What is a wart?

Caused by the human papillomavirus, a wart is simply a benign tumor of the skin. What happens is the virus gets into the skin cells and causes them to multiply too rapidly. This forms the bump or benign tumor that we know of as a wart. Unlike what you may have heard, warts are not caused by toads and they do not have roots. The virus affects only the upper layers of the skin – the epidermis – so you need only go as deep as the epidermis to get rid of the virally affected cells.

There can be different kinds of warts but they are all caused by the same virus. Plantars warts are found on the bottom of the feet and are somewhat flatter and less bumpy than the common warts you would find on your hands, knees, elbows and ankle's. When warts manifest themselves on the face, they are usually flatter and called flat warts. The warts found on your fingers, knees, elbows and even ankles are common warts or Verruca Vulgaris.

There were many methods for removing warts. One can go to the dermatologist and have them frozen off or treated with a laser. But a lot of people are looking for natural wart removal methods that they can use at home. Here are a few you might want to try:

Duct Tape

Yes, it sounds bizarre but duct tape has been known to help in the wart removal process. What you do is you cut a piece of duct tape that is a little bit larger than your wart. Put it on the wart and let it stay there for about seven days. The skin underneath will get all moist and when you peel off the duct tape it will peel some of the skin with. Repeat this process until your wart is gone.

Echinacea

This method of removing warts focuses on getting rid of the virus itself. Echinacea is known to be a good immune booster, some say that taking a full dose as prescribed on the bottle will help clear up the virus and once the virus is gone the warts will be gone too.

Topical Herbs

Using herbs can be a safe way to try to get rid of your unsightly blemishes. Some herbs and oils that are said to work if you apply them directly to the wart include tea tree oil, lemon oil, aloe vera, papaya, dandelion and milkweed.

Bear in mind that removing warts using these home remedies may or may not be effective. Not every treatment works the same for every person so you may have to experiment with different treatments until you find one that works for you.