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• Method 1 of 2: Treat mosaic warts with home remedies
• Method 2 of 2: Get professional help

Mosaic warts, or clumps of plantar warts that build up under the skin, can be very painful and difficult to treat. Sometimes they are mistaken for calluses on the feet. That is why it is important to get a doctor to determine if you have plantar and mosaic warts so that you can treat them appropriately. There are several ways to treat mosaic and plantar warts with home remedies and professional medical treatments.

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Method 1 of 2: Treat mosaic warts with home remedies

1. Have a doctor determine that you have plantar warts. Before using any home remedies to treat your warts, it is important to verify that the areas on the skin that you suspect are warts are actually plantar warts or mosaic warts. An accurate diagnosis can help you develop the best treatment plan and ensure that you do not damage your skin by performing unnecessary treatments.
   • A doctor can make a diagnosis by examining your warts.
2. Let the warts heal without treatment. Plantar warts often go away on their own without treatment. If the mosaic warts don't hurt, consider letting them heal without treatment.
   • Mosaic warts form on the feet and are often very painful. It's probably best to treat them as soon as possible.
   • The only way to keep the mosaic warts from coming back is to make sure they are completely removed.
   • If you decide not to treat your wart, it is important to understand that you can pass it on to other people. Plantar warts are very contagious.
3. Apply salicylic acid to the wart. Salicylic acid, the active ingredient in aspirin, is an over-the-counter remedy that can be applied to warts to remove them. Salicylic acid is available in a variety of forms, such as gels, liquids, and even patches.
   • You can purchase salicylic acid remedies to treat plantar warts at most drugstores and many supermarkets.
   • Apply salicylic acid to your warts every day after soaking your foot to soften the warts. This treatment shouldn't hurt.
   • It may take several weeks for a treatment with salicylic acid to work and the warts to be removed.
   • Only use salicylic acid on your skin. If you get it in your eyes, in your nose, or in your mouth, rinse it off immediately with water.
   • Salicylic acid is not a good remedy for people with neuropathy, because the anesthetic makes it difficult to determine whether the skin tissue is damaged.
4. Cover the warts with duct tape. Doctors aren't sure why this home remedy works, but covering your mosaic warts with duct tape can help treat and remove them. In between treatments, file the layers of dead skin off the wart with a foot file.
   • Apply the duct tape to the wart itself and let the tape sit for six days.
   • When you remove the duct tape, file away the dead layers of the wart with a foot file or a pumice stone. You can get these at the drugstore.
   • Expose the wart to air for 12 hours after filing away the dead skin layers. Then apply a new piece of duct tape.
   • Continue applying duct tape and filing away dead skin layers until the wart is completely gone.
5. Freeze the warts with over-the-counter remedies. Cryotherapy, or using an agent that freezes the warts, can also be effective in treating and removing the warts. Such over-the-counter remedies can be painful and present other dangers.
   • You can buy wart freeze products at most drugstores and some grocery stores.
   • Freezing is a safe method of treating warts if you use it according to the directions on the package. The risk is minimal, but the freezing can hurt.
   • Wart freeze products can be flammable and should not be used near fire, flames, and heat sources such as curling irons and lit cigarettes.
   • Wart freezes are not ideal for treating warts in children, as the process can be too painful for them.
6. Exfoliate the skin on the wart. Removing the dead or dying skin on a wart can help the wart heal faster, especially if you don't use other remedies. Use a pumice stone, emery file, or foot file to gently remove the layers of dead or dying skin from a wart.
   • It is important that you carefully file away the skin on or around the wart. If you don't, you can damage your skin and possibly spread the warts to other parts of the affected area.
7. Use a vitamin C paste. Grind 4 to 5 vitamin C tablets and make a paste to apply to the warts. This very acidic mixture can help dissolve the warts and fight the virus that causes warts.
   • You can buy Vitamin C tablets at most drugstores and health food stores.
   • Mix the crushed tablets with distilled water and dab the paste on your warts. Cover the area with a band-aid or duct tape.
8. Apply a vinegar compress. Soak a cotton ball or bandage in vinegar and apply it to your skin using a band-aid or elastic tape. Performing this treatment daily can help dissolve your wart.
   • It doesn't matter what kind of vinegar you use, although most sources recommend apple cider vinegar.
   • Leave the compress on your skin for one to two hours daily.
9. Prevent the warts from spreading. One of the best ways to treat warts is to avoid getting them. There are several methods of preventing the virus from spreading, from wearing the right shoes to not picking at the warts.
   • Avoid touching the plantar warts as much as possible and wash your hands after applying any remedies to your warts.
   • Wash and dry your feet daily and put on clean shoes and socks every day.
   • Wear shoes and sandals in places like the pool and gym where you have a high risk of getting warts.
   • Do not pick on the warts, as this can spread the virus that causes warts.
10. If home remedies don't work, see your doctor. If your mosaic warts don't go away with home remedies or get worse, see your doctor. You may need a stronger treatment such as laser treatment to get rid of the warts completely.

Method 2 of 2: Get professional help

1. Talk to your doctor about professional treatment options. If your warts do not go away with home remedies or you choose to have your warts removed by your doctor, talk to him or her about the different treatment options. This way you can ensure that you get the most effective and least invasive treatment that hurts the least.
2. Get topical treatment. Your doctor may decide to treat your warts topically with a mixture of cantharidin and salicylic acid. This yields results within a week to several months.
   • Your doctor will apply the mixture to the wart itself and cover it with a bandage.
   • The treatment will cause a blister to form under the wart, which can cause the wart to come loose.
   • Cantharidin is painless when administered, but often starts to hurt after 24 hours.
3. Freeze the wart with liquid nitrogen. Your doctor may choose to freeze your wart with liquid nitrogen. This treatment works in a similar way to over-the-counter cryotherapy. Liquid nitrogen treatment can be painful and the wart has to be treated several times.
   • Your doctor will apply the liquid nitrogen directly to the wart. As with cantharidin, a blister will form underneath the wart, helping to separate the wart.
4. Use a chemical peel to remove the wart. Your doctor may choose a chemical peel to treat your wart. He or she can administer this medicine at the practice or give it to you so that you can apply it yourself at home.
   • In general, your doctor will use a higher concentration of salicylic acid to remove the wart than you can buy at the store.
5. Cut away the wart and apply acid. This is often a very painful treatment where the doctor cuts away the surface of the wart and applies di- or trichloroacetic acid to the affected area. You will need to see your doctor regularly for this type of treatment.
   • You will need to see your doctor weekly for treatment if you choose this method.
   • Your doctor may ask you to apply salicylic acid to the wart between treatments.
   • Cutting the wart and applying acid can cause the skin to burn, which can be very painful.
6. Get laser therapy. If you develop warts or do not come off very quickly, your doctor can treat them with laser therapy. Laser treatment burns out tiny blood vessels, causing the infected tissue to die and the wart to fall off the skin.
   • There is little evidence that laser therapy works effectively.
   • Laser treatments can be painful and scarring. Therefore, they are often used as a last resort to treat warts.
7. Get immunotherapy. Your doctor may try immunotherapy if other medical treatments aren't helping your warts heal. Your doctor can inject your warts with antigens or apply creams to them.
   • The goal of immunotherapy is to stimulate your immune system to kill the wart.
   • Immunotherapy can be painful and scarring. This treatment is performed less often than other treatments.