Remember how I said I had to find a dermatologist for us to go get our moles checked out? Well, after I wrote that post I decided to stop procrastinating and just freaking do it already, and so I did. Torsten had his appointment last week and mine was yesterday. Both of us do not have any suspicious moles.
I wasn't really concerned about me, as I don't have many moles or even freckles, but Torsten has a fair amount so I was a little worried about him. But, the dermatologist checked us both thoroughly and pronounced us clear. Torsten is to go back every year for a scan, and since I have so few moles I only need to go back every other year.
I also showed him my plantar wart, since that home freeze-off kit I tried months ago never did work, and he gave me some new tips for getting it off. I'm supposed to try filing it daily, and then suffocating it with electrical tape, and then freezing it off with the home kit again, but this time leaving the stuff on for slightly longer than it says on the box, and if that doesn't work I'll go back to the dermatologist and have him remove it.
I'd rather avoid that, though, because he explained the process and it sounded, shall we say, rather unpleasant. I think I blocked out some of the details, but the gist is that they shoot ice crystals into it, and that pulls the bottom layers away and allows it to drain, which gives your immune system access to the virus itself so that your body can get rid of it. All good and well, but the dermatologist said quite frankly that it's a painful process, more so after than during, and that I'd be limping out of his office with a nasty blister on my foot.
So! Time to buy a fresh pack of emery boards to be used ONLY for filing this stupid wart. And time to pray that this home remedy works, because ugh, I do not want blister-inducing ice crystals shot into this stupid thing. I shudder just thinking about it.
Still, despite the possible horror suggested to me by this dermatologist, I liked him. He was thorough and nice, and I feel reassured that neither of us is going to drop dead from undetected melanoma, at least not anytime soon.
And we won't think about the fact that of my list of six things to do, I've only done one. Because that one was the only one related to health, and it was therefore by far the most important. So really it counts as two, at least. Right?
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Plantar wart tip: Tea Tree oil. The pure stuff. I had one once and a German Heilpraktiker told me about that and it totally worked. Just a couple of drops at night I think. That was all. Was really amazing. Don't recall how long it took, but I was a teenager, so I doubt I would have had the patience to diligent do it for more than a month or two.
ReplyDeleteI had during my teen years 11 warts on my fingers and I got them all frozen off. The "mother" wart took 3 times of freezing before it finally was completely gone. It is very painful and I got blisters the size of dimes for each one. The only thing I can compare it to pain wise is it must be what arthritis feels like because the pain went entirely through the joint of my fingers. I can't even imagine trying to walk on one for your foot. I'd follow his directions to a T to try and avoid the freezing.
ReplyDeleteI had a few VERY stubborn plantars warts last fall and the freeze-off stuff did very little to help. What I did find was another over the counter plantars warts treatment that amounted to small thin disks of salicylic acid. I put them on overnight, covered it with a piece of surgical tape, and within a few days they immediately started to clear up. I highly recommend it.
ReplyDeleteTry these . . . http://www.amazon.com/Scholls-Clear-Away-Salicylic-14-Count/dp/B001EPQ52C
ReplyDeleteI swear by them. After weeks of the freeze off stuff not making a dent on mine, these little buggers started clearing things up right away.
My nephew used masking tape on his which did work but took some months.
ReplyDeleteAny doctor who walks you through a home remedy and says to use his services as a last resort is a winner in my book. Doctors today are so focused on their (shrinking) bottom lines that I think it shows character when they don't drum up business with each appointment.
ReplyDeleteIn college I got two or three eensy plantar warts on one foot. I had them taken off by my doctor, but I definitely didn't have any blisters afterwards. If I remember correctly they cut them out? Or at least, that's how it seemed, then they applied something to it, bandaged it, and I walked out. I didn't find it particularly painful.
ReplyDeleteAnother time a couple of years ago, I got one and just used those little peel and stick type with the salicylic acid. I think it went away within a week or so of using them.
Good luck!
I think a doctor who is willing to give you at home remedies before charging you an arm and a leg for something invasive sounds like a keeper.
ReplyDeleteI need to find a dermatologist. None in our little town. And I DO have to get checked every year. I hate it. It is so HUMBLING to have someone announce every defect in your skin - on your whole body. Ugh.
Good for you guys! As someone who's had one basal cell carcinoma removed already (and probably will have more because of stupidity in the sun), I can't say enough about early detection!
ReplyDeleteAnd I had a plantar's wart once...NOTHING worked. One day, it just went away.
can I ask a stupid question?
ReplyDeleteis there any problem just leaving the wart alone? I have two very small ones on the bottom of my foot. They aren't growing and they aren't uncomfortable. No one sees them, and even if someone were looking at the bottom of my foot, they are very small and skin-colored.
Do I HAVE to treat it? Will it grow/spread/be contagious to others if I don't?
Anon--I don't totally know the answer to that question. I've had this one for almost a year and it hasn't been a major priority of mine to get rid of it because it isn't painful and doesn't bother me. So, I guess you don't HAVE to get rid of them. However, they are caused by a virus, which is contagious to others (I think I picked mine up at the gym), and can cause multiple warts to grow, so even if the ones you have now aren't painful or annoying, others could grow in more sensitive spots like the ball of your foot or somewhere. So, I'd say it's worth trying a few of the remedies that some of the commenters here are recommending, but I think you're also right that this doesn't have to be a super-urgent priority for you, either.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, good for you guys for getting the moles checked out. It really should be a priority for everyone - I don't think a lot of people truly realize how dangerous and deadly skin cancer can be.
ReplyDeleteAs for the plantar wart, do anything you can to avoid getting it burned/iced off by the doctor. I used to get them ALL the time as a swimmer, running around a locker room with bare feet, and the whole process hurts like hell.
And tea tree oil does do wonders. Thuja oil (oil from the cedar tree)also works. They're both easy to find on their own and you can mix them, and some natural health stores have a wart remedy with both of those ingredients. (Tea tree oil also does wonders for the scalp, if you suffer from dandruff during the dry winter, or any time of year!)
I had two warts on my fingers in high school, and had them frozen off by a doctor. It was fairly traumatic, if I remember right; they numbed my hand for the procedure, but I was conscious - and freaked. And sore for days afterward.
ReplyDeleteWorth it though! Goodluck, I hope filing it down works.
Good for you! I have a lot of moles and have to go for skin cancer screening every year. I've had a few removed that turned out to be benign. Not the most fun I've ever had, but really not too bad. I am really glad I finally got over that initial fear and just did it, and I'm glad you did too. It's important.
ReplyDeleteI had one removed from the instep of my foot by that procedure the doc talked about. It took only a few minutes and seriously didn't hurt as much as I thought after the fact and I didn't have any blisters afterwards... maybe they weren't too bad?
ReplyDeleteGood luck! I hope the home remedy works for you!
I used to have warts and was terrified of having the cut, snipped, frozen or otherwise surgically removed. My aunt, a bonafide "witch doctor" for the countries of Tonga and Nepal, told me to smother it with dandelion milk two or three times a day. It was summer, dandelions were everywhere, and in a few weeks it was gone. No pain, no special (read: expensive) removers, no smell. Just dandelions. It was brilliant.
ReplyDeletexox
Thank you for such a wonderful ideas...It's been a great help getting some information such as this...More power!!!!
ReplyDelete