Once summoned, how do I make Beetlejuice go away?

August 3, 2015 6:26 PM

mrs. mmascolino had a dermatologist apply Cantharidin* to a very stubborn wart that she has right above her heel. The doctor suggested that it would hurt for 4 hours or so and to take some Acetaminophen. She is on her third round of drugs and it is 11+ hours since her dermatologist appointment and foot is still in a decent amount of pain. Is there anything we can do (ice, heat, etc.) that would help in the short term but wouldn't prevent the treatment from working?

*Apparently Cantharidin is made from the juices excreted by beetles.If saying it three times makes Beetlejuice come, what can we do to make him go away?

posted by mmascolino to Health & Fitness (11 answers total)

If your acetaminophen is not caplets but in standard pill form, you can grind up a couple of the pills, mix them with a tiny bit of water to make a paste and apply it directly to the sore spot. Mind you, I have no idea what effect that'll have on the beetle juice.
posted by wabbittwax at 6:52 PM on August 3, 2015

Acetaminophen is dangerous in large doses. Taking more than 8 "extra strength" Tylenol in 24 hours is enough to endanger the liver. I'd call the dermatologist's office and ask the answering service to have the doctor call you back.
posted by wnissen at 7:57 PM on August 3, 2015 [4 favorites]

Ice would numb the area without neutralizing the acid. If it feels unusual based on the advice, call the doc for an after-hours consult in the off-chance that something is amiss. I've only had liquid, um, nitrogen? On the bottom of my foot and recall blistering and discomfort for a week, and the irritating agent evaporated. Over the counter Acid treatments help when they stay on long enough to damage & kill the virus, but heels might be more tender than more calloused areas of the foot.
posted by childofTethys at 8:00 PM on August 3, 2015

I had warts burned off the palm of my hand with liquid nitrogen. The pain was intense (i.e., far too intense to be mitigated by over the counter painkillers) for 24 hours. I recall I wasn't able to sleep easily.

At around the age of 30 or so I had a large growth surgically removed from my finger. Even though I had prescription painkillers, the pain was pretty intense for 24 hours.

I would try an ice pack, although it seems unlikely a home remedy is going to help with nerve pain.
posted by Nevin at 8:20 PM on August 3, 2015

I had some strange persistent warts (diagnosed as verrucae and contracted from someone who had just come back from a wildlife viewing trip to Africa) which had spread to all my cuticles and had resisted two liquid nitrogen treatments. I went to a new doctor who applied Cantharidin.

My fingertips swelled and purpled til they looked like plums and were shockingly painful, and were still extremely painful when I made the mistake of going to work the next day. The pain didn't subside completely until the swelling did, but it was all almost worth it merely for the glorious pleasure of peeling away those masses of bloody skin a week later.

A doctor who thought the pain would go away in 4 hours must never have had the treatment.
posted by jamjam at 8:38 PM on August 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

Generally, using an NSAID like ibuprofen or naproxen in combination with Tylenol is about as much as a person can do over the counter for pain relief, aside from topical pain relievers.

I don't think you need to worry about messing with the treatment - what's done is done by this point, the cantharidin should be gone. I'm no dermatologist, but this detailed and interesting review article on its use says it should be washed off generally 4 hours (max 6 hours) from application, per physician instructions. It also states that "In our experience, pain ...[is] exceedingly rare when these guidelines are followed... When cantharidin is used appropriately, complications are exceedingly rare. Mild to moderate pain....may result. " (Note that this is just general guidelines on the use of cantharidin and may not be what your procedure involved)

If you have questions about what pain relief is appropriate for you or whether you are experiencing a complication from the procedure, calling the on call physician for the dermatologist's office is your best move.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 8:48 PM on August 3, 2015 [2 favorites]

What hurts, in my experience with canthariden, is the swelling and blister. Once you've washed the area, the beetle stuff is gone, but the reaction lasts a lot longer. It's been a while since I used it, but I recall it hurting for a day or so. I never tried any pain medications for it since it was never worse than a bad post-hiking blister for me.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:55 PM on August 3, 2015

Cantharidin is Spanish Fly.
posted by brujita at 4:09 AM on August 4, 2015

Response by poster: Trust me brujita, there was absolutely no sexual healing involved. We made it through a restless night of sleep and she is going to try ice/call the doctor today if things continue to be bad.
posted by mmascolino at 5:19 AM on August 4, 2015 [1 favorite]

If cantharidin is the same stuff they used on a wart on the sole of my foot once when I was a kid, oh man, you're in for a couple days of pain. I was afraid of the liquid nitrogen so they painted this stuff on, and it turned into a huge green blister that was just agony. Never again. I'm sorry, mmascolino.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:39 AM on August 4, 2015

Response by poster: Thanks for everyone for their help. She called the dermatologist and they recommended that she drain the blister after 24 hours. That helped immensely. Now there is only a dull tender pain rather than the big painful throbbing.
posted by mmascolino at 6:28 AM on August 5, 2015