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We love the swimming pool.
We hate the verrucas!
They’re gross.
They hurt like billio.
AND they keep coming back!
BUT at last we’ve found two brilliant ways to get rid of verrucas naturally.
That actually keeps them away.
BECAUSE …
… the BIG problems with most verruca treatments are they:
- spread the fungus causing the verruca
- damage the surrounding skin making it more vulnerable to reinfection
OR they are totally impractical!
Crazy as it sounds, banana skins do actually seem, to get rid of verrucas naturally!!
BUT the whole family really can’t hop round with banana skins tied to their feet for a week.
Can they?
It’s just not happening is it?!!
Luckily, there’s an alternative …
BECAUSE nature’s store cupboard has two other amazing verruca zapping supplies …
- tea tree oil
- and – the less well known – thuja oil
Both have been brilliant for us at quickly getting ridding of verrucas.
And making sure they don’t come back.
So here’s why each of them work. And how to use them on your family’s verrucas …
1. Treating Verrucas With Tea Tree Oil
We’ve known about tea tree oil’s healing powers for centuries.
AND it’s killer punch is that tea tree oil is both anti-bacterial and anti-fungal.
So it can get rid of the horrid black heart of the verruca.
BUT … unlike the Salicylic Acid in many verruca treatments – it doesn’t burn the skin.
To treat your family’s verrucas with tea tree oil:
- Dilute 3 or 4 drops of tea tree oil slightly in some aloe vera gel
- Apply a small amount to one verruca on a cotton wool ball
- Tape the cotton wool in place with sticking plaster tape
- Leave on over night
- Remove in the morning and rinse foot
- Some people may be sensitive to tea tree oil so use only small amounts, diluted on one verruca initially and then build up.
We then used the thuja oil treatment below during the day.
2. Treating Verrucas With Thuja Oil
Thuja oil also has anti-fungal powers.
And we got the best results using tea tree oil at night and a thuja oil treatment in the day.
NOW thuja oil can be very powerful AND as with all essential oils do a small skin test first and pregnant women should take medical advice before using.
So we opted for a thuja cream in which the oil is already diluted.
The creams are generally used for molluscum skin tags but ALSO work on verrucas.
Here in the UK we used the Farm & Yard brand and in the US ZymaDerm is similar.
We just applied the cream to the verrucas every morning and covered with a plaster.
Once we started using tea tree oil at night and thuja cream in the day we got rid of the verrucas in two weeks. AND they didn’t come back!
BUT along the way we did discover 3 big NO NOs … and 1 MUST DO …
3. Stop Verrucas Coming Back
OK. So these are the 3 things NOT to do to keep the verrucas from coming back …
- Use an acid treatment – these damage good skin but aren’t anti fungal so do NOT kill the verruca!
- File or gouge them – this spreads infection and weakens skin making it prone to reinfection
- Apply duct tape – this pulls the scabbing off – lovely, heh???!!! – before the verruca is dead, so it comes back. Treated with tea tree and thuja oil the heads fall off on their own when ready
AND finally the 1 MUST DO to keep the verrucas away is KEEP TREATING after it’s gone.
They are cunning things verrucas. And there may still be something lurking when it looks healed.
We kept applying oil and cream until 10 days after they looked gone.
AND then they didn’t come back!
So there you go.
Everything you need to know to get rid of verrucas naturally AND stop them coming back!
I do hope it helps. Let me know how you get on.
To save the post for later, just click here …
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and this post is not medical advice. If you or your family have persistent infection, you should contact a medical professional.
Original image sources : sloely.com & rawpixel.com
Matthew says
Hi, I am 20 years old and have had verrucas for about 7 years so that may be a reason for seeming sceptical about this. Going to try it anyways do because have had cryotherapy (Liquid nitrogen) for at least 14-15 times and have always grown back larger and more of them in the same place. Right now I have about 20 of them on one foot. So as a summery you are suggesting:
Dilute the tea tree oil slightly in some aloe vera gel. Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Republic-Soothing-Moisture-10-56/dp/B0080EEMCA/ref=sr_1_5_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1529051291&sr=8-5&keywords=aloe%2Bvera%2Bgel&dpID=51GHbI2BdDL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch&th=1
https://www.amazon.com/Tree-100-Therapeutic-Grade-Essential/dp/B00QJCFWSI/ref=sr_1_4_s_it?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1529050948&sr=1-4&keywords=tea%2Btree%2Boil&dpID=412dHXFp-gL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch&th=1
Apply to the verruca on a cotton wool ball
Tape the cotton wool in place with sticking plaster tape
Leave on over night
Remove in the morning and rinse foot
Applied the cream to the verrucas every morning and covered with a plaster.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Farm-Yard-Remedies-Thuja-Cream/dp/B0057YIBYG/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1507029571&sr=8-1&keywords=thuja+cream&linkCode=sl1&tag=health-verrucas-21&linkId=dd4c6fea2d00d3caa06d9403cbd6f889
Just making sure I got everything so I can buy everything when i receive a confirmation. Thanks for your help!
Alice says
Hi there – sorry to hear you have been really struggling with the verrucas. Do hope the Tea Tree Oil and Thuja cream work for you. The method you summarised did work for us. If you can you might want to increase the frequency you apply the cream and oil but I would test at just once a day of each first. Seriously hope it helps
Tori says
Hello. I’m 17 and last month I developed a ‘verruca’ on the ball of my foot. I suspect it appeared because I’ve started swimming, but i it’s a very small thing. I’ve showed my mum and she diagnosed it as a verruca but it seems awfully tiny, more like a mole on my foot (sizewise only) than anything comparable to a wart! Do you suspect this is because i’ts in the early stages (and if so, is it safe to apply treatment yet) or maybe I’m dealing with something else entirely? What I can say is that the surrounding area is hard and it’s a bit of a pain to walk on, especially after swimming when it’s tender.
Sheryl Green says
Hi Alice, I am a podiatrist looking for alternative treatments for verrucae, I found your page very interesting, and I intend to try your regime with some of my younger clients, and also some of my diabetic patient.
However feel I must correct one error in your writing. Verrucae/warts are caused by a virus (the human papilloma virus HPV) and not a fungus. These are very different organisms, and it is the antiviral effects of these oils that may produce a beneficial outcome.
Repeated infection with HPV may also be caused by exposure to different strains of the Virus, and not a treatment failure, particularly if there is some time between one verruca and reinfection.
I hope this is some help to you
Kind Regards
S Green
K Jordan says
Hi Sheryl,
How did the treatment go with your clients? Was it successful?
Thanks,
KJ
Diana says
Hi, Daughter has been suffering with varrucas for the last few months and we were treating it with a salicylic acid which I hated because it’s very strong, burns the skin and must be full of chemicals. It wasn’t really making a difference either so I ditched it and a week or so later decided to just try pure teatree oil dabbed straight on the varrucas. I forgot to treat for a couple of days and then my daughter reminded me (bad Mum) so I got the oil out and tried to find the varrucas but they had almost disappeared! The black bits had gone and the skin was smooth . You could just see where there was something and the skin was mending itself.
I decided to research further and found your article and will definitely be refering to it when I write an article on the benefits of Tea tree oil (I use it for loads of things)
I’m also interested in reading your other articles too 🙂
Diana
X
Alice says
The tea tree oil is fantastic isn’t it?
Helen says
Hi, my daughter had loads of verrucas on both feet. We’ve tried various things to get rid of them. They’ve shrunk before but never completely disappeared. And have come back pretty big. I read your article and last night put some tea tree oil on them. Put plasters on over night. This morning the ones by her big toe are so sore, she feels she can’t walk properly. It’s agony she said. I don’t know what to do now. She keeps getting sharp pains in it aswell. Please any advice welcome.
Helen
Alice says
Hi Helen I’m really, really sorry to hear that. I’m obviously not a doctor but for the immediate pain would suggest pain relief. Can I ask how you diluted the tea tree oil? Aloe vera will usually give topical relief to the skin. Oat milk can also be very soothing, just blend some oats in water and add to a foot bath. For the verrucas themselves you could try Thuja cream. I’m not sure where you’re based but in the UK I use the Farm & Yard brand which is gentle enough to use on fungal infections on the face. I do hope this helps. Please do let me know best wishes Alice
rosemary says
Hi Helen, Don’t forget the ‘worse before better’ syndrome that applies when treating with natural remedies, it can often be a sign that you are getting the treatment right. Then just hold off the next dose until the symptoms die down. Hope you find something that works, anyway:)
Ashka says
Hi I have had two verrucas for few years and now they are getting bigger and spread to the other foot.
I tried churopodist and bazuks at home. Nothing worked. You said not to file the verrucas but mine creates thick and hard layer of skin over it over time and it becomes very painful to walk on, the only way is to file it. Any advice on it?
Thanks
Ashka
Ciara Denvir says
Hi, my son is suffering from mosaic verrucas all over the ball of his foot and toes. Whilst I’m eager to try this treatment, I’m not sure how to bandage? If I place a cotton ball on and try to fix with a plaster, this isn’t possible as there are so many there would be nowhere for the plaster to go. Any advice?? Thank you
Alice says
Hi Ciara – thanks for the message. I’m not a podiatrist or doctor so can only share this as a fellow parent but initially I would test out on a single verruca with just a very small amount of tea tree oil or thuja cream and then build up. It should be possible to tape the cotton wool on with plaster dressing tape. I do hope this helps.
Lucy says
Hi there,
I have Superdrug’s Blended Tea Tree Oil and it’s
formulated with 1% pure Tea Tree Essential Oil.
Is this good to use on verruca’s or does it need to be stronger/ 100% pure oil?
Alice says
Hi there Lucy – I would try with what you’ve got but suspect you will need a stronger dilution. Remember oils will always need to be diluted as per instructions for that specific brand. Do let me know how you get on. Best wishes Alice
Bren Langston says
What is the plaster you are talking about?
Alice says
Hi there – it’s just an ordinary sticking plaster or band aid or sticking plaster tape you can fix a dressing on with. Hope that helps, cheers Alice