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Tagamet for Warts


There are so many wart remedies it is hard to know where to start or stop. Castor oil applications are highly recommended by our readers. But one of the few treatments that have actually been tested is taking Tagamet.

This research has been published in numerous dermatological journals. We consider this a "home remedy" because it is a novel use for this popular heartburn medicine.

One study found that more than 80 percent of treated patients had a significant response, though it did take six to eight weeks to see improvement.* The dose was 30 mg/kg/day.

Other studies have not had such success. Flat warts seem to respond better than raised ones.

How Tagamet might work remains elusive, though one theory has it the drug modifies the immune system so the body attacks the virus that causes warts.

  • Glass, A. T., and B. A. Solomon. "Cimetidine Therapy for Recalcitrant Warts in Adults." Arch. Dermatol. 1996; 132:680�?682.

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My sisters boy, when he was in high school has a severe problem with planters warts on his foot and the doctor prescribed Tagamet in a a very large dose and it worked wonders for him. I do not know the exact amount but it was very large and the pharmacists questioned her about it.

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My dermatologist prescribed me 800mg/day of Tagamet for a plantars wart and it worked! This was about 7 or 8 years ago. However, the last time I went to the Dr he wouldn't write me an Rx for it because he said it wasn't approved for that use or something to that effect.

I WAS FIGHTING PLANTARS WARTS FOR YEARS, TRIED EVERYTHING. FINALLY AGREED TO 800MG OF TAGAMET PER DAY. I'VE BEEN WART FREE FOR OVER TWO YEARS! MY NINE YEAR OLD NOW HAS A FEW, I JUST STARTED HER ON TAGAMET, 300MG A DAY. WART FREE FEET ARE WONDERFUL!!!!!!

Have had a raised ugly wart on the side of my hand for YEARS. Nothing the doctor or derma has prescribed worked. Neither anything in the drugstore, not the freeze stuff or the smelly stuff you put on with a wand. Have sliced it with a razor blade, with a pedicure file, anything for years but nothing worked. Then I found out about this alternative cure last week in a newspaper article. Purchased Tagemet yesterday AM, took a 200 mg tablet right away. Significant difference overnight! That's right, OVERNIGHT! Took another 200mg tablet this morning. (Almost) pain free and significant reduction. Can't wait to see what the next week brings.

My podiatrist had me take this for plantars warts on my foot in high school.

After having them cut, lasered, and frozen this worked. Haven't had them since. Over 12 yrs ago.

I suddenly got a bunch of warts near my fingernails and nothing worked untill Doctor gave me 800mg Tagamet and I took it once a day for 2 months and within a week of taking it they ALL disappeared, it was a miracle!!

I have been taking Cimetidine for about a week and have had AMAZING results!! I have had plantars warts COVERING my heel for about 10 years and nothing else has done anything before. They are already reduced to half in size! It is truly a miracle, I still cannot believe I will have a wart-free future to look forward to!

We finally gave Cimetidine to our 6 yr. old daughter. It's amazing! After months and months of visits to the derm., the warts on the back of her hand are gone. She had up to 40 big and tiny warts, they were starting to spread to her wrist and other hand. We'd treated them with everything! Finally 2 tsp. a day for 8 weeks and they just disappeared.

I have had dozens of unsightly warts on my back for years.  I tried Tagamet, two 200 mg tablets per day, and it has worked wonders in just a few weeks.

Although this is a little off-subject, I read with interest all the cures etc people suggest for warts and it brought to mind my personal story. I submit it as a matter of interest so make of it what you will.

When I was a boy of five living in rural England (c1942, evacuated from London), I had a sudden onset of warts covering the backs of both of my hands and fingers. The warts over my knuckles cracked and bled .

Several visits to various doctors did nothing to cure them, and over the months they got so bad and ugly I wouldn't leave the house.

Here's where it gets interesting...

One day, in frustration, my mother was relating my plight to the old lady who ran the village store. This woman had lived in the village for many years and suggested we visit the local "witch" as she has been known to cure such things.

By this time my mother was at her wits end and one evening, in desperation, took me to the witch's cottage.

After looking at my hands, she told my mother to wait a couple of days for the next full moon, give me a freshly laundered handkerchief with which I was to wipe the backs of both my hands.

My mother then was to walk into the woods where, in a communal picnic clearing, there was a well known tree stump with a concave top that held rain water. She was then to rinse the handkerchief in this water, return and have me wipe my hands with it again.

With my mother shaking her head in doubt, We did as the witch suggested and within three days my warts were gone and I haven't had one since!

I remember this as if it were yesterday. Strange.

I just had my first treatment for plantar warts ( 4 of them)
the Dr prescribed 2400mg of tagament a day. I am concerned about a large dose, but hopeful it will work.

Well I had a huge plantar wart on the side of my heel. and my foot doctor had told me to take 9 pills of tagamet for relief. is that even healthy? is it possible to overdose ? i just started taking them today. i need feedback

PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: A PLACEBO-CONTROLLED TRIAL OF CIMETIDINE (TAGAMET) FOR WARTS DID NOT SHOW A BENEFIT, BUT A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE TOLD US THEY WERE SUCCESSFUL WITH THIS TREATMENT.

A word of caution. I have tried Tagamet on two different occasions and both times ended up with severe diarrhea and gas pain that lasted until I stopped taking the Tagamet. It may work wonders for some, but there are others of us who need to stay away from it.

My 6 1/2 year old son was perscribed Cimetidine (Tagemet) for planter's warts. He has been taking the 300 mg dosage twice a day for 5 weeks. The warts are almost gone.

However, he has complained of headaches and stomach discomfort often. For the past two weeks he has complained of pain in his eyes with sensitivity to light. Three doctor's have not been able to determine a cause for the eye pain.

Today has been especially bad for him. We are discontinuing use of the Cimetidine although the doctor's don't believe it is connected to the eye pain.

Any comments are appreciated.

My son is eight years old and had a plantars wart the size of a large pea, plus several pin head size plantars warts on his foot. The pediatrician prescribed Tagamet liquid. It has been approximately one month and the large wart is gone as well as the smaller ones. I had a similar wart as a child and it was dug out of my foot and left a large scar. So grateful our son does not have to go through that.

My 11 year old son had a planter wart on the side of his toe and took 2t of Cimetidine 2x a day for about 3 months and then the wart turns black and falls off. My 8 year old has one now and is taking 1.5 t 2x a day (amt. determined by weight) and looks like it will help him too. The podiatrist said they have great success with children taking Cimetidine, but not with adults because of their weight.

I've had two large plantar warts on my feet for a few years, and only until I visited the podiatrist did they spread to an entire dozen on one foot. He used the blue light laser treatment on me, figuring immediate physical action would get rid of the buggers. I'm a 17yr old female of 125 pounds. After recently switching doctors, I was just prescribed Cimetidine at 400mg twice a day. Is this dosage appropriate for me?

My daughter had so many warts on her hands (more than a million according to the doctor!) that there was nothing the doctor could do: freezing or burning them off was out of the question due to the huge number of them. He suggested Tagamet, we thought he was a wierdo. Two months later there was a significant decrease in the number of warts, and by the third month her hands were as smooth as a baby's bottom, and she went to her prom with her head held high!!

I am a 23 year old healthy male, weight about 170lbs. I have suffered from plantar warts on both my feet and periungal warts under my fingernails for almost four years. I have tried several costly and unsuccessful treatments to cure them (acid, cryotherapy, duct tape, ect).

About three months ago I started researching alternative treatments online. One of those was tagamet (cimetedine) therapy. I figured it was a long-shot with me, but what do I have to lose? About two months ago I began taking over the counter tagamet tablets (The wal-mart knock off to save money). I was scared to try such a high dose, so I decided to do one 200mg tablet with breakfast and one with dinner (400mg per day, much much less than other people took) Several weeks went by and I noticed no effect at all. I was ready to just give up.

Then a few weeks after that I noticed something: There was a small, patch of healthy skin through the middle of the mosaic patch of warts near my big toe. I though, "hey maybe this is actually working". Then a few weeks later and even more of the plantar warts were disappearing, and the big periungal wart on my right thumb was gone.

To this day (about two months since starting my treatment) most of my warts have disappeared, but a few small ones still persist. I'm confident they will disappear with time. To all the naysayers, this was not just my immune system suddenly taking care of them. Tagamet really works.

I read that it inhibits your immune system's suppressor cells, so your immune system can attack the virus and the warts will die. If your reading this and you've been through hell trying to treat your plantar or periungal warts, give tagamet therapy a try. It will take a little while, but patience is the key. Good luck!

I had warts on the bottom of my foot for five yrs..went back and forth to Dr..and he kept scraping them...five months ago I had surgery. I was in a wheel chair for four weeks, did everything I was supposed to do....three months later the virus came back in full force and is traveling aggressively. I tried carac medication for ten weeks with no improvement. my Dr suggested we try twenty eight hundred mgs. of tagamet. I have lupus and a heart condition and was wondering if this dosage is safe.

I had a gigantic wart on my thumb when I was a teenager- it started tiny and just kept spreading. The dermatologist tried salicylic acid over and over again, and tried to burn it off twice with liquid nitrogen (the worst pain I've ever felt...). Nothing worked, and I had it for 5 years- until my pediatrician prescribed Tagamet. I couldn't believe it; it had been the bane of my existence for so long, and it disappeared in a WEEK. What's more, that was eight years ago, and I have never gotten another wart.

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