On the "Street Doctor" documentary on BBC1 TV last night, Duct Tape
(not to be confused with "Duck tape" which is used for taping up the
beaks of ducks when they quack too much! - <grin>) was recommended
as the best technique for wart removal. Below is more information
about this form of treating warts. Warts are skin infections caused
by a common virus called HPV (human papillomavirus), three out of
four people will develop a wart some time in their life, mostly on
hands or feet.

-----------------------------------
THESE TOPICS I HAVE GATHERED INFORMATION ON ARE COVERED BELOW...

* DUCT TAPE FOR WARTS
* HOW DOES DUCT TAPE WORK TO REMOVE A WART?
* DUCT TAPE TREATMENT ADVICE
* POSSIBLE PROBLEMS OF USING DUCT TAPE
* OTHER WART TREATMENTS
* THE HOLISTIC APPROACH TO WARTS

-----------------------------------



Duct Tape More Effective than Cryotherapy for Warts
------------------------------------------------------------
by KARL E. MILLER, M.D.

Common warts (verruca vulgaris) are a common problem among patients
who present in family physicians' offices. Although a significant
number of warts will spontaneously resolve over two years, patients
frequently request treatment to clear their skin of the lesions.
Treatments such as cryotherapy, acid preparations, laser therapy,
heat, and tape occlusion have been used in the management of warts,
with cure rates ranging from 32 to 93 percent. However, most of these
therapies are expensive, painful, or labor intensive. A few small,
nonrandomized trials have studied the use of tape occlusion in wart
treatment, with one study reporting cure rates of approximately 80
percent. Focht and associates compared the effectiveness of
cryotherapy with duct tape applied to common warts.

The study was a prospective, randomized controlled trial with two
treatment arms. Participants were patients three to 22 years of age
who had viral warts and presented to a military clinic. Participants
were randomized to receive cryotherapy or occlusive therapy with duct
tape. Cryotherapy consisted of 10-second applications of liquid
nitrogen to each wart every two to three weeks for a maximum of six
treatments. The other group applied small pieces of duct tape to each
wart. They were instructed to leave the tape in place for six days
and were taught how to re-apply tape if it fell off. At the end of
the sixth day, the patients removed the duct tape, soaked the wart in
water, and gently debrided it with an emery board or pumice stone.
The tape was left off overnight, then re-applied for another six
days. This pattern was repeated for two months or until the wart
resolved. Warts that did not resolve were measured. The main outcome
measured was complete resolution of the wart.

In patients treated with duct tape, 85 percent of the warts
completely resolved, compared with 60 percent in the cryotherapy
group. These results were statistically significant. Resolution of
warts treated with duct tape usually occurred within the first 28
days of therapy. If there was no response within the first two weeks,
the warts were unlikely to respond to a longer course of therapy. The
main adverse outcomes with duct-tape therapy were difficulty keeping
the tape on the wart and minor skin irritation. The main adverse
effect in the cryotherapy group was mild to severe pain at the freeze
site during and after the treatment.

The authors conclude that duct tape occlusive therapy is more
effective than cryotherapy in the treatment of common warts. They
also state that duct tape therapy is less expensive and has fewer
adverse effects than cryotherapy.

Reference: Focht DR III, et al. The efficacy of duct tape vs
cryotherapy in the treatment of verruca vulgaris (the common wart).
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med October 2002;156:971 [http://archpedi.ama-
assn.org]


HOW DOES DUCT TAPE WORK TO REMOVE A WART?
----------------------------------------
Theories:

1. Duct or similar tape debrides (removes dead skin from) the wart,
also in this process removing the virus.

2. Occlusion of the wart with duct tape somehow gets the patient's
immune system stimulated to attack the wart virus.

3. Pressure (without complete obstruction to flow) effects on blood
or lymph flow deprive the wart-infected cells of the nutrition they
need to proliferate.

DUCT TAPE TREATMENT ADVICE
--------------------------

1. Keep duct tape in place for around 6 days, then remove it, soak
the wart, and pare it down with a skin file or emery board.

2. Apply over-the-counter salicylic acid wart remover liquid to the
wart before bedtime. Let it dry then apply duct tape over the wart.
Remove duct tape next morning. Each time tape is removed it gives
debridement (surface removal) to the wart tissue. Repeat the
application each night.

POSSIBLE PROBLEMS OF USING DUCT TAPE
------------------------------------
Make sure it really is a wart you are treating and not some other
kind of skin tumour, wound or infection.

The skin under the duct tape may become macerated i.e. red and soggy.
If this happens, take a few nights break from the treatment to let
the skin breathe and dry out.

OTHER WART TREATMENTS
---------------------

1. Warts often disappear on their own, but it can take months or
years.

2. Over-the-counter treatments often contain salicylic acid. Follow
directions on product plus gently file the wart each day daily with
an emery board to remove dead, infected surface cells.

3. Conventional or Laser Surgery: mostly effective but can be painful
and may leave a scar. Warts can also recur.

4. Cryotherapy: freezing treatments are now available in your local
pharmacy, they are expensive and many of us have had disappointing
results. Professional Cryotherapeutic treatment is more reliable but
can be a little painful both during and after.

THE HOLISTIC APPROACH TO WARTS
-----------------------------------
It has been suggested that warts occur at specific sites related to
underlying issues and patterns. The renowned intuitive healer, Louise
Hay, says that warts are "Little expressions of Hate" that reflect "A
belief in ugliness". She recommends the affirmation "I am the Love
and the Beauty of Life in Full Expression" in order to move towards
transforming the underlying emotional energy dynamics. This not as
far-fetched as it might sound! - There is 50 years accumulation of
scientific research into "Psychoneuroimmunology" - the science
studying relationships between psyche (spirit, emotions), neurones
(mind) and immune function (disease resistance), see
http://www.lovehealth.org/info/psychoneurobiology.htm

More about Louise Hay's work here:
http://www.lovehealth.org/books/louisehay.htm



Michael Meredith
http://www.sunflower-health.com