Warts can pester any one at any age, although they are commonly found in older children. Similarly, they can appear on practically any part of the body, but they usually appear around the nails, on the fingers, hands and face. Warts found on the feet (soles, heels, toes, between the toes) are called plantar warts.

The problem with warts is they can be very ugly. More importantly, they can be passed easily from one person to the next. So in other words, these unsightly growths are contagious!

Because warts are actually caused by the human papilloma virus or HPV, it doesn’t come as a shock why someone who has warts may infect another through skin-to-skin contact. As one would expect, the way to deal with warts is to kill off their cause, which is the HPV. Lucky, there are a number of ways to eradicate warts.

Some of the remedies for warts are available at pharmacies, while others are offered at dermatological clinics. There are also a number of age-old Chinese remedies for warts that are effective.

Without any more ado, let’s take a look at some of those traditional Chinese solutions:

Acupuncture

When traditional Chinese healing is being discussed, it’s for certain that acupuncture will be mentioned. Yes, it’s also something that may be employed to treat warts.

The purpose of acupuncture is to destroy the cells that make up warts, and also to encourage the immune system to put the infection under control. There are instances, too, in which an acupuncturist will use a needle to destroy the blood vessel that supplies the wart with oxygen and nutrients, thus causing the wart to die off naturally.

Moxibustion

Other than acupuncture, there is also moxibustion invented by ancient Chinese healers thousands and thousands of years ago. This process involves the burning of moxa, which is obtained from the leaves of certain Asian wormwood plants, near or on the skin. Many swear by the effectiveness of moxibustion in treating warts naturally.

Commonly, moxibustion is used together with acupuncture in dealing with warts — some acupuncturists may apply moxa at the very end of the needle, and then burn it just before jabbing it into the wart.

Strangulation

There is a traditional Chinese remedy for warts that works by choking those unsightly growth to death, and it’s is aptly called strangulation. This involves tying a string around the base of the wart and tightening it, deliberately cutting off the supply of blood to the wart. Eventually, the wart will fall off once it’s “dead”.

Customarily, a strand of hair from the individual suffering from warts is the one used in strangulating the growth, but using any other materials like dental floss, which is commonly used for removing skin tags, will also do.

Puncturing

We all know that warts are hard. However, there are also warts that are soft and filled with liquid that is said to resemble cottage cheese.

A traditional Chinese remedy commonly performed on soft warts is having them punctured to have the liquid within squeezed out. Do take note that the said liquid can make warts spread to other parts of the body of the person as well as leave someone with warts, too. If not done properly, puncturing may lead to an infection.

Herbs

Finally, traditional Chinese healers sometime rely on herbs to treat warts. Some herbs are applied directly on the warts to deliver their HPV-killing components directly right where they are needed. However, there are also herbal preparations that are administered orally by Chinese herbalist to tackle warts from within the body.

Other than Chinese herbal preparations, there are also a handful of other home remedies available for warts, and some of the most popular ones include garlic, onion juice and tea tree oil.