Warts are growths on the skin caused by a strain of the human papillomavirus, or HPV. Warts can develop anywhere on the body, including your underarms, with flat warts being more common in areas outside of the face, hands and feet. When warts develop under your arms, you have several options for getting rid of them.
Step 1
Shave your armpit carefully around the affected area and apply duct tape to the wart. Leave the duct tape on the wart for at least six days. After the time is up, remove the duct tape from the wart and take a warm bath for at least 15 minutes, submerging the wart completely. Get out of the bath and buff the loosened wart tissue off with a pumice stone or nail file. Repeat the process over again until the wart is gone.
Step 2
Apply an over-the-counter wart removal medication containing salicylic acid. Wart tissue is largely made up of a protein known as keratin. When salicylic acid is applied to a wart it breaks down the keratin, states the New Zealand Dermatological Society. This allows the outer layers of tissue to shed. Reapply the salicylic acid as directed by the packaging until the the wart is gone.
Step 3
Ask your doctor to apply prescription cantharidin to the wart. Cantharidin is extracted directly from the blister beetle, and upon contact with the wart causes a blister to form beneath the wart, lifting the wart from the skin. The doctor can then remove the dead tissue from the blister, taking the wart with it.
Step 4
Freeze the wart off using an over-the-counter home kit or by having your doctor freeze it off using cryotherapy equipment and liquid nitrogen. Once the wart tissue has been frozen a blister will develop beneath the wart. Once the blister has formed, your underarm may be uncomfortable and sore. As the dead blistered skin falls off, the wart falls off with it.
Things You'll Need
- Razor
- Duct tape
- Pumice stone or nail file
- Wart remover with salicylic acid
- At-home wart freezing product
