Introduction: DIY Wart Removal
Want to get rid of a wart, but don't want to use harsh salicylic acid or pay for an expensive wart-freezing kit? This instructable will show you how to freeze off your own warts for 1/3 the price.
Step 1: Get the Supplies
You're going to need a can of computer duster from your local office supply store. The ingredients in the one I've used is simply tetrafluorethane gas (non-carcinogenic, and non-flammable for the record) compared to the retail wart remover which is dimethyl ether, propane and isobutane.
Also pick up a pack of plastic Qtips.
Duster: USD$7 for a giant can (12oz)
Qtips: $2.50 for 375
vs.
USD$25 for a wart freeze off kit (12 uses total)
Step 2: Prepare the Supplies
Snip one of the Qtips in half and plug it into the can of duster. It should fit very snuggly.
Step 3: Freezing Part
Invert the can and give a couple of short bursts of freezing liquid until the Qtip is saturated with it (you'll see it splash off). Avoid getting the liquid on you anywhere else than the wart because it can cause frost bite.
Wait about 10 seconds and apply to the wart you wish to remove. It's going to sting, but it's just like getting something liquid nitrogened at the doctor's office
I'm not responsible if you maim yourself somehow doing this. Use common sense.
45 Comments
11 years ago on Introduction
My doctor has had two attempts at freezing off a large wart I've had on my hand for about 18 years. Both these treatments were pure torture and failed.
Two weeks ago I decided to try something new. I purchased a glass (crystal) nail file which I use each morning to file a little more off the wart. It is now level with the skin surface and will soon be gone.
Very easy and painless.
Reply 8 years ago
Do u think any other nail file would work?
Reply 6 years ago
I got rid of three warts on my hands that I had for years with the metal file on a Swiss army knife.
Reply 6 years ago
My metal file I mean the file that's designed to file metal, it's also made of steel.
6 years ago
I just went to the doctor. He took a can of liquid nitrogen that came with a straw. The kit had translucent white mini funnels in it with different sized holes for different sized warts. You can buy liquid nitrogen in a can online. Same with a set of plastic mini funnels. Stick the funnel on the wart. Apply pressure. This isolates the area. Spray on liquid nitrogen for a few seconds. Let it bubble and evaporate for a few secs. Apply again. Then at most a third time. Lift off the funnel. You just freeze dried your wart. Your body thinks the small area got frostbite. If the wart has a raised surface use flat toenail clippers to clip it flat. The skin will turn grayish white in a day (this was on Caucasian completion skin). It is dead skin. It will possibly blister and redden. It may peel or flake off or come off in a clump. Underneath it will be pink and ooze. Once the raw skin is exposed underneath, keep it out in the open and dry. Don't cover it with sweaty plastic bandages. Let it scab up and reheal. Before the dead skin falls off, you can facilitate exfoliation with over the counter wart removal kits. I love the ones with the little skin shaped discs that go right on top of the wart, and you cover it with a round disc shaped band aid. The discs contain salycilic acid which dries out the skin and makes the dead stuff fall off quicker. At night I take off the disc, let it air out and dry. Reapply in am and wear all day long. If you work with your hands, cook food, wash dishes, etc just wear disposable powdered latex gloves to keep it dry. My doc said to use the little discs then after it heals for a while to promote regeneration of that area. If it doesn't work then do the freeze drying again after it heals. Maybe apply liquid nitrogen four or five times if it's deep and aggressive. Doc said warts are caused by a virus that tricks the immune system and hides from it. Freeze drying is man made frostbite he said, and it stimulates the immune system to regenerate tissue and repair the area down at a deep level. For bad deep warts surgery may be needed. This was for a wart on my hand and not a nasty plantar wart like you guys have talked about here.
7 years ago
This stuff works sometimes, but you still have to kill the root deep underneath the skin....here's how www.wartremoval.ca
7 years ago
remove our moles, warts and skin tags safely and naturally within only three days. http://goo.gl/SPxXjB
8 years ago on Introduction
For DIY wart removal at home, there are certainly safer and more effective alternatives than dust remover.
Check out the detailed guide below for home wart remedies with demo videos, which also covers the pro and con analysis vs the medical treatment (eg. cryotherapy / laser / TCA) and over the counter solutions, for you to make an educated decision.
http://howtogetridofwartshome.com/how-to-get-rid-of-warts-guide/
Hope this helps.
14 years ago on Introduction
wart freeser fom the store has difuorethane
Reply 8 years ago on Introduction
I bet you are correct, but it is an expensive process because it seems the process is endless....
10 years ago on Introduction
I used wart off over the counter wart remover. It works but it takes forever. You have to apply the stuff daily for us to 15 days and eventualy the skin and wart should peel off. Unfortunately it did not really work because it didn't peel off the whole wart and it grew back. If you really want it to work you have to keep dedicated to daily applications and possibly having to do it again if it doesnt remove all of the wart. Wart Control from ForcesOfNature, anyone tried this? http://www.forcesofnatureusa.com/Wart-Treatment-s/1819.htm
13 years ago on Introduction
Wow, it's amazing how people will simply make stuff up and post it online. Difluorethane is used as a propellant in the above mentioned dustoff because, like all other hydrofluorocarbons, it's chemically inert. Other fluorinated hydrocarbons are also used as refrigerants simply because they are inert, and are liquid over the appropriate temperature and pressure ranges experienced in a refrigeration system. The same goes for teflon, a hydrofluorocarbon made by Dupont and prized for it's resistance to extreme chemical conditions, such as extreme acidity, or exposure to strong oxidizers, let alone it's tendency to not stick to anything (frying pans, etc.). Difluoroethane does not form hydrofluoric acid upon contact with moisture, no matter how extreme the conditions. If it did, it certainly wouldn't make for a very safe consumer product intended for dusting off electronics! If you experience tissue necrosis with the above cryogenic treatment in a location other than your wart, it is because you got the very cold liquid on part of you skin that was not the wart. This is more a cautionary tale for those with poor eye hand coordination. If you can't get the cold liquid to go where it's supposed to, then no cyrogenic home treatment will work for you. You should instead face the music, and go to a dermatologist.
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
@chemistprof You sound very knowledgeable however this I've done this to myself and other people and it does work. Difluorethane is the agent which basically acts as though it were liquid nitro. Sometimes several applications will be needed over a few weeks. Turn can upside down while wearing eye protection and spray onto a q tip. Apply to wart with q tip and hold till it turns white and you'll feel a minor sting. Leave it alone for 3 to 5 days and it will become a scab. You will begin to notice it itches a lot.... you will end up scratching off the scab and the wart is either gone or noticeably smaller. Knowledge is power and can take you anywhere, but I recommend not letting your knowledge close your mind to ideas which don't make sense because of what you know.
12 years ago on Introduction
This could be a possible solution to get rid of a wart but there are several other easier more productive ways. Not only are there many over the counter products available at your local drug store but several common house hold items can also be used as home remedies and work just as well! Check out this website http://www.getridofwartfast.com ive found several helpful things its worth the look!
13 years ago on Introduction
My dad is a doctor and he uses this and says it works better because the dust spray gets colder.
14 years ago on Introduction
I haven't tried it yet, but I've read that tea tree oil, or Melaleuca alternifolia oil, is an effective natural remedy. Tea tree oil is a really lovely product from Australia--it tingles and smells kind of like eucalyptus, and I've used as a treatment for cuts and blisters, because it acts as an antimicrobial. Its also the main ingredient in the Derma Remedies product. I'm going to make an experimental paste of garlic and tea tree oil and let you guys know what happens to the annoying wart on my right heel (the place where I always get blisters from sandals).
14 years ago on Introduction
Never use dust remover for wart removal, its crazy!!
Derma Remedies have an awesome product for wart removal. Their stuff is natural and really works!
You just apply to the warts and they flake away by themselves and never grow back. Plus no scarring! Great stuff!
Check out their website to order (they have a buy 2 get 1 free special too)
http://www.dermaremedies.com
Reply 14 years ago on Introduction
Yes! I agree I tried the product from Derma Remedies too. It worked way better than anything else I tried. Mine just kept growing back with cutting them off/freezing. After a short period of time they changed color and fell off. No burning or scarring. Can't even tell where they ever were on my skin. I was skeptical at first, but not a skeptical as trying Dust Off......LOL! Check them out! You won't be sorry you did!
15 years ago on Introduction
will this work on a mole?
Reply 14 years ago on Introduction
probably not. it will also hurt like hell.