The Wart Freezing Gun

Got warts? Dodge the hassle of a doctor's visit, the expense of over the counter remedies and freeze them off yourself! In minutes you can build a wart "freezing gun" from household items.

I made it easy for you, skip all this reading nonsense and watch the video-

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/726501/build_your_own_wart_remover

A doctor visit means sitting in the waiting room for a half hour and having to pay a hefty bill for something you could easily do yourself. Doctors use either
Liquid Nitrogen~ -320 F or
Dry Ice~ -110F
to remove warts.

We're going to use the liquid from dust remover cans which is anywhere between -25 and -160F

Before commenting, I know, I know there are many ways to remove your own warts. Duct tape, onions, vinegar, k'nex, banana peels, etc. But why do those when you can be awesome instead and do it like the pros?

On that note, if you've got any other original wart removing ideas, I'd love to hear them.

Step 1: Get the materials-

You'll need-
One can of airduster/ spray dust/ dust off/ compressed air duster etc.
One plastic hollow Q-tip (or "cotton bud")
Scissors
A wart

If you don't have hollow q-tips, you can use the straw from the airduster, a square of toilet paper and a twist tie to improvise.

Comments

[JoeyJunior]

(removed by author or community request)

[LightSpeed1]

Further tests: 1,1 difluoroethane went down to -65 F Chlorofluorocarbon went down to -67 F 1,1,1,2 Tetrafluoroethane went down to -68 F All in the same range. I tested my copper wire idea: the tissue paper acts like an insulator with air layers between multiple layers preventing the transfer of heat. I tried it without the paper and just sprayed the copper wire directly with the propellent and it cooled down well to at least -61 F. So skip the tissue on that one. I think this can be applied directly to a wart once it is cooled down with excellent control since no further spraying needs to go on during the application--just press the wire onto the skin target. I tried spraying the propellent directly on a freckle but the problem is control--the liquid comes out too fast and runs where you don't want it. The best method tried so far seems to be to cover the end of the straw with several layers of tissue to keep the outflow under control and applying the liquid directly to the skin. Note that the skin turns white with frost immediately, and dimples inward (shrinkage) until the skin warms again. Then it follows the normal process observed after liquid nitrogen application: turns pink, swells, and then local inflamation of tissue as the skin regenerates. I expect it will blister as well, if it continues to follow the pattern, followed by a scab which reveals new pink skin when it falls off. I also tried the concept of a reservoir filled with propellent with metal conducting the heat away, but it never got below -16 F. The use of brass instead of copper may account for some of the temperature limit, since brass is not as good a conductor, but the reservoir needed to be refilled constantly, so it was not a benefit in terms of ease of use. I think spraying directly on external copper wire was better in terms of cooling down. (See above.) But ultimately, I suspect that the liquid must be applied directly to the skin (with some tissue to control where it flows) to most effectively transfer heat away from the skin (which freezes the cells). Your original concept seems to be the best approach. Thank you for this very useful how-to-do (instructable)!

[zebedi]

Has anyone pointed out that all these refrigerants that you are using are CFC's, and therefore highly damaging to the environment? They are mostly banned as propellants in forward thinking countries.

[Thundertydus]

Has anyone pointed out to you that NOONE CARES?
Global warming isn't caused by us, It's been around since the earth's beggining...

Globabl warming has been happening since Earth's formation, It's not being caused by us

[rflagg1]

A) You're wrong.
B) Global warming is completely unrelated to CFCs. Pick up a book, FFS.

[codongolev]

those are illegal nowadays, and are therefore not in anything.

[LightSpeed1]

These are propellants. The Chlorofluorocarbon I tested was the only CFC and that was an old can from before they banned such things. Most of these use 1,1,1,2 tetrafluoroethane which has no chlorine in it. I trust that if these propellants were bad for the environment, they would already have been banned. I believe the scientific community has finally come around to the realization that the real culprit in ozone depletion was the chlorine, not the fluorine. Chlorine is an extremely active element. Thanks for your comment.

[cgel1015]

LightSpeed1: I think you are forgetting the fact that it is neither fluorine nor chlorine (nor carbon for that matter) that is the culprit for the environment, but rather the CFC as a whole. Also you are missing the point about reactivity. It is not reactivity, but rather lack thereof that makes these chemicals dangerous. CFCs' lack of reactivity gives them a lifespan which can exceed 100 years in some cases. This gives them time to diffuse into the upper stratosphere. Here, the sun's ultraviolet radiation is strong enough to break off the chlorine atom, which on its own is a highly reactive free radical. This catalyzes the break up of ozone into oxygen by means of a variety of mechanisms, of which the simplest is:

Cl· + O3 → ClO· + O2

ClO· + O3 → Cl· + 2 O2

Source: Wikipedia

[LightSpeed1]

I am not a chemist, but I appreciate what you are saying here. I have a chemist friend who says it is the Chlorine that is the culprit rather than the Flourine element since the Fl is too heavy to get high into the atmosphere, even by brownian motion and diffusion: heavier molecules tend to lay lower in the atmosphere. We certainly are in agreement about Cl. Doesn't O2 become O3 again rather easily through the action of lightning? Isn't there enough lightning to undo the damage of free radicals like Cl? Just wondering. Source: Trivial Knowledge in the back of my brain. ;-)

[Prometheus]

This is why I only use -anes like butane and propane for this, without any chloro- or fluoro- in them. Simply use butane (not so cold, longer application), propane (far colder), or nitrogen (superb but expensive and/or inconvenient to obtain). Butane will suffice, but you gotta be a man about it and be patient as well. Some warts will take multiple applications to remove. For the record, fluorine may not have been assessed as much a danger as chlorinated products to the environment, but is not entirely so far removed from chlorine. The real depletion of the ozone layer is hydrocarbons that bond to oxygen on contact, which is especially why Halon was banned as a fire-suppressant...but then again, Halon was a fluorinated-methane: Halon 1311 (bromotrifluoromethane, CBrF3), or Halon 1211 (bromochlorodifluoromethane, CF2ClBr). Just dropping an FYI, if this information is helpful.

[joecast40]

Hi all found a great site for all your video production needs. Check them out at http://www.randomoriginal.com

[habiat23]

Great Instructable!

I actually just came here to get the information about the temp. of liquid nitrogen vs. CO2 vs. Dust Off, but ended up reading the Instructable anyways. I had a wart removed by the dermatologist with liquid N2 and it worked wonders! Great to see you've managed to find a way to do this for cheap.

To everyone: be careful! That stuff will freeze anything else just as well as it will freeze your wart!

[bugmenot!]

Does anyone have experience whether canned air freezing applications work on actinic keratosis skin blems as well as on warts? I have a bunch of little bumps which the last time I saw a doctor, he told be were the keratosis things, that he in the past has burned off with liquid nitrogen.
I went to Walmart and bought a Dr Scholl's Freeze Away kit and tried it, but so far it hasn't worked too well.

[bustedit]

she said "k'nex". hah.

[Colonel88]

I removed my wart using some plant. I don't know what it is called in English but when you break open the stem yellow juice comes out. My wart was gone in a week.

[M F]

Elmers Glue 3 times a day. works every time

[dannapaola27]

really would that really work do i have to moist it and cover it or just put glue and tape it up

[Bob K]

Thermodynamic heat transfer rates for evaporating liquids range from about 10 X to 15 TIMES more than any heat transfer by any metal including gold. The "latent heat of evaporation" ( look it up in the physics books) is what you are using here NOT conduction. So whatever means you use to keep the liquid gas on the skin ( cotton,Kleenex etc.)so it can evaporate ON THE SKIN is the proper technique. Cutting a hole in a piece of tape so only the blemish is exposed to the liquid is a good way to keep the surronding skin from being damaged. ( duct tape will work...) Good info on this subject by the way....

[dannapaola27]

omg i have a big wart would dat work?

[codongolev]

I got a wart, but I just used that acid stuff and duct tape. but I think you're only sposed to use that on plantar (foot) warts.

[LightSpeed1]

Some additional experiences with freezing off skin problems: Hair growth was not affected (on my arm). Palm side of my thumb initially had a slightly numb zone, but after the (no liquid) blister peeled off 26 days later, full sensation returned as well. Treated areas have tanned along with untreated skin, and become invisible over time, commencing with the healing of the scab when there has been one following a wet blister. I have not had any adverse affects as a result of applications, only success. I must continue to wholly recommend this method.

[Prometheus]

I will add some odd remedies that have worked before for some people, regardless of where the wart was: It sounds silly, but duct-tape....Duct-tape the wart for at least a month, and this may make the skin more inhospitable to the wart's viral infection (yes warts are caused by a virus, but not one that spreads, it incubates for 1-20 months and then a wart spawns at the site of infection). This will change the skin enough to possibly make the skin less hospitable to the virus, and will drive it to extinction. Aloe (pronounced a-lo-ey) direct from the cactus plant of the same name applied at least once (but perhaps better applied twice) daily has been shown to kill a wart with persistent and consistent treatment. "Acupuncture" of the wart may also kill it. Repeated puncturing of the wart with a fine needle may destroy the vascular structure of the wart and hence kill it. Warts are benign tumors that feed on a blood flow. By destroying the method of blood flow they employ may kill them by starving the rogue cells of their supply to replicate and sustain the growth. A wart goes about as deep as it is high, and they bleed excessively due to the blood flow they create for themselves. Only special coagulants will stop the blood flow during a professional excision.

[Prometheus]

I want to update with a link on the growing popularity of what is now called verruca vulgaris: Duct-Tape Occlusion Therapy.

Verucca Vulgaris is warts that commonly appear ont he hands, Verucca Plantaris usually occur on the feet (plantar warts), and are usually the infection of HPV-2 (a non-genital version of the papilloma virus; you cannot get genital warts from contact with it).

Verucca Vulgaris typically occurs between the teens and the twenties, I had one and I'm an exception because I'm in my thirties, and getting small sites of excema and this wart after being seemingly immune all this time. The wart (that I've affectionately named "Kuato" (from the movie Total Recall) has been treated with cryogenic exposure and is presumed dead. From someone with experience, and coming from a few other debates, warts DO have roots, contrary to what anyone will tell you. This is why simply cutting them off does not cure the problem.

A person's susceptibility to HPV's many strains varies widely. Some warts are resolved in a year, others stagnate, and others expand grossly out of control (thriving). Cryotherapy is usually worth it because you not only destroy it's vascular structure, but the real method is apparent a few days later: A blister forms beneath it and separates it from the normal dermal layer. When that happens, you can simply pull it off your skin, roots and all. All that is left to heal is the same as a 3rd-degree burn.

Don't be fooled, it will scar, but the scar is very superficial and will likely be hardly-noticeable after a few years, but will never truly disappear. The cryotherapy method is causing intentional and controlled frostbite, which actually causes your own body heat to cause a burn on your skin. Cauterization therapy (burning it off) does not destroy the maligned cells as well without a deeper scar, which is why cryotherapy works better.

"Cryo-burns" are instant and destroy tissue on contact. Use the above provided link for the less-painful method using duct-tape. This chokes the skin of oxygen, and can work in as little as a month. If you've ever had a band-aid on your foot and worn shoes over that for a day, you know the sight of the white, asphyxiated skin around that wound.

[PetervG]

(removed by author or community request)

[jabbathegut1]

mmmmmm..... blooooooooood ( looks painfull )

[Matt D655]

and gross

[twenglish1]

y not try freezing that lol

[James (pseudo-geek)]

oh my word, can you walk?

[PetervG]

Could I walk?
I had to walk on the front of my foot for a week : /
They're still getting treated.

[pyrobot]

Nasty. Did you do it yourself or did a doctor do it? All other things aside, I'd rather do it myself because you can feel exactly where you're sparying and how much. I've had doctors miss completely, not do it long enough, and all for a pretty penny.

[PetervG]

Doctor did it.

[pyrobot]

Figures. haha

[Bran]

I think I'd rather just have warts....

[chuckr44]

If they are on your feet they are likely plantar's warts. You have to get them removed as soon as you see them. My sister had big surgery to get a 3 inch blob of them removed from her foot because she ignored them. When I found one on my foot, I cut it out myself with a pocket knife. Be sure to get all of the black core which goes wayyyy down into the skin.

[yerjoking]

i ripped one out with my bare hands, lots of blood from my toe, i also stuck a screwdriver into on, causeing it to mutate, but it died, but i now have about 6 on my toe, because i ripped one out with nothing to treat it lol, bazuka does not work for me, it melts the skin on my affected area =/

[firemanfu]

I had 7 one both feet for a bout a year and i finally dremeled them off, it only bled for like an hour

[reeding]

dremel?!?!?!? isn't that over kill? I used a small utility knife.

[firemanfu]

more fun with the dremel

[trackzero]

+1. I almost wish you were my doctor.

[LightSpeed1]

Results of first tests: [My tests were on small moles. In both cases, the moles have disappeared completely.] The copper wire cooled by the propellant worked pretty well. The scab peeled off in 17 days and left nice new pink skin there. Theoretically it would permit greater pinpoint control. But I am not sure it would get as cold as with the direct propellant on the skin did, which may be better for deeper things like warts. The zone hit by the propellant through the folded tissue was larger and took 21 days to heal (3 weeks) completely. But I held it on longer too: 60 seconds rather than the 30 seconds used on the wire test. After the scab fell off it's just fresh new pink skin there, and it didn't affect the hairs on the site on my wrist. This works as well as liquid Nitrogen, but saved me $35 per application at the dermatologist! (That's after the first one which cost me $350 what with a biopsy, etc. which he insisted upon.) This DIY trick costs just pennies. Highly recommended. Effective and cheap as hell.

[Dr_Stupid]

confirmed. severely retards the wart's growth. I've had one on my knuckle for nearly 20 years, and using this method, I've got it to not only stop growing, but it's starting to recede. Repeated treatments are necessary for deep warts, but bear in mind, if it's a DEEP wart, you'll want to seek a dermatologist and have it surgically removed.

[LightSpeed1]

Why give only dermatologists the power to remove skin defects? But first be sure it isn't melanoma! If you are not sure, go to a dermatologist for a biopsy. I measured the actual temperature of the evaporation of 1,1,1,2- Tetrafluoroethane by spraying it directly on a probe: I got it down to - 68 F. Note that it only reached its maximum coldness about ten seconds after spraying had ceased--so spraying the room temperature liquid on the cold zone moderates the coldness while it is going on. I presume that this will work to remove warts due to cellular disruption while not damaging deeper or surrounding skin tissue thanks to the fact that its intense cold can overwhelm the body's efforts to warm the zone, and quickly enough to prevent the cold from spreading into surrounding areas. Liquid nitrogen is so intensely cold it instantly freezes the skin cells it contacts; dry ice is still cold enough to do this, and presumably so is the propellent in the dusters. If you tried to do this with a piece of (water) ice, it isn't low enough in temperature to counteract the effects of blood circulation, so holding ice against your skin wouldn't work because it either just numbs the skin, or if prolonged can freeze the skin by causing frostbite in the whole area surrounding the target, which is of course not desirable because it leaves no deeper skin cells to regenerate the dead cells, which of course leads to necrosis and gangrene. So to keep the frost effective and beneficial, it must be kept localized and intense. I have an idea of a variation on the "soldering iron" adaptation: Take a length of heavy, bare copper wire (which is a good conductor), and shape it to exactly cover the area you want to treat plus a handle zone; make it a loop, and the midpoint will be the "tip" while the two ends are anchored into an insulated handle. Twist the new middle zone in a double spiral (helix). Wrap the mid-zone with tissue paper. Saturate the paper with the propellent and apply the tip to the target (wart or lentigo) for one minute after cleaning all with alcohol before starting. The metal will conduct the heat from the skin effectively, while having a precise tip. Note, don't make the tip a thin point: that would not have enough surface area too transfer much heat: think of a flat zone that can touch the skin squarely. I haven't tested the above yet. Let us know if it works if you do.

[DeLorean4905]

wow. the hollow q-tip is a good idea

[DeLorean4905]

I use 2 matches. First, if the wart's a big one, I trim it down to level with the surrounding normal skin (or until just before it bleeds) to get close to the root. Then light the first match, wait for the tip to get red/white hot, then blow it out and hold it so that it is just barely touching the wart. Ater the tip goes cold, you won't feel a thing . The second one is the same light and hold process to get the root for sure, and is hardly felt.

[Tamaresque]

Some questions: Dusters around my home are rags. What sort of shop sells 'dusters' in a can and what do they 'dust'? What is neosporin (to stop scarring) and where do I get it from? I have heaps of sun damage, mainly solar ketosis's, but sometimes they go hard so I get them frozen off. I've often thought that there should be a home treatment, so I'd like to give this a go. Judanne

[DeLorean4905]

it's an air duster. basically just a compressed gas in liquid form due to high pressure inside the can. When you spray it upright, the contents come out through the proper channels, and as a gas. Upside-down, the nozzle is blowing out the liquid instead of the gas at the top. I considered this when I had a wart of my palm, but the fluid seemed to spread too much before evaporating -it looked like it would freeze a wide area instead of just the wart.

[Knex Rules]

i got this when i typed knex in...

[James (pseudo-geek)]

he says the word "knex" in the instructable.

[carpespasm]

That's pretty much the exact same proceedure as the $25 a can treatments. For plantar warts I would suggest using a pumice stone to scrape it down, then soaking it for about 5min before doing this, makes it work better and take less freezing since the wart gets more porus.

[firemanfu]

this is kinda painful but i had ythese huge planters warts on my feet and i just took my dremel to them until blood came out and then some more

[pyrobot]

Haha that could to the trick. I once cut a wart out with an x-acto knive. Hurt like a mofo bu did the job.

[killerjackalope]

same as I did for a bit of glass that was inside my skin except razor blade and tweezers add four shots of vodka after i put a paper stitch to encourage a first time closing of the wound and a dumb idea of dipping the afflicted finger in for a sec to clean wounds oh deag god

[hack124x768]

I've gotten a few out with a razor blade, and I'm trying to duct tape one off right now. been taping it for 5 days now I believe.

[Prometheus]

Does a fifth of scotch and needle-nose pliers count as a means to remove warts? A friend tried it and didn't even scar...:-P

[Static Below]

Dry ice is available from larger liquor stores or party favor stores. Local bands usually know where to get it. Some sort of painkiller is good as this takes a little while and usually a little longer than you think you should(can) take it dead sober. Use a screwdriver and hammer to break the dry ice and then a needle nose to hold a piece to the wart. The same size as the wart is a good start. It will evaporate and get a little bigger as you hold it there. The flrsh will get indented and be white. This is good. Hurts during, and more after endorphines were off, but costs about $3 for the ice and ??$$ for your perfered painkiller. If your a puss, have a friend do it. I'd say 2-3 minutes pushed down will do most warts.

[pyrobot]

Where I live (in California), Dry Ice is available for $1/Lb at most grocery stores. When doctors use dry ice to freeze warts off, they simply dip a qtip in powdered dry ice, stir it around a bit and push the q-tip on your wart for about 30 seconds, never longer than 1 minute. 2-3 minutes with dry ice straight on your wart will not only kill the wart, but also any skin around it and leave you with a nasty ice burn. Luckily, a piece that size will completely sublimate before you get close to the 2 minute mark. Also, I did mine dead sober, and while quite painful, it was completely bearable and though I was left with a burning feeling afterwards, I felt no need to take painkillers. Besides, there are better ways to use dry ice than for removing warts.

[Static Below]

I got tired of going to the doc where they use liquid nitrogen (pretty much the coldest thing outside of huge labratories). $25 was my co-pay to have a nurse practioner hold what looks like a pen (but with a much bigger tip) on my warts for about 30 seconds. After a few visits I started to encourage them to go longer. I should mention that they were larger than normal. They'd get smaller after the treatments but were not entirely gone. Killing the skin around is a very good sign in my opinion. I have yet to completely remove one without some skin around it dying. This is probably why you didn't get any intense pain. Someone mentioned over the counter numbing agents, though I have not tried them. I prefer to have it hurt once real bad, as opposed to many times. Also, try to get a piece large enough that it wil not disinigrate that quickly. Note: The needle nose are at room tempature and it is a good idea to hold on to a larger piece with them first.

[lemonie]

(the video is a bit sucky, but all things considered it's quite well constructed) What ever tumor you started with looks much smaller than the area of skin you killed-off(?) Could you modify this cf. a soldering iron so that you have a cold metal tip? This would be more precise, and possibly less painful? Concentrated nitric acid also works... L

[pyrobot]

Thanks.
The area of dead skin is much larger than normally with this method because I did it for so long and didn't use the correct angle. The freezing liquid all concentrated to the side of the wart and not on it as I had wished.
However, when done correctly, there should be little to no collateral damage around the wart. The first one I did that is now just a scar in the picture was that way and worked perfectly.

That's a very interesting idea about the soldering iron to be much more precise. If you could get a hollow soldering iron tip (at least an inch long and with a signifigant inside volume, you could attach the duster straw to an inside wall of the cone and fill the cone at a rate constant with evaporation. That way there would always be a set volume of fluid in the cone. While fluid is in it, you could just press it on the wart and have that thing killed in seconds.

For the visual people, see the crappy cross section paint schematic-
Blue= liquid, red= straw, black= hollow cone

[zeno]

How about this? Get one of the rounded/flattened replacement end/tip for a pistol-type soldering gun. Solder it to a capped copper tube (1/2-3/4 inch?). Wrap the tube in GOOD insulation. Fill tube with dry-ice or your choice of freezing agent. Allow tip to chill. Apply tip to wart for as long as necessary. Repeat as necessary. Does this sound workable to anyone out there?

[smarterthanu]

Conglutnizbinky!... Howz canz such a pretty pinkerdeesnipple havz such an uglee wartz??? Yuckz!

[pyrobot]

That's my wart not hers... Pretty girls don't get warts! (on their fingers)

[Williz]

I cut mine off till they retreat and NEVAR grow back.

[ccrook]

Wow, my instructable got ripped off and metacafe'd. I'm ok with it solely because the chick in the video is reasonably attractive. You're welcome for the content!

[HamO]

reasonably attractive? You should have seen her before the the warts were removed!

[pyrobot]

Haha are you the one with the 12oz dust can? I actually thought I was the original innovator of this idea, but I guess great minds think alike! I wrote this instructable then saw yours in the related column about an hour later and was like "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I'm glad somebody else was creative enough to put two and two together though. Good thinking.

[Polymorph]

Friend of mine told me he'd done this only using freeze spray for electronics. He told me about it in the late '80s, he probably did this in the mid '70s. Easier to find Air In A Can, though.

[!Andrew_Modder!]

lol, i should have wrote this!! Cause years back i was spaying my pc out with a air duster and turned it upsidedown, then the liquid came out! From there i freeze 'd lots of random stuff! Then when i was about to go to the DR, i found out freezing the wart was an option! So i did, in conclusion airdusters are so freaking kick ass, ( too many fun uses for these!)