Duct tape, Bic razor work on warts

Pediatric News, July, 2006 by Amar Dave

Duct Tape, Bic Razor Work on Warts I agree with the approaches Dr. Anthony J. Mancini has taken to handle warts and Molluscum contagiosum ("Wart and Mollescum Management Made Easy," Apri1 2006, p. 48).

I shall never forget the day when a 14 year-old girl showed up in my office to have a pre-op physical for removal of three palmers and two plantar warts under general anesthesia!

No amount of discussion and explanation was enough to dissuade her parents from that drastic decision about a benign condition. It is crucial for physicians to educate patients and parents about the self-limiting and benign nature of these lesions.

The only different twist I have in my practice is the use of a Bic razor to debride the lesions, especially those on the plantar surface, by the patient or parents following a keratolytic agent such as salicylic acid under duct tape.

Since many of the patients do not like duct tape of won't keep duct tape on, I limit application to nighttime. The result has been a number of gratified and satisfied patients as well as parents.

I make less money but it is the least painful approach. The Bic razor provides safety against deeper cuts as well as other injuries, and it is less threatening than a No. 15 blade or any other device. I insist that parents and patients search the Internet for "duct tape treatment warts" to educate themselves on the validity of this approach.

Amar Dave, M.D.

Ottawa, Ill.