Warts, caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), are typically harmless and usually grow on hands or feet.
However, warts can also show up in other places such as in the genital region, in the mouth, on the nose and around the fingernails and toenails. Warts differ in size and impact – some are tiny and appear in small numbers but others can grow in large clumps, which may be disastrous if they grew on your face! Some warts cause more pain than others, for example, plantar warts. The pain can be unbearable and this especially inconveniences the ladies who wear heels to work when these warts sprout on the feet.
So what do we look out for?
Warts cause discomfort and pain, so those who suffer from them should not waste time in seeking treatment. On top of that, warts must also be cured quickly as they are infectious and can be transmitted through damaged skin.
But before treating your warts, you have to be sure that they are really warts. There are several types of warts and the appearance of each depends on what type they are. The common warts are greyish brown in colour and shaped like a dome, plantar warts are sometimes dark, tiny specks which are clogged blood vessels, flat warts are light brown or yellow and are flat as their name indicates and periungal warts, which look like rough bumps.
You can leave the warts as they are; they will go away but sometimes this can take up to years and of course, there is some discomfort involved. Many medications to treat warts are not approved by the FDA and they are usually accompanied by various side effects that you may want to avoid. For instant removal of the wart, there is laser treatment which the mere mention of is frightful enough and costly too. It is a relief that there are actually natural remedies you could try to remove warts on the body.
For each of these traditional methods, make sure you disinfect your hands before and after each application as the virus is highly contagious and may spread around the affected area. Some hints for preventing a wart attack from spreading is to avoid shaving your legs, avoid walking barefoot if the wart grows on your feet and always keep them dry.
Cover any scratch or damage on the skin to prevent the wart virus from transmitting from one place to another. Warts are also recurring, so don’t let your guard down if you have been infected before.
Not to be mistaken for warts, fungal infections are caused by excessive growth of fungi. Some of the most common conditions brought upon by a fungal infection are athlete’s foot, jock itch, nail fungal, ringworm and yeast infections. People who are at high risks of getting a fungal infection are those who are on antibiotics or have diabetes. These infections are contagious. Athlete’s foot can occur if you walk around wet public areas barefooted or in shared slippers. Jock itch typically transmits from one to another through skin-to-skin contact or by simply touching contaminated clothes, just like how ringworms spread. And you’ll know you’ve got a nail infection when your nails turn yellowish and brittle.
Fungal infections don’t usually cause much of a problem but if they make you self-conscious, you can try one of the many natural treatments we have listed! Just like how you would need to be careful when treating a wart infection, you also have to take extra care with the areas affected by fungi. Disinfect your hand before and after the treatment to avoid spreading of fungi.
Natural remedies to treat fungal infections
- Pineapple/lemon juice
If the wart is on your hand or foot, soak the affected part in pineapple juice. You will need a lot of it though. However, applying a few drops of lemon juice on the wart may be more convenient instead. After applying the few drops of pineapple juice, cover the wart up with freshly chopped onions for half an hour. Do this once a day. - Garlic and onions
Crush a small clove of garlic and apply to the infected area, holding it in place with some tape. Make sure that it does not touch the surrounding skin to avoid blistering. Leave it overnight and then remove. Alternatively, cut an onion in half, extract the juice and mix it with some salt. Apply the onion juice to the wart a few times per day. - Aspirin
While not entirely natural, you can try treating warts with powdered aspirin. Crush an aspirin tablet, mix it with some water and dab a cotton ball into the mixture and tape it onto the wart. - Honey, olive oil and beeswax
A research on the treatment of skin fungal infections with the combination of ingredients above has yielded positive results. Make a mixture of honey, olive oil and beeswax in equal proportions and apply to infected area using a cotton ball. - Apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
Our skin is naturally slightly acidic but bathing removes this layer of acid, making it susceptible to fungal attacks. By applying apple cider vinegar or lemon juice on the skin, the skin’s acidity is restored. After the bath, rinse the affected area with a mixture of two tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice and two cups of water before pat dry. If you want to make a paste, add baking soda into the vinegar mixture until it is pasty, then rub on skin. - Coconut oil
Coconut oil has strong anti-fungal properties; application of the oil onto the affected areas help to kill the fungi. - Tea tree oil
Long known for its disinfecting ability, tea tree oil has been used traditionally to treat fungal infections. Apply tea tree oil on infected nails or any other part of the body with a cotton ball before slowly rubbing the oil in. - Garlic oil
Garlic has long had a reputation of a wonder food – being antibiotic, antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal too. Garlic oil has been known to be effective in the treatment of fungal infections like ringworm, athlete’s foot and jock itch.
