Facewart Funtime

February 4, 2013 6:38 PM

I have a little wart on my face next to my nose. It's only pimple-sized but has been there for almost a year or so and won't quit on its own. It's not very noticeable but I want to get rid of it and as far as I know freeze-burning in the fastest way to get these things off. But sometimes they are stubborn and need multiple hits of the nitrogen gun. Will doing this freeze-burning thing leave me with noticeable marks on my face the next day, or even scars?
posted by moorooka to health & fitness (12 answers total)

You are likely to have a red mark the next day, and could get a scar. The chance of this would be lessened by going to a dermatologist, as they ate usually pretty delicate with these things. I once had a wary burned off my eyebrow, and the doc used a nitrogen soaked qtip instead of the gun.
posted by OmieWise at 6:46 PM on February 4 [1 favorite]

I had a bunch of warts all over my face when I was younger and once my dermatologist found what he called "the source" wart, he was able to freeze off all the warts with the knowledge that they'd never come back. I have no scars, but since one wart was in my eyebrow, I have a little patch of skin where hair doesn't grow there and that's a little lame. Go to a derm and have them do it so they can prescribe anti-scar creams and stuff.
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 6:48 PM on February 4 [2 favorites]

Sorry, my answer was such a non answer. Next day I had little red marks. Day after that everything was completely gone. I had a lot of deep warts too.
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 6:55 PM on February 4 [1 favorite]

Can't speak to the scars, but you will most definitely have a noticeable mark the next day...or six.
posted by bricoleur at 6:56 PM on February 4 [1 favorite]

Get thee to a doctor or dermatologist for a skin check first, if you haven't already inquired about it. About ten years ago I grew a pimple-sized raised white mole on my face near my nose that the dermatologist said would leave a bigger scar if I had it removed - but it's carefully watched while I'm stuck with it because it's atypical. I've also had skin checks all over, every year, because I've had some pre-cancerous growths. Make sure it's a wart before you mess with it.
posted by peagood at 7:08 PM on February 4 [2 favorites]

Two years ago I developed 2 warts on my face (cheek and near mouth). I went to my skin doctor and he burned both of them off. The one on the cheek grew back so he hit it again and it finally went away. There is no scar of any kind where the warts used to be. But for the week or so after the burn the spots turned red and then shriveled up and fell off. It is an ugly scene for that one week but then you should be good to go.
posted by Seymour Zamboni at 7:10 PM on February 4 [1 favorite]

Totally depends. I had warts on my legs and hands for years that were incredibly stubborn. Neither freezing nor burning worked and they both left scars. The thing that destroyed them for good was ten sessions with a tattoo-removing laser. No scars! Ask your dermatologist if that's an option.
posted by nickhb at 7:28 PM on February 4 [1 favorite]

I agree with peagood. If this is a new wart, definitely have it checked by a dermatologist before you go burning it off. There are serious skin conditions that can look like a simple wart to the untrained eye, and some of those can be exacerbated by OTC treatments.
posted by Brody's chum at 7:32 PM on February 4 [3 favorites]

Your skin color will affect the short term and potentially long term outcome: I'm olive skinned and the freezing treatment leaves with me with a bright pink dot that is much less pigmented than the surrounding skin. The dot eventually (months) browns back up and blends in so long as I'm extra cautious about sun exposure. If not, the dot will brown up darker than the surrounding skin and stays for years and years. Definitely see a derm who understands POC skin if you're in that category.
posted by jamaro at 7:35 PM on February 4 [1 favorite]

I had a dermatologist freeze off a couple of warts on my hands. The result was huge, painful purple blisters. I didn't think I had supersensitive skin or anything. (Freezing also did not kill them; OTC salicylic acid treatment did, but ymmv with warts.)
posted by purpleclover at 8:27 PM on February 4 [1 favorite]

Not a precise answer to your question... but: In my case it was also next to my nose, and sort of close to the eye. Dermatologist first tried liquid nitrogen (I assume that's the burning it off approach) saying that it should fall off within a few days. It didn't fall off, so she cut it off aided by an assistant holding a shield over the eye, and sent it out for biopsy to ensure that it was a wart. No scar or mark that I can detect, but I'm an old guy with old though still fairly smooth skin.

Since my dermo couldn't be sure by direct observation that it was a wart, might be a good idea in your case to have it professionally checked out.
posted by Kevin S at 4:38 AM on February 5 [1 favorite]

I have the misfortune of warts on feet (and one on a finger). The doc freezes with a little spray can of some mixture, then cuts. I've taken to doing them myself. The results vary.

The finger wart was horribly stubborn, and had to be cut until it bled, before it finally gave up. Another on my foot did the same. Doing it myself, I'm not cutting that deep, and the jury is out on my results. I found a tiny one on a toe, and managed to damage the surrounding area (big blister), but it appears to be gone (still healing). Another one I did destroy, while a third I just treated again for a third time.

Yea, cutting yourself is rather advanced and not advised for most folks. Certainly not on your face! I'm extremely dependent on walking for my health, and can't wait around for the doc to have time to play with my feet. My GP doesn't seem to appreciate this, and I'm probably going to fire him, but that's another matter. (the reason the toe got a burn was because I wasn't willing to try to cut a wart that was pinhead in size).

Oh, another thing that is helpful when treating warts: Wipe the area down with something that kills virus afterwards. Like Betadine. The damn things are caused by the infernal HPV.
posted by Goofyy at 5:37 AM on February 5 [1 favorite]