The Use of Acid as Plantar Warts Treatment

Various research studies have compared the effectiveness of numerous plantar warts treatment. The results of these studies agree that there is no single most effective plantar warts treatment and this is most probably due to the different ways with which the human body’s immune system responds to the warts and to the plantar wart treatment. However, it was found that among the plantar warts treatment, the methods that appear to be promising are those that utilize acid.

Acid works against plantar warts by penetrating through the skin cells that were killed by the virus and eventually disabling the virus. The most common acid used for plantar warts treatment is salicylic acid. Salicylic acid can be in different formulations, such as in concentrated form, in prepared liquid forms, in patch form, and in paste. These formulations of salicylic acid can be bought from pharmacies without a doctor’s prescription.

Most of the formulation of salicylic acid, such as the concentrated salicylic acid and the prepared liquid forms, are usually applied directly on the affected skin. The concentrated salicylic acid, which contains 40% of the acid, is considered to be more the aggressive plantar wart treatment than its prepared liquid counterpart, which contains only about 17% of the acid. But more care should be taken in using the concentrated salicylic acid so that it does not adversely destroy the healthy skin.

The salicylic acid in patch or plaster form is usually placed on the bumps formed by the virus. As a plantar wart treatment, it is considered to be less effective than the prepared liquids. However, some people find it more convenient to use. The salicylic acid in paste form is called Upton’s paste. It is a plantar wart treatment that is composed of 6 parts of salicylic combined with 1 part trichloroacetic acid. The thick paste is applied on the plantar warts.

Another acid that can be used, instead of salicylic acid, is the Formalin BP. In order to use this solution, dilute it by mixing 2 teaspoons in one cup of water. The foot is then soaked in it for at least 20 minutes. Before soaking the foot, however, the other unaffected parts of the foot should be protected by a moisturizing lotion so that they will not suffer from the formalin plantar wart treatment.

The use of acids for plantar warts treatment is always combined with the use of either the emery board or the pumice stone. Either of these is rubbed against the affected skin to peel off the dead skin. And the procedure for using acid may last for several months before the plantar warts are completely removed.