Warts on the fingers/hand?

[~cassie]

My 4.5 yr old has has warts on his fingers for probably 18 mths.  I think he was sick with some virus and then they started popping up.  You can't really see them but I do notice them when I am clipping his nails.  They are small and around his nails.  Probably 5-6 total.  They don't appear to be contagious bc his nobody else has them in our family.  A new one popped up yesterday on the palm of his hand.  I really want these to go away.  Is there anything I can try? 

[One_Girl]

My DD has had small warts on one of her hands for years and the doctor said they don't do anything for them when they are small. We call them her bumps and she loves them as part of what makes her unique. This has helped her to be happy with them since they can't be changed. Her doctor is older and slower to do anything invasive but if you have a younger pediatrician there may be something they can do. There is one type of wart that duck tape works for so that might be worth a try.
Edited by One_Girl - 2/6/12 at 6:33pm

[4evermom]

Ds had a couple for a while that went away eventually. I remember trying duct tape but he didn't like having it on even though it was just a tiny piece.

[mumkimum]

My kids haven't had wart issues, but I had a few that were around for awhile.  I used apple cider vinegar on a q-tip on them and would cover them with a bandaid (used the bandaid about half the time, so not consistent about that part) and they've been gone since being treated pretty consistently that way.  I'd feel comfortable using some kind of treatment like that on a child - shouldn't hurt and not particularly worrisome in anyway to use the ACV on your skin.  

[~cassie~]

Thanks.  I've got some ACV in the cabinet so I will try it tonight!

[EarthRootsStarSoul]

I had warts that I used an OTC medicine on for many many weeks, and it didn't do anything.  Then I used sandalwood essential oil and they fell off in less than two weeks. 

[WindyCityMom]

I had one wart on my left index finger from the time I was like.. 4.  It didn't bug me, it was just a weird whitish lump.  Small.  When I got into high school, I started getting more, only on my right hand.  Right index finger (a large classic wart, unlike the other one) and around my right index knuckle (knuckle at the base of the finger).  Those were tiny.

My mom bought me a wart freeze kit, and I used that for the warts.  The wart on my left index finger disappeared after a few uses, and the tiny ones (10 or so of them) around my knuckle went away because of the freezing.  The big "classic" one on my right index finger stayed.  I ended up icing it to numb it and using a razor blade to cut it off.  Followed by freezing.  Never came back. 

IMO, the wart freeze-it stuff is worth it for the tiny ones.  Anything bigger, you need a doctor.   Not a razor blade ;)

[branditopolis]

Here's something I've had experience in!

When I was in high school I started getting warts around my fingernails.  Around 20yo it was so so bad I had to have many of them surgically removed and they'd just come back.  They were seriously taking over my hands.  They stayed wet and would even absorb smells.  They would grow so much that they'd split and bleed.  I've tried freezing, cutting, everything.  My brother got them to a lesser degree, and it is a family legend that my dad had them as bad as I did and they all fell off at the same time when he burned his hand on a hot muffler.  They were painful.  I eventually gave up and would fill the cracked ones with super glue so they wouldn't hurt.  Then around 23 I noticed they were shrinking.  I eventually realized it was from a moisturizer I was using that contained salycilic acid (sp?).  I would put it on my face then rub it in my hands every day.  I started using the moisturizer on my hands exclusively (because it did sh!t for my face) and then puting compound-w gel and a bandaid on all of my fingers a few times a day.  When I noticed it was working I was elated.  I seriously felt 10x better about myself.  They are now gone and have not come back.  I dread the day when DS comes to me with a bump, I hope hope hope our little family curse skips him! 

[Just1More]

Vitamin a cures them, too.  I know of several people who did the whole medical freezing/burning/cutting routine to no avail, and were able to get rid of them with vitamin a.  Just buy a liquid capsule supplement, poke a hole in the capsule, and saturate a bandaid.  Change it once or twice a day.  Sometimes it takes a few weeks.

[The Harpy]

I would suggest seeing your family Dr.

I had the same thing happen, an outbreak that continued and it was odd but they were small and mostly clear and just bothered 'me'. I went in and had them removed by a dermatologist and she did some tests and I had a viral infection and these were being caused by the virus.

She had me taking some meds for 14 days and then they never came back. Otherwise they would have continued to appear she said.

For the record, I had 17 burned off my cleavage area. :(

[dovemama]

A really wonderful, although time consuming and quite possibly difficult with a little one, is tea tree oil.

You practically keep applying it over and over in the same spot and cover with a band aid. Eventually the wart will literally fall off. Ewwww. I have experience in this.