Salicylic Acid for Wart Removal: Is it Effective?

Salicylic acid is a colorless crystalline organic acid.  Typically, it is used as a part of acne treatments, but has also been known as a treatment for hpv warts, which includes genital warts.  Unfortunately, it burns the infected area, which can cause pain and leave scars permanently.  This is the biggest reason why people look for other remedies.

Are there Side Effects to Salicylic Acid?

There are a few common side effects associated with salicylic acid:

• Dry skin
• Peeling skin
• Red skin
• Scaling skin

It is also possible to deal with severe side effects.  If you are suffering from any of the following then seek medical attention immediately:

• Difficulty breathing
• Face swelling
• Hives
• Irritation
• Itching
• Rash
• Swelling of lips, mouth, or tongue
• Tightness in chest

There could be other side effects as well, which is why it is important to consult with your physician.  In addition, you need to make sure you are dealing with warts and not some other growth.  For instance, your physician can use acetic acid and apply it to alleged areas to see if genital warts are present.  If so, affected areas will turn white.

How is Salicylic Acid applied?

Typically, you will receive a prescription strength topical cream containing salicylic acid.  However, there is a liquid option.  These products can be helpful, and they do work for certain types of warts (e.g. plantar warts, flat warts), but it is a constant process until the wart disappears.  It could take months to see any type of results.

How does Salicylic Acid Work?

When salicylic acid is used regularly, it can eventually soften your warts skin layers.  Eventually this allows you to rub it off with tools like a file or stone (pumice).  The softening occurs because salicylic acid continuously irritates the warts.  Medical studies have documented that it sends a message to your immune system to fight hpv.

However, you should not use salicylic acid on:

• Abnormal warts with hair
• Birthmarks
• Moles
• Open wounds
• Warts on the mucous membranes (e.g. mouth, nose, throat, vagina, etc.)

Salicylic Acid Precautions

While salicylic acid there are some precautions to consider.  For instance, you should only allow the salicylic acid to touch the wart.  If you are dealing with genital warts this could be difficult to do because warts can spread on other body parts through transmission.

In addition, any dead skin you rub off will contain the living wart virus (hpv), so it is important to only use the tool (e.g. file) for that purpose.  You should also dispose of the dead skin.

Best Treatment for All Types of Warts

Instead of waiting two or three months to see if salicylic acid will work, consider an all-natural homeopathic remedy that has shown results in the first or second week such as Wartrol.

Wartol is available without prescription, leaves no scarring on unaffected skin, and according to several recent reviews, it is the best wart treatment available.

You can learn more about this effective home remedy by clicking on the “home” link at the top of the page.