Table of contents:
- Is salicylic acid effective for treating warts?
- How to use salicylic acid to get rid of warts
- If it doesn't work, what should be done?
Warts occur when skin cells grow faster due to a viral infection. Although they are harmless and often go away without treatment, warts can irritate a person. To get rid of it, salicylic acid is one of the most recommended drugs. How do you use salicylic acid to get rid of warts?
Is salicylic acid effective for treating warts?
Salicylic acid or salicylic acid is a drug that is usually used to cure acne. When used on the skin, salicylic acid will clean the pores that hold dead skin cells.
Apart from anti-acne products, salicylic acid can also be found in shampoos and gels to remove warts. However, is salicylic acid effective in getting rid of these bumps on the skin?
Launching the Harvard Health Publishing page, salicylic acid can be the first choice for removing warts.
A study published in the journal Pediatric and Children Health, also shows that salicylic acid is effective for removing warts.
Salicylic acid makes the skin peel. Over time, the warts will get rid of and disappear. In addition, the acid on warts also triggers a stronger immune system response to fight the virus that causes warts.
How to use salicylic acid to get rid of warts
Source: Mama Union
You can get rid of warts with salicylic acid at home. However, in people who have diabetes or other diseases that interfere with blood flow, you should ask a doctor for help to treat warts you have.
Here are the steps for using salicylic acid to get rid of warts.
- Get salicylic acid at drugstores with a variety of ingredients, from 17-40% \. You can choose in the form patch , ointment, gel, or cream.
- Clean the area with the wart. You can soak the area in warm water for 5 minutes. Dry with a towel to keep the skin moisturized and more effective at absorbing the drug.
- Apply enough salicylic acid to the skin where the warts are growing.
- After that, you can cover the area with a bandage. However, if you have sensitive skin you should avoid using bandages. Leave it for a few hours for the medicine to soak into the skin.
- Next, remove the bandage and prepare a pumice stone. Rub the pumice stone on the skin beforehand and rinse thoroughly. Clean the pumice stone and store it in a dry place so that it can be used again at a later time. Do not share the pumice stone as this can spread the virus.
- Use salicylic acid every day for a few weeks until the warts disappear.
If you experience redness, itching, and a burning feeling, stop using salicylic acid immediately. You will likely experience irritation from using salicylic acid for warts.
Consult your doctor to get a more appropriate treatment. Skin treatment at the doctor will usually begin with the lowest dose of salicylic acid.
If there are no signs of irritation, then the dose should be increased. You will likely need to have regular doctor visits to monitor the progress of your treatment.
If it doesn't work, what should be done?
While salicylic acid is quite effective at removing warts, it doesn't work for everyone. You can do other treatments to get rid of warts, namely cryotherapy (freezing the warts with liquid nitrogen and removing them).
In addition, other treatments your doctor may recommend include fluorouracil injections to inhibit wart growth, laser surgery, and electrocautery (a method of removing unwanted body tissue).