Duct tape therapy is a popular home remedy for the removal of warts. Research into duct tape’s effectiveness as a wart treatment has produced mixed results, but the low cost, low risk and convenience of duct tape therapy continues to make it a popular treatment option. If you are not in a big hurry to get rid of your wart, you may find duct tape therapy worth trying.
Method
A study published in the October 2002 edition of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine touted the benefits of duct tape therapy for wart removal. The researchers had patients cover their warts with a small piece of duct tape, about the same size as the wart, for six days. If the tape fell off, patients were told to re-cover the wart with a new piece of tape. After six days, patients removed the tape, soaked the wart in water, gently rubbed it with an emery board or pumice stone and left the area uncovered overnight. In the study, patients were advised to repeat the process for up to two months if needed.
Advantages
Duct tape therapy is an inexpensive wart removal method that only requires materials you may already have in your home. This method may cost nothing to try, and if it works, you can avoid costly wart removal products and doctor visits. For parents concerned about using wart removal products on young children, duct tape therapy can be a good alternative. Duct tape therapy may also be worth trying when a child is scared of visiting a doctor for cryotherapy, which involves freezing warts, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Disadvantages
Like many other do-it-yourself wart removal methods, duct tape therapy may take several weeks to work. You may have to repeat the process a few times before you see results. If your wart is on a noticeable area of your body, you may be uncomfortable covering it with duct tape. It is also possible for skin to become irritated or injured during the process of taping or filing a wart.
Effectiveness
The researchers in the 2002 study found that duct tape therapy was more effective than cryotherapy. After therapy was completed, warts resolved in 85 percent of patients treated with duct tape. However, recent research has challenged this study. A study published in the November 2006 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine reported that duct tape had a “modest but nonsignificant effect” on warts compared to a placebo. Researchers in the latter study found that warts disappeared in only 16 percent of children treated with duct tape therapy.
Warning
The human papillomavirus, or HPV, is responsible for causing warts. HPV can be spread from person to person through direct contact or contaminated objects, according to the Mayo Clinic. If you use the duct tape method, do not allow others to use the same emery board or pumice stone you use to file your wart to avoid spreading the virus.
