Wart on finger

[GazeboLantern]

17yo ds has a wart on the outer side of a little finger joint. It's been there for several months and I would leave it alone, but he has developed a habit of chewing it, so I'm worried it may spread to his lips. He has agreed to me freezing it off.

Ds is autistic, so I have one chance of getting this right. If it goes wrong, he will not let me try again. (It's also the reason there's no point just telling him to stop chewing the wart. He knows why he needs to not chew it, but it is an entrenched behaviour that he just cannot stop.)

I've removed warts and verrucas from toes, soles and heels before, but never from fingers, and never from directly over a joint. And, just to add spice, it's on his dominant hand.

Any tips? Which brand, technique, aftercare etc?

I wouldn’t freeze it. I would cut a tiny piece of banana skin, big enough to cover the wart inner side down, and then Elastoplast it in place over the wart for as many days as you can keep it on there (ideally 2-3). Then you will take off the smelly bandaid, look at the wart and think “bloody hell why did I pay attention to that nutter from mumsnet”. But one day in a week or so following you will realise that the wart has utterly vanished, like magic. No sign of it.

Then come back and tell me! it is the salicylic acid in the banana skin which does it.

If you only have once chance then I’d say that it’s best to go to a professional so that it is definitely frozen off properly

i agree with Delphigirl above, but I would try fresh pineapple, it will go black and then disappear, if the plaster comes off in the daytime just put it on at night.
I had a wart professionally frozen off the side of my thumb near the nail and honestly it was the most painful thing ever! Worse than childbirth, and then it came back!!
Pineapple worked for me in a couple of weeks but maybe coincidence as they do sometimes suddenly go by themselves.

Freezing warts off feels like a hundred little sharp needles drumming into the area. It has to happen for at least 15 seconds. He would have to remain still for that to happen. Would that be possible?

You can buy the stuff yourself in the discount chemist for under a tenner but it's not as strong as the doctors stuff.

I e found that salicylic acid does appear to work but my warts have always come back in the exact same place so I don't think it does as good a job as the doctor.

You can buy salicylic acid patches that look like plasters you can put on. I got those in a discount shop too for a fiver I think. But again not as good as the freezing.

And yes I think it will spread to his lips if he keeps biting so it defo needs something done.

I don't think ds would tolerate a lumpy plaster on his finger for several days. At least with the freezing stuff the job is done even if we keep having to replace the plaster.

Freezing warts off feels like a hundred little sharp needles drumming into the area. It has to happen for at least 15 seconds. He would have to remain still for that to happen. Would that be possible?

IME the pain of freezing never quite reached tolerance limit by the end of the time. But that was on feet. I've never done it on a finger. Ds will be still if he decides to be still. I need to be completely honest with him about what he can expect.

I’d go with the sacylic patches under a plaster myself. They aren’t bulky and they don’t get smelly. They are painless- the wart goes white and falls off in layers. You go until you hit pink skin.

We did the banana thing on a big one on DS's toe and it worked. I have had success on myself with salicylic acid cream in a corn plaster under a normal plaster.

Freezing, salyisic acid, plasters, banana skin,heavy duty tape:
I tried them all.

Then, someone at exercise class leaned over and said" Tea Tree Oil."

I dabbed it on twice, on a cotton bud: within 5 days , multiple warts on my fingers were gone. For good.

Sounds like an advert? yep, but also, it really worked.

It was probably the banana doing its delayed magic 🤣