The chemicals in home wart-freezing treatments are flammable, the Food and Drug Administration warns. Courtesy of FDA hide caption
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Courtesy of FDA
The chemicals in home wart-freezing treatments are flammable, the Food and Drug Administration warns.
Courtesy of FDA
Wart removal seems so simple a medical treatment that it would be hard to mess it up. Until you start a fire.
The Food and Drug Administration says that it has received reports of 14 people being burned or starting fires while using wart-freezing devices since 2009.
Cryogenic wart removers contain a mixture liquid dimethyl ether and propane, which is highly flammable and doesn't require very high temperatures to catch fire.
"Don't forget," Dr. Antaya Richard, a professor of dermatology at the Yale University School of Medicine, said in an email. "We use propane to fuel our backyard gas grills."
Injuries have included singed hair, blisters and burns, according to the FDA.
Three of the fires were caused by candles; the other sources of heat were unidentified. But everyday household items like curling irons could be hot enough to ignite vapors, according to the FDA.
Labels on the cryotherapy wart removers warn that the gas they emit is flammable, but that risk may not be immediately obvious to the casual user. Using them as directed away from hot objects shouldn't pose a threat, Richard said.
But some people use wart-freezing devices too enthusiastically, which can damage skin even if there's no fire, dermatologists say. Overuse can severely damage the surrounding skin, leading to redness, blisters or the death of tissue.
Dermatologists don't really know why freezing a wart can make it go away or how it affects the human papillomavirus, which causes warts. "[It's] possibly by simple destruction of infected skin or by triggering the immune system of the patient, or both," Richard said.
There are other wart-removal choices that don't pose a risk of fire. They include salicylic acid that gradually softens the skin around the wart, immunotherapy that can trigger the body's own defense system, and a do-it-yourself duct-tape method that peels away layers of the wart.
And then there's doing nothing; warts do tend to go away on its own.
But warts that return need a doctor's attention, according to Dr. Anthony Gaspari, a dermatology professor at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Doctors have other tools, including laser surgery and liquid nitrogen, which freezes the wart at a chilly -320 degrees Fahrenheit.
And if conventionality is not for you, there are also a handful studies on using hypnosis to induce wart regression, Gaspari says, though perceived benefits may be a placebo effect.
There may not be a "magical cure" for warts, as Gaspari puts it, but his advice is to keep at it – with caution, of course.
FAQs
The Food and Drug Administration says that it has received reports of 14 people being burned or starting fires while using wart-freezing devices since 2009. Cryogenic wart removers contain a mixture liquid dimethyl ether and propane, which is highly flammable and doesn't require very high temperatures to catch fire.
Is an at home wart remover safe? ›
Over-the-Counter Wart Removers
Most dermatologists say it's safe to try drugstore wart removers -- as long as you've confirmed that it's really a wart. Sometimes calluses or corns are mistaken for warts. If in doubt, ask your doctor. Many over-the-counter wart treatments contain salicylic acid.
What happens when you burst a wart? ›
Infection: Infections can happen if you pick or cut a wart. Breaks in your skin allow bacteria to enter. If you develop an infection, you'll need medical treatment with antibiotics.
What happens when you burn a wart? ›
Your skin usually burns above about 115°F (46.1°C). Exposing a wart to heat (hyperthermia) above 110°F but below 115°F will kill the virus without hurting your skin. The heat keeps the virus from reinfecting your skin, and the wart will “grow out” normally after several months.
Why does suffocating a wart work? ›
By “suffocating” the wart, the duct tape makes it more likely that the skin cells will die. The process of applying and removing the duct tape may also remove additional skin cells, which can make the wart less bulky and noticeable.
Can wart remover have side effects? ›
Slight burning, skin redness, and peeling may occur. These effects are expected. If any of these effects worsen, tell your doctor or pharmacist promptly. If your doctor has directed you to use this medication, remember that your doctor has judged that the benefit to you is greater than the risk of side effects.
What happens if I cut off a wart at home? ›
If you try to cut it off yourself, you risk not getting the entire wart because your cut is too superficial. That, in turn, increases the chances that the damaged wart can spread. Conversely, if you do cut deeply enough to remove the entire wart, you risk severely damaging your skin, leaving a disfiguring scar.
What happens if you accidentally rip a wart off? ›
Filing, ripping, picking, burning, or cutting a wart on your own will most often make the presence of warts even worse on the foot and potentially on other skin areas of the body. This can result in infection or further spreading of the warts. The wart will either get larger or more numerous.
What happens if you dig out a wart? ›
Pulling out a plantar wart yourself is extremely painful, and it's unlikely that you'll get all of it. This means it's more likely to grow back. Pulling out plantar warts with tweezers can also possibly injure healthy skin tissue and lead to a serious infection.
What happens if you pick a wart and it bleeds? ›
Contact your provider if: You have signs of infection (red streaking, pus, discharge, or fever) or bleeding. You have a lot of bleeding from the wart or bleeding that does not stop when you apply light pressure. The wart does not respond to self-care, and you want it removed.
Bleomycin: Bleomycin is an anti-cancer medication that a doctor injects into the wart. It can have side effects, such as loss of the nails if treating a wart on the finger.
How to tell if a wart is dying? ›
A dead wart: what are the signs? 1, 5, 6
- Its colour gradually changes from flesh-coloured to black or dark brown;
- It turns white, if it has been treated with liquid nitrogen or a salicylic-acid solution. ...
- It is covered with blackish pinpoints, which are actually coagulated blood vessels.
Wart medicines with salicylic acid work by removing layers of a wart a little bit at a time. Studies show that salicylic acid is more effective when combined with freezing or pulsed-dye laser treatment.
What happens if you bust open a wart? ›
If you break the wart open by scratching, you are just rubbing your fingers in a viral cesspool and putting other people at risk. This behavior can also irritate the skin, cause pain, or increase the likelihood of infection.
What keeps a wart alive? ›
Warts are essentially benign growths that develop on the skin. They may have what appears as “seeds,” which are visible blood vessels that keep the wart alive.
What happens if you never remove a wart? ›
If you don't treat your warts, they: Might not go away on their own. Might get worse and cause pain. Might spread to other people or other parts of your body.
What is the safest way to remove warts? ›
Over-the-counter salicylic acid is a commonly used medication to treat your warts. The salicylic acid is slowly and painlessly absorbed into the skin causing peeling of the skin cells that contain the wart virus.
Can I remove my own warts? ›
You can treat warts at home by applying salicylic acid, available without a prescription. Concentrations range from 17% to 40% (stronger concentrations should be used only for warts on thicker skin). Before applying the salicylic acid, be sure to soak the wart in warm water.
Is it OK to leave warts untreated? ›
Warts are harmless. In most cases, they go away on their own within months or years. If warts spread or cause pain, or if you don't like the way they look, you may want to treat them. Treatments for warts don't always work.
Is it safe to scrape off a wart? ›
A healthcare provider can surgically remove a wart, but you should not try to cut off a wart on your own. You may cut yourself and cause the warts to spread. While warts often go away on their own over time, there are ways to remove them. If you aren't sure which treatment to try, talk with your healthcare provider.
