Plantar warts (6yo): OTC, freeze or wait?

[Anonymous]

My 6yo has three plantar warts on the bottom of one of her big toes. Her ped said we could try an OTC from CVS or they could freeze them in office or we could wait it out as they sometimes go away. They are not causing pain but have created a callus of sorts.

She said that OTC methods or using duct tape as a home remedy require daily diligence for a few months. My concern is as we enter summer camp season that it will be impossible to keep a bandaid with medical solution or a piece of duct tape adhered to the very bottom of her toe during the summer. Freezing seems like a good option though I've read mixed online reviews that it can be painful for kids and that they often return. The doctor said we'd just have to baby the foot for a week or so after freezing. Waiting it out seems lazy but who knows.

Anyone BTDT with kids? Curious what worked for you.

[Anonymous]

Waiting has worked for me. I get them every few years and they always disappear on their own.

I'd wait out the summer, and then make a decision in the fall. I agree that being off his feet after freezing, or trying to keep duct tape on in the summer would be harder than during the school year, so I'd wait for now, and if you decide you do want to treat (e.g. if it's spreading, or becomes uncomfortable, mine never have) do it during the school year.

[Anonymous]

We used “the wart stick” which is like a tube of chapstick. It doesn’t burn or hurt when it’s applied but eats it away. Put some of that on it and cover with a bandaid. Works faster than duct tape.

[Anonymous]

Check out the wart subreddit. I was on last night for my son. Apple cider vinegar can help. I had a wart frozen at age 6 and oooo it was very painful taking off bandages

[Anonymous]

I just went through this with my six year old though his wart was on his heel so more likely to affect his walking.

My experience with the wart bandaid is that they would shift and the medication would end up peeling a section of skin that wasn't covered by the wart.

I used the drops and applied them at night covering with two cris crossed bandaids. I would then scrape the wart gently after bath to get the dead skin off before applying more drops. I did give him a couple breaks if the surrounding skin was getting too tender. It took about 1.5 months and I wasn't constantly diligent and it was a pretty big wart (maybe about 6-7 mm?) that just erupted one day. With smaller ones you could probably clear them faster.

So drops and scraping worked for my kid.

[Anonymous]

Neither. Cathardin. They just paint it on the wart and it forms a blister and comes off. So easy. Freezing is really painful for kids. If you want freezing to work, you have to be okay with the pain and let it keep freezing you. Most kids would have them stop quickly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Waiting has worked for me. I get them every few years and they always disappear on their own.

I'd wait out the summer, and then make a decision in the fall. I agree that being off his feet after freezing, or trying to keep duct tape on in the summer would be harder than during the school year, so I'd wait for now, and if you decide you do want to treat (e.g. if it's spreading, or becomes uncomfortable, mine never have) do it during the school year.

Please don't wait. Or if you do, make sure your kid isn't using public pools or water parks where they can spread it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just went through this with my six year old though his wart was on his heel so more likely to affect his walking.

My experience with the wart bandaid is that they would shift and the medication would end up peeling a section of skin that wasn't covered by the wart.

I used the drops and applied them at night covering with two cris crossed bandaids. I would then scrape the wart gently after bath to get the dead skin off before applying more drops. I did give him a couple breaks if the surrounding skin was getting too tender. It took about 1.5 months and I wasn't constantly diligent and it was a pretty big wart (maybe about 6-7 mm?) that just erupted one day. With smaller ones you could probably clear them faster.

So drops and scraping worked for my kid.

I should clarify, the drops were the salicylic acid wart drops. I used this: https://www.drscholls.com/products/clear-away-fast-acting-liquid-wart-remover?variant=47566342619412

My experience is freezing doesn't always work and can be painful but slow steady work with salicylic acid and removing the dead skin takes it off. You do have to be careful with the tools and skin to avoid spreading the wart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Waiting has worked for me. I get them every few years and they always disappear on their own.

I'd wait out the summer, and then make a decision in the fall. I agree that being off his feet after freezing, or trying to keep duct tape on in the summer would be harder than during the school year, so I'd wait for now, and if you decide you do want to treat (e.g. if it's spreading, or becomes uncomfortable, mine never have) do it during the school year.

Please don't wait. Or if you do, make sure your kid isn't using public pools or water parks where they can spread it.

Yes, if your kid is out somewhere barefoot cover them with duct tape. Bandaids don't stay on.

[Anonymous]

Call me old school, but a podiatrist can take care of this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Waiting has worked for me. I get them every few years and they always disappear on their own.

I'd wait out the summer, and then make a decision in the fall. I agree that being off his feet after freezing, or trying to keep duct tape on in the summer would be harder than during the school year, so I'd wait for now, and if you decide you do want to treat (e.g. if it's spreading, or becomes uncomfortable, mine never have) do it during the school year.

Please don't wait. Or if you do, make sure your kid isn't using public pools or water parks where they can spread it.

Yes, if your kid is out somewhere barefoot cover them with duct tape. Bandaids don't stay on.

My camp wouldn't let kids with warts participate unless they wore water shoes.

For my kids, one treatment with the beetle juice (cathardin) was enough to stop their warts forever and it's painless. For my oldest, she'd struggled for about 2 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Neither. Cathardin. They just paint it on the wart and it forms a blister and comes off. So easy. Freezing is really painful for kids. If you want freezing to work, you have to be okay with the pain and let it keep freezing you. Most kids would have them stop quickly

This! It may take a couple of applications, but way better than messing around with otc for months. They can spread, I’d get it taken care of now

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Waiting has worked for me. I get them every few years and they always disappear on their own.

I'd wait out the summer, and then make a decision in the fall. I agree that being off his feet after freezing, or trying to keep duct tape on in the summer would be harder than during the school year, so I'd wait for now, and if you decide you do want to treat (e.g. if it's spreading, or becomes uncomfortable, mine never have) do it during the school year.

Please don't wait. Or if you do, make sure your kid isn't using public pools or water parks where they can spread it.

Yes, if your kid is out somewhere barefoot cover them with duct tape. Bandaids don't stay on.

My camp wouldn't let kids with warts participate unless they wore water shoes.

For my kids, one treatment with the beetle juice (cathardin) was enough to stop their warts forever and it's painless. For my oldest, she'd struggled for about 2 years.

No camp is checking for this. I’ve never seen it asked on any health form either

[Anonymous]

Gentian violet with band aid over it worked like a charm for me. But cannot touch with bare hands when bursts open after few days. Need gloves. Also, it dyes anything it touches. Advise to appy with Q tip outdoors, put on bandaid, then socks, then flops/crocs.

[Anonymous]

Our dermatologist won’t freeze warts until kids are 8. He recommended Curad Mediblast from Amazon and it worked like a charm.