Salactol Wart Paint

Some time ago, I developed a small painless pea sized lump on my side an inch or so below my armpit. This threw me into a complete panic, and perhaps foolishly decided to look it up on the internet. This led to me worrying far too much, panicking that I might have cancer, and phoning my GP begging for an emergency appointment.

My GP took a good look, and told me that it was nothing more dangerous than a wart. I've never been so relieved in my life, and my GP advised me to simply leave it alone, and take care when shaving . However, despite my relief at it being nothing serious, it soon started to irritate me, as despite it being small it made me feel really self concious in certain items of clothing, as I was worried people might be able to see it .

I talked to my local pharmacist, and he recommended using a wart paint , and I ended up with this Salactol Wart Paint, which cost me a little under £3 for a 10ml bottle. The small dark brown bottle tells me this is suitable for warts, verrucas, corns and calluses. The active ingredients are salicylic acid and lactic acid . The lid has a small plastic spreader attached to it.

To use this, you need to use an emery board to scratch away a little at the surface of the wart. As warts are highly contagious, you need to throw this away immediately after use - both to prevent anyone else getting infected by using the emery board, and to prevent yourself from reapplying the virus to the original site of infection. Then, you paint the Salactol (which is clear, quite thick, and has an odd smell almost like paint stripper) to the wart, leaving it to dry naturally, which doesn't take long at all. You then need to repeat this every 24 hours, for as long as it takes the wart to vanish. It does sting a little on application, but not too badly.

When this dries, it dries white rather than clear. This isn't really too much of an issue, but may be worth bearing in mind if your warts are on areas of your body people will see, as it just draws attention to them , Luckily mine is easily covered up by a long sleeve top.

It was only after doing all this that I read the full leaflet including cautions. The cautions say this should not be used on birthmarks, hairy moles, or on cuts and grazes. It should also not be used with people with cuts and grazes, and people who suffer from a few problems outlined in the leaflet should seek medical advice before using . The leaflet also states that this should not be used on the face or armpits.

I'd already applied it to mine by that point, but I did phone up my GP and ask if this was safe for me to use, as I wasn't entirely sure if the location of my wart would actually count as an armpit wart or not . My Gp advised me I would be fine to continue using the product, so I carried on.

It took at least two weeks before I really noticed much difference, with the wart reducing in size a little and the skin of the area having a slightly smoother appearance . It took about six weeks for it to disappear almost completely, with only a small patch of slightly darker skin remaining. After another two weeks, the small darkened patch of skin is still there, so I imagine my wart has vanished as much as it is going to, but I am very pleased with the difference and no longer feel it stands out when I wear a sleeveless top.

Overall, I would recommend Salactol for the treatment of warts, although I would stress that is is important to read the insturctions and cautions first. I would also stress that should you get a lump that might be a wart, it may be worth getting it checked out by your GP just in case it is a symptom of something more serious, but please don't scare yourself silly on google like I did!

4 stars - does what it's meant to do, but stinks.