These OTC Treatments Have the Right Ingredients to Help Remove Warts (2024)

There’s a wide array of over-the-counter wart treatments these days, but if you’re sensitive to pain and discomfort, you may want to veer away from the freezing ones, recommends Maryland-based dermatologist Amie G. Sessa, MD. Seek a patch or bandage option instead or opt for a gentle cream or stick wart remover. It's important to consult a healthcare professional for proper diagnosis and guidance in choosing the most suitable wart removal method.

The most common types of wart removers include:

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can you use wart remover on skin tags?

  Since the process for removing skin tags is similar to that of warts—you’re basically trying to dry the skin out enough to cause shedding of the top layer of skin, loosening the tag so it falls off—you can double up on your wart remover treatment for this other common skin condition.

  “If someone is unable to be seen by a medical professional, then an OTC wart remover can be used for skin tags, depending on their size and location,” says Seelal.

  If your skin tag is large or located on your face, you may want to see a dermatologist for treatment. You would likely have to apply a lot of product or reapply treatments several times in these cases, which could damage your skin.

• Does wart removal hurt?

  Unfortunately, sometimes it can—although it’s not a guarantee.

  “Wart removal can hurt depending on their location and the modality used to remove them,” says Seelal.

  Typically, OTC products don’t cause much pain, but the methods used by doctors in-office to remove warts can be mildly painful. Treatments such as blistering with a product called cantharidin, cryotherapy, electrosurgery (burning) and curettage (scraping), and excision are commonly used by specialists, Seelal explains, but not without some discomfort.

• At what point should you see a doctor to have your wart removed professionally?

  Seelal says you may not need an OTC treatment to see your wart disappear; unless you’re immunocompromised or have diabetes, many people’s bodies recognize the virus and naturally clear the wart. (In the meantime, try not to touch it too often—you could spread the virus to other people or other parts of your body.)

  If you try an OTC treatment and it doesn’t work, you may need to get professional care from a dermatologist. This is particularly true if you’ve had the wart for a long time or the skin has become thickened over the surface. It’s also important to remember that getting rid of a wart can be a tricky and prolonged process, which Dr. Sessa says is due to its viral nature; even once your wart goes away, the virus can lie dormant in healthy-looking cells, and can become active again at any time.

  “There is not a single thing, including in-office treatments, that is effective 100 percent of the time,” says Dr. Sessa. “Warts typically require multiple treatments...we can get rid of them with active treatment, but it's rarely a ‘one and done’ kind of thing.”

• What are the different types of warts?

  Common warts appear as raised bumps where the outer layer of skin becomes hardened.

  Flat warts are small and have some thickened skin around them. They commonly develop on children’s faces.

  Plantar warts are rough warts that usually develop on the feet, causing pain when they are under pressure (such as when you walk). They often start small (the size of a pea), but they can grow and coalesce into very large areas.

  Genital warts stem from a sexually transmitted infectionthat comes from sexual contact with someone who has HPV. These warts appear outside or inside the genitals. They usually look cauliflower-like, and they can be itchy and irritating. Some of these warts are associated with cancer.

• What to Look For

• FAQ

• Our Picks

• How We Selected the Wart Removers

• Why Trust Verywell Health

Compound W's Maximum Strength Fast Acting Gel is formulated with 17% salicylic acid and works instantly to remove warts, so we chose it as our top pick. Not only is this product affordable, but it's also a dermatologist-recommended product. It's easy to use thanks to its handy no-drip tube applicator that can be used by adults and kids over the age of 3, making this a household staple. It typically takes weeks of daily use to completely eliminate the wart with this treatment, so you need to be patient and consistent.

Plantar warts develop on the soles of the feetand can be painful when you stand or walk. While most are harmless and go away without treatment, sometimes they’re too painful and can make the simplest of tasks feel agonizing. These are very contagious and can be spread in public swimming pools, communal showers, or even in your shower at home.

Those looking to tackle plantar warts on the feet can forget the old days of walking with pain and discomfort when wearing shoes after using the Compound W Maximum Strength One Step Plantar Foot Pads. These pads have adhesive to stick onto your foot and conceal unattractive warts and bumps while tackling warts with concentrated 40 percent salicylic acid. Dr. Lupo says irritants and exfoliants like salicylic acid are excellent options for tackling stubborn plantar warts.

Don’t be fooled by this unassuming little stick, which some users say is the size of a typical type of Chapstick; the WartStick wart remover packs a powerful punch—with 40 percent salicylic acid—to get rid of even years-old warts.

“[Salicylic acid is] the same active ingredient used to fight acne, believe it or not,” says Angie Seelal, PA-C, of Advanced Dermatology PC. “It’s a beta-hydroxy acid that helps exfoliate and remove dead cells from the surface of the skin.”

In other words, salicylic acid breaks down the skin cells of a wart so the dead cells can fall away or be sloughed off with an emery board or pumice stone. These treatments are usually available as a liquid, gel, or pre-treated patch that you apply like a band-aid to your wart, but we like this nifty little stick because it’s portable, non-messy, and can treat multiple sizes of warts, from teeny-tiny ones to larger ones.

The application method combined with the mega-dose of salicylic acid in the WartStick is probably why it works so well; spread a thin layer of the treatment on your wart using the stick once a day for up to 12 weeks. That’s it: There are no gels or liquids to mess with and no need to leave a patch or adhesive strip on for long periods of time. It’s painless, odorless, has been around for more than 50 years, and is used by children and parents alike.

Children are more vulnerable to getting warts than adults because they have immature immune systems. For easily irritable kids who don’t want to wait for warts to clear up on their own, these super cute wart-removing strips go on like a regular adhesive bandage and stay in place no matter what your kids put them through (yes, they’re waterproof!). Their totally pain-free treatment method makes it easy for your kid to apply and forget about—but meanwhile, the wart-removing strip will be working hard, tackling your child’s wart with 40 percent salicylic acid.

These strips come 10 per box, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but in theory, you should only have to apply a new one every 48 hours at least. They’re also safe for kids over the age of 3, so even preschoolers can benefit from this painless method and likely love the colorful patterns on the strips.

Dr. Scholl’s ClearAway Wart Remover is a popular patch because its strips are invisible and discreet.

These patches are easy to apply, stick onto the skin well without any issues, even after a night’s sleep, and work fast without any pain or discomfort. This is a great option for those timid about more aggressive freezing options.

Not only is this product clinically proven to remove common warts thanks to its 40 percent salicylic acid active ingredient, but this patch is also comfortable because it’s thin, flexible, and has discreet cushioning to keep its medicated disk in place. This product is best for warts that are located on hard-to-reach places like fingers and toes.

Plantar warts on the feet can be incredibly painful and make walking arduous. For warts on thicker skin, like on the bottom of your feet, experts suggest using more potent concentrations of salicylic acid or freezing the wart.

Dr. Scholl’s FreezeAway Wart Remover Dual Action gives you the best of both worlds, offering freeze therapy plus fast-acting 17 percent salicylic acid. This product is one of the strongest non-prescription wart removers available on the market, and it’s safe to use for kids over the age of 4. This product first freezes the wart off and breaks it down with the acid so the body can heal with new, wart-less skin.

Several reviewers claim that they saw results with this product in less than a week. Dr. Lupo says freezing is a popular method because it triggers an immune response to eliminate the frozen skin and warts.

However, plantar warts are more difficult to remove with OTC products, especially if they are hidden under calluses. If at-home treatments don’t work, consider meeting with a doctor who can use other treatments that penetrate deeper into the foot to target the wart.