Warts are caused by the human papilloma virus, or HPV, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. They spread from person to person, like any other virus, but infection can take months or years to manifest on the skin. There are numerous types of warts, including common, plantar and genital, and most of them do not cause pain. They generally go away by themselves, but this can take a long time. Warts may be treated with a variety of natural home remedies.
Banana Peel
A banana peel patch may be useful to remove warts, suggests the University of Maryland Medical Center. It suggests taping a small piece of banana peel to the wart before bedtime. This needs to be repeated daily for three weeks. As the wart dies, it will turn black and then fall off.
Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil is from the Melaleuca alternifolia plant. It is an antifungal and antiviral and can be used to remove warts, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. It recommends two to four drops of tea tree oil be placed on the wart before bedtime. This can be covered by gauze or a bandage. The treatment can take a few weeks to take effect.
Duct Tape
Folk medicine has suggested that duct tape applied to a wart will cause it to fall off. Vanderbuilt University reports on a study from 2000 that demonstrates that this therapy works, for a variety of reasons. The tape causes the skin to increase its immune response and this kills the virus that causes the wart. Also, the tape itself removes the layers of skin that host the virus, which disrupts the virus habitat and eventually kills it. The technique used in this treatment is to apply duct tape to the wart for six days. After this time, the wart is soaked in warm water. When the wart is soft, the top layers of skin are filed away with an emery board. This may need to be repeated a few times, but it has been effective in removing warts.
