me who is more bothered. I think at age 4 kids just arnt fussed by these things, and I think this is why I feel so much guilt because really, I want these gone because I am afraid of how they may affect his confidence if a child at schools does pick up on them.

I have also made the mistake of googling and have seen worse case scenarios of children with a face full of them!!

How were you both about covering them? Did you do anything to try and stop them spreading whilst you waited for them to go?

Did it take about 2 years for them to go?

Thanks again ladies xxx

Won't be popular but homeopathic thuja worked for my son. I had tried everything else, was desperate. I told him the magic sugar would make his spots go away and they did, took 3 weeks exactly as I was told.

Redspottydress did you give him the occidentals? We tried those about a year ago and got through one tube, although I don't think I have him the full dosage of it because I wasn't sure how much at his age? Do you remember how many tablets and how often? 😊

We havent tried this yet, i did actually buy some but haven't yet got round to trying It as we're trying other options still (and have tried to stick to one thing for a while as i kept swapping and changing) have you had any Iuck with this? 😊

My podiatrist doubles as a homeopath and prescribes zinc for warts and verruca. I was dubious but googled and found some NHS research papers which back up his theory. You can buy liquid zinc supplements in health food shops which can be mixed with water or juice and don't taste of anything.

I have used Home cryotherapy kits to zap warts on DD6 hand. Felt guilty but she hated them and it worked.

When DD started Reception she had a small mark on her nose, this then became a cluster of flat warts which started spreading over her face and she had big warts on her hands and loads of smaller ones on every finger on her cuticle area.
Took her to private dermatologist (after visiting GP several times who wouldn’t prescribe anything) and got Differin cream. They were all gone in a month or so.

They will eventually just go but when mine have had them I've just the home freeze kits you can get from the chemist.

It was thuja 30c 2 or 3 times a day. There are homeopathic phone lines you can call to order.

I treated them at 4 because I didn’t want him to go to school with big ones, the ones along his nail line where very unsightly.

I used cuprex gel which is paint on. It does not work as the instructions suggest which is something along the lines of put on for a week, peel off and start again. It bonds very tightly and gets very hard and basically when it comes off it takes the wart. A couple I peeled off and one got traumatically knocked off and bled quite a bit.

Great for the bigger ones but not for the small ones as couldn’t apply without damaging the surrounding skin which got sore and made him not want to do it. However I think he has provoked an immune response as most of the small ones have gone on there own now.