When trying to select the best wart remover, you should consider the possible side effects of the active ingredient as well as the benefits. You can definitely remove a wart on your finger by cutting off your finger, but the benefit of no longer having a wart is overshadowed by the drawback of no longer having a finger! Likewise, if you remove a wart but gain a scar, you have replaced something that would probably have eventually gone away (the wart) with something that never goes away (the scar). Clearly the best wart remover should also have the least down side.
The best wart remover should:
- Not have the potential to scar
- Not cause pain
- Be easy to use
- Be affordable
- Be effective in getting rid of your wart faster then if you did nothing
- Be safe to use
The only active ingredient that has been shown to be effective in removing a wart better than a placebo is salicylic acid, and salicylic acid is the only active ingredient recognized by the FDA to be safe and effective at medically removing warts. The disadvantage of salicylic acid is that although it starts to work right away, it can sometimes take time to completely remove a wart.
Freezing is painful, and although many people choose freezing because they think it is faster than salicylic acid, medical studies have shown freezing often takes multiple treatments over weeks or months. Freezing is painful and can cause scarring, and is certainly not ideal for children. Even more important, studies have not been convincing that freezing is really effective in removing a wart.
Although any surgical method will get rid of the wart immediately, it will cause pain and require a local anesthetic, and with surgery there is also the possibility of scarring.
At the end of the day, when you weigh the pros and cons of various methods of wart removal, salicylic acid is a painless, safe and effective treatment option, and for those reasons is the best wart remover.
We think WartStick® is the best wart remover with salicylic acid because at 40%, it contains the highest strength allowed. It goes on dry and does not have the unpleasant odor of liquid salicylic acid preparations. It is painless, will not scar, and easy to use. WartStick® is available nationwide in CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid, as well as other fine retailers.
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