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Newspaper Columns, Herb & Home Remedy Q&A August 2, 2007
Q. I had a wart on my finger for 15 years. A few doctors said they could cut if off, but I don’t like the idea of surgery.
My mother told me of an old gypsy remedy, but I would never try it. It was too hokey. One day I argued with her and, in an effort to prove her wrong, I decided to go ahead and use the remedy. I just knew it wouldn't work. Well, within two weeks the wart was gone.
Here it is: cut a slice from a potato, rub the white part on the wart, then go bury the potato in the yard. Supposedly if you dig up the potato later, it will have grown the wart on it.
This sounds way too silly, but it did work. Mom was right, and she won the argument.
A. We don’t know if this is a gypsy remedy, but it certainly is old. We have heard from a number of other people who have treated their warts successfully by rubbing them with raw potato or potato peel and burying the piece of potato.
Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist. Teresa Graedon holds a doctorate in medical anthropology and is a nutrition expert. Their syndicated radio show can be heard on public radio. In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of this newspaper or e-mail them via their Web site: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.
© 2007 King Features Syndicate, Inc.
Reader Comments
When I was a child both hands were covered with warts. Many home remedies were tried. One worked completely: For two weeks, each night at bedtime, rub hands thoroughly with castor oil and tie a sock on each hand.
Posted by: Don | August 5, 2007 1:04 PM
Years ago, my aunt, a nurse, broke open the stalk of a milkweed plant and smeared some of the white goo on my wart. The wart soon disappeared and never returned.
Posted by: ss | August 5, 2007 11:18 PM
I had a wart on my thumb when I was little, and a lady told me to pee on a penny and rub the penny on the wart. I did, and it went away.
Posted by: k | August 7, 2007 7:39 PM
I was told by my grandmother to rub warts with potato skins, or place potato skins on them. I put a piece of potato skin on the warts with a Band Aid, and it worked on all of them.
Posted by: LB | August 8, 2007 7:28 PM
I have just read the website of an aromatherapist. She states that warts are caused by a virus (as is also stated on your website), and that they are an external sign of an internal potassium deficiency. I thought, after reading about the comments of your readers regarding their experiences with treating warts, that a possible common factor in their treatments is potassium (potatoes, milkweed, urine [perhaps the body's own potassium]. Thanks for your show and website.
Posted by: LJK | August 14, 2007 9:12 PM