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.