How Can You Make Plantar Warts Disappear?

Most warts don’t hurt. However, a person with plantar warts, those that develop on the soles of the feet, may find walking painful. A dermatologist could perform surgery or cryotherapy (freezing), but recovery time from such procedures is a big disadvantage. Is there a simpler way to make plantar warts disappear? One controversial approach involves poison ivy.

Does Poison Ivy Extract Help Plantar Warts Disappear?

Q. My daughter had plantar warts as a teenager. Her dermatologist tried freezing and burning them to no avail. I felt so bad for her!

I contacted our nearby university medical center, and the dermatologist there gave her a poison ivy derivative patch to wear. She had a bit of itchiness but within 48 hours the plantar warts were gone. They never returned!

A. Many years ago we disparaged the idea of using poison ivy to get rid of plantar warts. Before long we heard back from a retired dermatologist who disagreed. He said applying a drop of poison-ivy extract would excite an immune response to the wart. This remedy should be left to dermatologists, however, as a poison ivy reaction could itself become a serious skin problem.

Here is the exchange:

Q. I have recurring warts on one hand. My doctor has frozen them off and burned them off and they keep returning. She mentioned that some people have used poison ivy to get rid of warts. What do you know about that and the exact procedure of how to do it?

A. Many years ago we received an email from a reader of this column:

“I read one of your articles about common home remedies for warts. One of the best uses the toxic oil, urushiol, from poison ivy plants. I put on surgical gloves to squeeze it from a leaf taken from the most rapidly growing part of the plant. I am very careful to only place a tiny drop directly on the wart. Then I cover it with a bandage.”

We decided not to share this remedy with our readers back then because we thought it was way too dangerous. Someone who is highly sensitive to poison ivy could have a terrible reaction and need hospitalization.

There are far safer ways to get rid of warts. Anyone who contemplates this approach should discuss it with a dermatologist first. Poison ivy should be treated as if it were toxic waste!

A dermatologist responded:

Q. Several weeks ago you had a question from someone about using poison ivy extract to get rid of warts. You suggested that this is a bad idea and not very safe.

I am a retired dermatologist and disagree with your opinion. It is much better to have poison ivy dermatitis than a mosaic plantar wart. Poison ivy is a nuisance that clears in a week or two and is nicely controlled. Very severe cases are uncommon but even those are no match for a mosaic plantar wart. Having one on the sole of your foot would be like walking on a 50 cent piece in your shoe.

If I can relieve a patient by scratching in a drop of poison ivy extract and exciting an immune response to the wart I have done a great favor for that patient.

A. We discouraged the use of poison ivy as a home remedy for warts because it requires great caution. A dermatologist who can apply an extract under controlled conditions would be much less likely to create a serious complication for a highly susceptible patient.

Thank you for sharing your expertise. We still think using poison ivy against warts is best left to professionals.

What Else Can You Do to Make Plantar Warts Disappear?

Q. For about a year now, I’ve been getting plantar warts. It started with just one but now there are more.

The dermatologist has been freezing them off, but they’ve come back. I’d like to get rid of them quicker.

Apple cider vinegar worked for a few but not all. Is there any method that might work better?

Remedies to Make Plantar Warts Disappear:

A. An online resource for doctors suggests using the least expensive and least painful treatment first (Al Aboud & Nigam, StatPearls, March 29, 2017). We interpret that as home remedies for starters.

Since you have already tried soaking the soles of your feet in dilute vinegar (equal parts vinegar and water), you might try other home remedies. Most of these use kitchen products such as bacon fat, banana peel, minced garlic or turmeric powder. They are applied overnight under a bandage.

Hot Water vs. Plantar Warts:

We first heard about this remedy from an old friend, Dr. Dean Edell. Dr. Edell was a skeptic about home remedies, but because this one was published in a medical journal (Cleveland Clinic Quarterly, volume 29: 156-161, 1962) he was more enthusiastic. Here is one reader’s report about its effectiveness:

Q. Hot water worked to get rid of my plantar warts after three years of trying every other medical approach and old wives’ tale known to man. Even my dermatologist was close to giving up on me.

Soaking my feet in hot water for an hour every night is what turned the trick for me. I found this recommendation on the University of Washington website.

A. We have been writing about hot water soaks for treating warts for almost three decades. Dr. Samuel Moschella of Harvard Medical School suggested this treatment for his patients who did not want surgical removal. He recommended soaking the affected foot in hot water (110 to 113 degrees F) for 30 to 90 minutes every week. It could take six weeks or more to see improvement. Please do not burn your feet with very hot water!

Will Castor Oil Make a Difference?

Q. My husband had plantar warts on his feet that resisted all the dermatologist’s treatments. He finally tried this home remedy which worked after several weeks.

He daubed the warts with castor oil and then covered them with duct tape. After a few days he would reapply the castor oil and tape. This did the trick.

A. We have heard from many readers that castor oil or duct tape can be helpful against warts. This is the first time someone recommended combining these two approaches in one remedy. Perhaps the dual action is better than either alone. Thanks for sharing this hybrid remedy.

Duct Tape for Plantar Warts:

Duct tape has stirred a lot of controversy among dermatologists. One small randomized controlled trial showed that it worked significantly better for children than freezing the warts (Focht et al, Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Oct. 2002). That study used the usual silver duct tape.

Another study using clear duct tape in adults found it was no better than placebo (Wenner et al, Archives of Dermatology, March 2007).  We could conclude that duct tape doesn’t work against warts, or that it doesn’t work for adults or that clear duct tape doesn’t resemble silver duct tape. Without further research, we won’t know which hypothesis is most plausible.

Soaks to Make Plantar Warts Disappear:

Some readers have had success soaking the area in old-fashioned Listerine.

Q. I had a plantar wart for years, and the OTC wart products did not help. I would scrape it with a razor blade because it felt like a pea in my shoe. A doctor burned it off, but it came right back.

Then I developed toenail fungus, so I tried soaking my foot in Listerine and vinegar. After several weeks, I remembered the wart. When I checked the bottom of my foot, it was completely gone. That was over 20 years ago, and it never came back.

A. We have no idea why soaking your foot in Listerine and vinegar would make a plantar wart go away. Perhaps the ingredients in Listerine, menthol, eucalyptol, thymol and methyl salicylate, have antiviral activity.

You are not the first reader to report that soaking feet in Listerine, with or without vinegar, could make plantar warts go away.

When all else fails, the heartburn medicine cimetidine (Tagamet) may be the answer. Here are the details.

There are, unfortunately, no comparative studies to determine which of these wart remedies might be most effective for you. As you have discovered, warts often come back, regardless of the treatment you use. We have gathered a number of wart remedies in our book, The People’s Pharmacy Quick & Handy Home Remedies. You might find it in your local library or look for it in the Books section of our online store.