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No one likes warts, and as soon as you see them, you want to get rid of them. There are plenty of treatments of warts, such as utilizing cryotherapy, which involved freezing them off. You can also have warts surgically removed as well as removing them through surgery. In addition to that, there are topical creams that treat them that contain salicylic acid.
However, the problem with all of those treatment options of warts is that they are painful but expensive. In addition to that, you have to have multiple treatment sessions for wart removal. That is why there are other options for removing warts, such as utilizing apple cider vinegar. However, before discussing the benefits of that, let’s talk about the cause of warts.
What Are Warts And What Causes Them To Develop?
Warts are bumps on your skin that are not dangerous but are not pleasant to look at, and those who have warts find them to be quite embarrassing. They are painful, and they are contagious, which means anyone can easily contract it. The cause of warts is the human papillomavirus or HPV. It’s been an issue lasting for thousands and thousands of years since Shakespeare even mentioned in his works about 3,000-year-old mummies having warts.
There is not only one type of wart as there are more than hundreds of the HPV virus. Most of the time, warts are harmless if they are on your feet and hands. Warts that typically grow on fingers and toes are the most common warts with a grainy, rough, and rounded appearance. There are also plantar warts that grow on the soles of feet and into your skin. The appearance of plantar warts on your feet’ soles is hardened skin surrounding a hole at the bottom of the foot.
There are also flat warts that appear to as scrapes and are yellow, brown, or pink. They aren’t noticeable and are also relatively small. The common areas of these warts are on your arms, thighs, and face. Another type of wart is the filiform wart, which grows around your nose, mouth, and neck as they appear like skin tags, but they are not. They are the same color as your skin. The last type of wart that people often deal with is the periungual wart, which ends up around and underneath fingernails and toenails, and they hurt. Even though the HPV viruses that cause warts are harmless, there are some strains of the virus that are not.
Some strains of HPV that are the culprit of genital warts can lead to cervical cancer in women. That is why women who believe that there is a risk of exposure to genital warts must see a doctor right away as cervical cancer can be quite fatal. That is why sexually active girls and women must receive the Gardasil vaccine as well as getting regular checkups and pap smears by doctors.
You know of the leading cause of warts and the types around, there is a simple solution to getting rid of them. The answer to removing warts is the use of apple cider vinegar.
How Does Apple Cider Vinegar Treat Warts?
Apple cider vinegar is a standard thousand-year-old treatment for many ailments that include treating diabetes, digestive disorders, and poison ivy reactions. This fluid also can treat warts because it is an acid. Acids kill off viruses and bacteria in addition to that; it slowly kills off skin infections.
Therefore, apple cider vinegar works similarly to salicylic acid, whereas it causes the wart to disintegrate. Your immune system has a more vital ability to fight off the virus, which was responsible for the wart and the credit goes to the apple cider vinegar. Applying the vinegar to the wart is extremely simple to do.
How Do You Apply Apple Cider Vinegar To Warts?
The application of apple cider vinegar to warts is straightforward to do. You cannot just put strait vinegar to your skin, or else it will damage it since it is acidic. Therefore, you will want to mix apple cider vinegar and water. Use two parts of apple cider vinegar and mix it with one-part water in a bowl. Then use a cotton ball to soak the mixture and then apply it right onto the wart. Please don’t take the cotton ball off as you will want to cover the cotton ball with a bandage or tape and allow it to stay there overnight.
Then first thing in the morning, you will want to remove the cotton ball. However, you will want to keep rinsing and repeating this process until the wart disintegrates. If you don’t like that idea as you might find the cotton ball taped to the affected area distracting to sleep, there is another way to do this.
Take a large container and mix equal parts of water as well as apple cider vinegar. Then put your body’s area affected by the wart, whether it is your hand or your foot, and let it sit in the container for 15 minutes. After completion, then wash your skin with water. Rinse and repeat as well until the wart falls off. However, before you begin this practice, there are side effects to know about from using apple cider vinegar.
What Are The Side Effects To Expect With Apple Cider Vinegar?
You may assume that apple cider vinegar will not burn because the acid is weak. However, even with more diluted acids, you can experience burns from it. Therefore, be cautious, and you will have to expect to face some irritation when you remove a wart this way. Most people who utilize this method will not experience severe burning, but they can experience a sensation. That is why it is essential to dilute the vinegar with water before applying it to the skin.
That means never applying even diluted apple cider vinegar to open wounds and do not attempt to remove genital warts. Removal of genital warts is the doctor’s specialty. Beware as well of allergic reactions to apple cider vinegar. If you experience dizziness, rash, hives, labored breathing, or a fast heartbeat, then go to the hospital and discontinue the use of apple cider vinegar.
Conclusion
Warts are problematic and are quite annoying. The cause for warts is many of the HPV strains, and even though they are generally harmless, they do cause many problems that make you self-conscious. There are plenty of treatments for wart removal. However, a simple home remedy‘ to treat warts is the use of apple cider vinegar.
Apple cider vinegar is mildly acidic. You can either apply it with a cotton ball to leave on the affected area overnight or submerge your body’s affected area into it. That will cause the wart to fall off over time. Just be cautious of any side effects from using this practice. That is an excellent solution for easy wart removal that does not involve surgical procedures if you can tolerate them.