A wart ( verruca vulgaris ) is a hardened, cauliflower-like lump on the skin. Warts are common on the hands, fingers, soles and toes. A wart occurs as a result of a virus. This virus - where hundreds of them exist - causes the skin cells to divide excessively quickly, causing the deformation that we call a wart. Such a virus can easily be picked up by, for example, walking barefoot in the swimming pool, in a gymnasium or over a wet dressing room floor. If you already have a wound on the sole of the foot or the skin is softened by swimming, for example, the risk of infection is only increased.

Most people have had to deal with it and have noticed that warts often disappear again. In general, warts - rare exceptions left there - are also not harmful to health. Yet many people find it annoying to have a wart. People often find it ugly and it can also sit in a bad place. If it is on your toe or foot sole, for example, it can be painful when walking and abrasion against a sock or shoe may cause the wart to bleed. You also increase the risk that you infect another person with it. For that reason, many people choose to have warts removed when they suffer from it.

If you suffer from warts on your hand or foot, it is fairly easy to remove them. In the past people always went to the GP for this. This then used liquid nitrogen to imprint the wart and freeze it. This then shriveled until he fell off the skin. Nowadays there are several different types of self-care products that make a visit to the GP for removing a wart superfluous. You can also choose a product with which you can freeze the wart yourself, touch it with acid or touch it with a natural remedy. There are also wart plasters that gradually wipe the warts.

To freeze

As said before, the general practitioner uses liquid nitrogen to freeze warts and shrink them. There are, however, so-called wart-pins with which you can do this yourself. This is the most common method for removing warts at home. Such wart pens often contain a mixture of dimethyl ether and propane. If you carefully follow the instructions from the leaflet, the tip of the pen can be pressed against the wart, freezing it to the core. It is therefore important not to hold the pen against the wart for a shorter or longer period than indicated in the package leaflet. You should therefore always keep a stop watch at hand.