Ask anyone who has warts and they’ll tell you that these unattractive growths are among the worst maladies of mankind. That may be a little dramatic, but warts are frustrating and often embarrassing. They can leave you hiding your hands or feet, fearful of what other people will think.

There’s really no reason to be embarrassed. The virus that causes warts (human papilloma virus, or HPV) can often be contracted through no action of your own. Although HPV is commonly thought of as a sexually transmitted disease, it can also be passed along through contact with another person with warts on their hands or any other part of their body.

Since so many people get warts – and most of them are bothered by that fact – you don’t have to look very far to find scores of home remedies for warts. The common home remedies for warts that you’ll find online include applying household items to the warts. Things like vinegar, potato juice, and dandelion sap have all been named as effective home remedies for warts, though their effectiveness has yet to be proven.

One of the strangest home remedies for warts is the duct tape remedy. In order to clear up warts, many people apply a piece of duct tape to the affected area. It stays on for a week at a time and is replaced weekly until the wart clears up.

Although this sounds like an unlikely contender among the most effective home remedies for warts, people who have used it swear by it. A few scientific studies have been done on this method, but so far their results have been conflicting.

Some people try to take home remedies for warts into their own hands and cut or burn the warts away. This is extremely dangerous and should never be attempted at home. However, most other home remedies for warts are safe…if not always particularly effective.