If your child had embarassing warts on their face - what would you do?

[amcal]

My DD seems to have flat warts on her face.

My oldest had them as well but not nearly as many. I tried several things with her but nothing seemed to work. Out of the blue one day when she was around 6.5 yrs old, they turned dark brown and within days, disappeared.

My other daughter has them as well. But, her's are so much worse. All over her chin and now on her hands and legs as well. Up to this point they've been flesh colored but, about a week and a half ago they turned dark brown. I thought Yay!!! this is it! But, they haven't gone away. They're not quite as dark any more but, they're still very noticable on her face.

She's very, very sensitive about how she looks and I'm just terrified that someone is going to say something to her.

I've been giving her internal Olive Leaf tincture and have been using witch hazel followed by thuja topically.

She takes a multi vitamin, probiotics and fish oils.

I do have a doctor's appointment for her next week. Any other thoughts or ideas would be so very appreciated.

[CarrieMF]

Definitly get rid of them, not only for cosmetic reasons but so they aren't spread further.

If non-medicinal stuff isn't working then try something medical. I'd probably try Aldera cream(if possible) as it does not burn, won't inflame them, cause them to blister, make them turn red/temporarily get bigger, etc.

[A&A]

Originally Posted by CarrieMF

Definitly get rid of them, not only for cosmetic reasons but so they aren't spread further.

If non-medicinal stuff isn't working then try something medical. I'd probably try Aldera cream(if possible) as it does not burn, won't inflame them, cause them to blister, make them turn red/temporarily get bigger, etc.

I googled Aldara side effects, and there are lots of them, unfortunately!

[Addy's Mom]

I'd definitely go to the doc if there are many of them. If there were just a few, I'd use something like Compound W which is mostly salicylic acid and acetic acid. But I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that over large parts of the body.

Warts are contagious and I'd be concerned other kids wouldn't want to play with her or get near her. But that could just be me being overprotective.

[KatWrangler]

I would definately take her to a Dermatologist. Preferably a pediatric one.

[BethSLP]

This probably would not work for the face, but just an FYI if you have warts crop up anywhere else.....

believe it or not, duct tape is highly effective at getting rid of warts.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/...in525523.shtml

I can attest that it works. and it never has taken 2 months for us. DH and i both will randomly get a wart on our foot once in a blue moon. we catch it early, put on a piece of duct tape and its usually gone in less than a week.

again, I know this is probably not a solution for the face, but wanted to share as I know some are prone to getting warts in general and perhaps you may encounter warts on hands, feet, legs, etc. in the future.

as for side effects from meds, I would definetly weigh those dangers with the possible repercussions to NOT treating them and DD's self esteem.

best wishes!
XOXO
B

[amcal]

Thank you all for your thoughts. We do have a pediatric dermatologist appt but, the soonest they could get us in is 3 weeks. The other pediatric derm isn't taking new patients.

I did start using salycilic acid but, now I'm concerned about the salicylic acid and her age - isn't salycilic acid aspirin?

[crunchy_mommy]

Duct tape or banana peel can work well but you have to be really persistent & with it being on her face, that may not work!! The dermatologist can burn them off with liquid nitrogen. Sounds scary but it's really not, it stings/burns only a tiny bit toward the end (takes about 30 seconds for each wart) but then the wart(s) turn black and fall off within a week or two, leaving no scars or anything.

[amcal]

Thank you all for your thoughts. I found a pediatric derm that can see us tomorrow morning. They came recommended from the local children's hospital so, I'm hopeful!

Thanks again!

[KatWrangler]

Great news! Let us know how things go.

[BunnySlippers]

Are they actual warts?
If they are warts I used an oreganol product on dd wart, it took about 6wks for the wart to clear up. They went through a gross stage though and Im not sure your dd would want her face to go through a stage like that.

I have a thought stuck in my head about lysine deficiency and warts. Lysine is an amino acid, good for mucous membrane health (and keeping away warts?).

Anyway, hope the ped visit resolves all issues.

[amcal]

Just wanted to update in case anyone else faced this issue and did a search.

They're Gone!!!!

A couple weeks ago I started her on Olive Leaf extract (20 drops in orange juice 2x a day). I also started putting salycilic acid on them (just an over the counter toner from the women's facial care area). After the salycilic acid (which stings a bit) I followed up with a thuja ointment.

They didn't seem to be going away so we went to the Dermatologist. He was wonderful. He said there isn't really anything that can be done. He said most every child/person has the virus that causes warts - it's out there and so common. But, most everyone's body fights off the virus but for some others, their body takes longer to recognize the virus and they develop warts. He said he would not do anything about them - her body will eventually recognize the virus fight them off. And doing any treatment on her face may result in scarring so he said to just leave them alone. He did go ahead a put some gel on a couple on her knee that were itching terribly. They blisted up terribly

So, I continued doing what I was doing but, I added Grapefruit Seed Extract to the juice (3 drops 2x a day) and within a few days, they were gone!!!

All the ones on her hands are gone. The ones on her legs are gone but, she has a bit of dark discoloration where they were. Same with the ones on her face - they're gone - no bumps at all but, there are spots of dark discoloration where some of the larger ones are. I'm hoping these will fade with time.

So, just wanted to update Thanks for all the suggestions.

[KatWrangler]

Great news!

[Tofu the Geek]

So great to hear! Very happy for your DD!

[BunnySlippers]

great update, and i will store this knowledge away in my brain for sure.