How to use silver nitrate sticks for warts…
The exact topic of this article first appeared on www.nimedhealth.com.ng
WARTS REMOVAL TREATMENT WITH SILVER NITRATE STICK
Warts are a type of skin infection caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). The infection causes rough, skin-colored bumps to form on the skin. The bump has the pattern of a cauliflower.
The virus is CONTAGIOUS and mostly sexually transmitted….
You can get warts from having contact with someone who has them.
Warts can become cancer.
Warts can can occur in all parts of the body including the throat but commoner on the genital area.
That is why we advise patients to remove them completely…
There are different modalities for warts involving use of podophyllotoxin ointment, silver nitrate and even surgery.
Now:
Let’s talk SILVER NITRATE STICKS 🪄 Silver nitrate is a natural, inorganic chemical compound with antimicrobial properties that has been used in medical applications since the 13th century. It is used as a cauterizing agent. The silver nitrate stick is activated by contact with moisture. When applied to wounds, silver nitrate sticks deliver free silver ions to the tissue that form an eschar as they bind to tissue and obstruct vessels.
To the main topic of this article:
Silver nitrate, when properly applied, it is reputed for slowly burning off and clearing warts in a matter of weeks…but the problem here is that it can cause severe hurtful burns to the intact skin if not properly applied.
How to use silver nitrate sticks for warts…
It is easy, please follow this steps…
1. Get a silver nitrate stick (the complete set involving a filing or a scraping stick as you will see in the picture later)
2. Dab the genital warts each with tap water or normal saline….silver nitrate works best in a moist environment. Water or a moist environment activates in and helps it to cauterize the warty growths.
# You can also also scrape the warty growth with the file to encourage minor punctate bleeding that will serve as the moisture medium #
3. Protect the healthy intact skin surrounding the warts by applied Vaseline or pomade….this means apply Vaseline around the the healthy skin sorrounding the warts before applying the silver nitrate…
4. Silver nitrate should be so applied carefully so that it should not touch the healthy skin else it will burn you…avoid silver nitrate stick burns please.
5. Apply silver nitrate on the genital warts (or in any part of the body) morning and evening….clean the previous one and reapply another.
6. Use the file the silver nitrate stick came with to scrape out the coagulated dried out of the warts (done by the silver nitrate) before reapplying on a fresh bleeding wart growth….
CAVEAT: During filing to yank off the dead part of the warty growth, it comes flaky and dusty…please ensure you don’t inhale it as it can grow later in your throat causing oropharyngeal wart.
7. Continue this strictly and see your warts flatten out and clear in a matter of weeks.
Ensure you wash your hands before and after procedure.
Dr Udomoh, Registrar, Plastic Surgery Unit, wrote this.
