# Warts



## Hawky225 (8 May 2008)

Planter Warts. The CPO who okayed me on the medical said that I would've failed if I was going reg. Are they really that bad to have?


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## Long in the tooth (8 May 2008)

I had them for years on my heal and it was a drag and the treatments (which only reduced the size of them) painful.  So I guess they are pretty serious.  I finally got rid of them when I changed the type of boots I was wearing!


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## PMedMoe (8 May 2008)

Based on this info:



> If left untreated, plantar warts can grow up to 1 inch in circumference and may spread into clusters (called mosaic warts). *In severe cases, they cause a change in gait or posture that results in leg or back pain.*



found here, I can understand why they might be a problem.


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## Hawky225 (12 May 2008)

I'm getting them burned with liquid nitrogen twice a week right now. Hopefully, they'll be off my feet by the time I go to BMQ.


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## MamaBear (12 May 2008)

Here's a tip from my doctor for anyone that has warts.  Once the wart is treated by the doctor, put some duct tape over the area,  instead of a bandage or leaving it open to the air.  This basically starves the wart of oxygen and cuts down the number of times you have to have it frozen.  Sometimes you can even get rid of the wart with one go.  Works wonders!


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## Blackadder1916 (12 May 2008)

MamaBear said:
			
		

> Here's a tip from my doctor for anyone that has warts.  Once the wart is treated by the doctor, put some duct tape over the area,  instead of a bandage or leaving it open to the air.  *This basically starves the wart of oxygen* and cuts down the number of times you have to have it frozen.  Sometimes you can even get rid of the wart with one go.  Works wonders!



Either your doctor may just believe the 'myth' of duct tape and warts or he didn't want to get into a true explanation because it makes physicians sound like 'Red Green'.  There may be some benefit to the duct tape treatment but they are not sure why, they only "hypothesize" about the reason for its success.  There have been other studies in the use of duct tape for medical purposes.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/plantar-warts/DS00509/DSECTION=8


> *Duct tape*. In a well-publicized 2002 study, duct tape wiped out more warts than freezing (cryotherapy) did. Study participants who used "duct tape therapy" covered their warts in duct tape for six days, then soaked their warts in water, and gently rubbed warts with an emery board or pumice stone. They repeated this process for up to two months or until their warts went away. Researchers hypothesize that this unconventional therapy may work by irritating warts and the surrounding skin, prompting the body's immune system to attack. Today, duct tape is commonly used to treat warts, especially for children who may find freezing painful or scary. It's often combined with salicylic acid.


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## MamaBear (13 May 2008)

Thanks for the clarification Blackadder.  I did have thoughts of a wart starving for air at the bottom of my foot - perhaps that imagery helped get rid of the sucker.


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## PMedMoe (13 May 2008)

MamaBear said:
			
		

> Thanks for the clarification Blackadder.  I did have thoughts of a wart starving for air at the bottom of my foot - perhaps that imagery helped get rid of the sucker.



Mind over matter is pretty important.  My sister had plantar's warts when she was younger.  They surgically removed them on one foot and when she went back two weeks later to have the other foot done, they were gone.       She really hated (still does) hospitals.

Off topic - Everytime I see this thread I think of peanuts.  ;D


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## medicineman (13 May 2008)

PMedMoe said:
			
		

> Mind over matter is pretty important.  My sister had plantar's warts when she was younger.  They surgically removed them on one foot and when she went back two weeks later to have the other foot done, they were gone.       She really hated (still does) hospitals.
> 
> Off topic - Everytime I see this thread I think of peanuts.  ;D



I've been biting my tongue the whole way through this thread because of that.  Just trying not to sound too pedantic  :.

 MM


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## megany (14 May 2008)

I picked up a few sometime while living overseas and had done the painful burning treatments - they ended up not working, to be honest.  I went to the doctor and received this extremely concentrated paste that I applied daily after cleaning and scraping my foot.  You just had to be careful not to get it on surrounding skin since it killed it.

If you find that the freezing doesn't work you may want to enquire about this.  I was amazed at how fast they disappeared after I used the paste.


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## Strike (14 May 2008)

megsy said:
			
		

> I picked up a few sometime while living overseas and had done the painful burning treatments - they ended up not working, to be honest.  I went to the doctor and received this extremely concentrated paste that I applied daily after cleaning and scraping my foot.  You just had to be careful not to get it on surrounding skin since it killed it.
> 
> If you find that the freezing doesn't work you may want to enquire about this.  I was amazed at how fast they disappeared after I used the paste.



You can get the same paste at a drug store.  It's an acid.  The only thing that worked for me when I had them.


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## 1feral1 (15 May 2008)

Wesley's Wonderfully Wierd Wart Story No.1 Dated today.

Over time I managed to get one of these planter things. Back in about the late 90's when I was with the CSSB in Sydney. On my baby toe at that, this wart thing grew to the size of a Safeway jellybean, so went to the RMO, and he gave me this paste stuff, which had to be kept in the fridge. I applied it as directed, and in a few weeks, while performinhg daily 'foot maintenance' that wart just fell off, literally.

So the moral of this story, is use as directed and it works. It did for me too.


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## BIG E (26 Feb 2010)

I enrolled a long time ago. I got the call for my position just yesterday and I will be heading to St.Jean on April 12th. However, the only problem is that I do have 3 plantar warts on my feet. They do not bother me, and they do not hurt at all. Im trying my hardest to solve the problem by going to to doctors and doing some work myself to remove them..Will the CF see this as an issue in basic training?


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## medicineman (26 Feb 2010)

No.

MM


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## SeanNewman (26 Feb 2010)

I would be more worried with the possibility that they DO start to hurt at some point.

I had some planters warts on my feet as a teenager and they were borderline unbearably painful, so hopefully yours don't turn into that.

Nobody in the CF is going to hold them against you, but if they do get inflamed to the point that you're falling out of runs / ruck marches it will start to count against you.


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## thehare (9 Jun 2010)

Hey everyone, I just have a few questions about a couple of warts that i have on my foot. Well, first off here is some background info, I have been getting them treated for a while and I was hoping that I would be able to get them removed by the fall (when I thought that I would start BMQ for the reserves) and now it turns out that I was one of the select few who got selected this year for training  (because the unit is on stand down) and now it looks like i am going to be training during the Summer. Now my worry is that I won't be able to remove them as I once thought and they will get noticed and that I will lose my place in my BMQ. Are my worries justified ? Or are the warts not as big a problem that i thought they were (they aren't plantar by the way).

Any comments are welcomed.

P.S I read a few threads but some are contradictory so this is the reason why I am posting this.

Again Thanks


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## ModlrMike (9 Jun 2010)

Unless they limit your ability to stand and march for extended periods, I wouldn't worry.


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## PMedMoe (9 Jun 2010)

Do they prevent you from doing physical fitness?  Do they hurt?  Did you mention them on your medical?  Because, if you passed your medical and have been offered a BMQ, obviously, the warts were not an issue.

Oh, and *plantar* is only a referral to where they are located.


plantar –adjective Anatomy, Zoology   –of or pertaining to the sole of the foot.


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## thehare (9 Jun 2010)

Alright, thank you for your replies. To answer your questions they do not hurt me in anyway but the reason I was wondering was that I thought since it is infectious that they would see that and think twice once I was in BMQ.

Once Again thank you for your replies.

Thehare


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## PMedMoe (9 Jun 2010)

Keep them clean and covered.  Use your shower sandals religiously and wash your hands often.


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## thehare (9 Jun 2010)

PMedMoe said:
			
		

> Keep them clean and covered.  Use your shower sandals religiously and wash your hands often.



Thanks for the advice. I will keep that in mind.

Again thanks for your replies.

Thehare


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## Hudyma (21 Oct 2013)

I have my enrollment medical exam coming up shortly and I am wondering how a wart may affect the results of the exam.


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## medicineman (21 Oct 2013)

Hudyma said:
			
		

> I have my enrollment medical exam coming up shortly and I am wondering how a wart may affect the results of the exam.



Probably not affect it at all...unless you can't walk as a result of it.

MM


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## Hudyma (22 Oct 2013)

medicineman said:
			
		

> Probably not affect it at all...unless you can't walk as a result of it.
> 
> MM



What about common warts?
I have one in between two of my fingers that I have been treating with salicylic acid for a few weeks now.
It looks pretty ugly at the moment and I am afraid it would affect the results.


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## Nemo888 (22 Oct 2013)

Don't forget to disinfect your footwear after you get them removed.


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## nn1988 (22 Oct 2013)

I had a wart on my pinky 4 years ago, lasted for roughly 20 months (2009 to mid 2010)- looked bad as hell (I know what you mean when you say that) but it went away gradually without applying anything on it. I mentioned it to my Medical Examiner and everything went smoothly. 

Most go away in 3-6 months, some can last up to 2-3 years. They are pretty common, but contagious as well. Their latency is quite prolonged, they come out of nowhere; ie. if you were to touch someone with it, one may not develop one until a few weeks to years down the road.


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## medicineman (22 Oct 2013)

Hudyma said:
			
		

> What about common warts?
> I have one in between two of my fingers that I have been treating with salicylic acid for a few weeks now.
> It looks pretty ugly at the moment and I am afraid it would affect the results.



It won't.  If I were the person doing the medical, I'd be looking more at your apparent health anxiety neurosis about your wart than at your wart itself  .

MM


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## ForeverLearning (17 Nov 2013)

i have a wart on my finger that the medical doctor noticed.. i didnt think anything of it. Is that going to screw me over?


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## CombatDoc (17 Nov 2013)

ForeverLearning said:
			
		

> i have a wart on my finger that the medical doctor noticed.. i didnt think anything of it. Is that going to screw me over?


Read reply #26 from medicine man.


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## ForeverLearning (17 Nov 2013)

ya i was just going to edit my comment as i read on. Noob here, lesson learned


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