My daughter...
My beautiful, sweet, amazing daughter has been repeating something a lot, lately...
"I wish I never got this plantar's wart."
Yes, the poor thing has been battling a plantar's wart (and me) since this summer. Now, I've always been under the impression that you should pick warts...they're like onions, and have layers (sorry, had to throw in the Shrek reference) that need to be picked.
So, we started our war by applying Compound W...and picking the dead stuff off...then one night, I pulled too much and a river of blood poured from her foot.
If there's anything I've never told you about my Belle, it's that she's a medical freakazoid. She FREAKS at the thought of anything that maybe, possibly, could potentially hurt a little, teeny, tiny, eensy weensy bit.
You can imagine, with the hunk I pulled off that caused that river of blood, there was a bit of pain. And tears. And sobs. And guilt. That was the end of that.
Then we started using Dr. Scholl's Plantar Wart Pads (not sure if it's their official name) and she wouldn't let me near it. Finally, one day I decided I needed to look...basically, she had a bunch of dead skin that was raised up and my guess is the little medicated pad dooly bopper thing wasn't even touching the wart.
So, I coerced her into letting me pick some more. Cue blood, tears, sweat and dirt. Minus the sweat and dirt.
Back to the pads...fast forward several months (yes, I said "months") in which she told me she had picked here and there (in which I had picked and opened up that skin several times) and I have one of my best friends over, who happens to be a Dr. She told us to forget the pads...go back to the stuff you paint on and do it, "EVERY NIGHT"!!
Well, two nights into it, Belle is saying her wart hurts more...and her foot itches. I pay it no attention, really, until I see the bright red patch of skin on the bottom of her foot, which screams "INFECTION!!!" to the nurse in me.
I calmly tell Belle that I need to pick off the dry, dead skin (even tho Dr. J said we didn't have to) and, as soon as I open it up (***GROSS WARNING HERE***) it oozes. Just a clear ooze, but ooze nonetheless.
My Belle is beginning to panic...I may, or may not have mentioned her needing some Xanax (to which my husband laughed and she looked at me like "huh?"), and I tell her that I HAVE to look at this better.
Well, I removed a sizeable portion of...stuff...and well, (***BIGGER GROSS WARNING HERE***) a glob of pus oozes out. *Gulp* (PS...it was sorta like the video I'm about to link, but on a much smaller scale. Do NOT look at this video if you have a weak stomach. I do NOT have a weak stomach, and this made me just a tad queasy. Video...)
Oh, and you can thank me now for not showing you photos of it the infected wart (ugh. Just typing that "infected wart" makes my stomach turn!), like a good blogger would. *snort*
Anyway...so, I force her to let me really investigate now (and by "investigate" I mean, get that yuck outta there!!)...I outline the red area (that's the nurse in me) and am able to remove almost all of the wart and a bunch more puss, all the while she's asking me if she can see it and I'm thinking, "How will she react to seeing a giant crater on the bottom of her foot?!"
I nonchalantly glop on some prescription antibiotic ointment that we had lying around and bandage her up before she can see it...and naively think we can start retreating the wart the next day.
Yeah, not so much. The infection appears to be clearing, but the raw, open skin that is there? Just thinking about applying some Compound W to that makes ME need a little Xanax!
So for now, we wait...until we can go back to the trenches and finish this wart off once and for all!!
Wish me luck. And toss your suggestions out. Pretty please. ("De physical appearance of de please makes no difference." Name that movie...)
Ewww! Poor kiddo. I had plantar's warts...they burned them off my feet. And, yep, it hurt! I really didn't know that wart removal was so tedious! Ugh!!
ReplyDeleteOh do I feel her pain!! I had one on the bottom of my foot when I was in highschool. Right behind my toes. I sterilized some fingernail scissors and cut the bugger off after some digging. And you guessed it, lots and lots of blood...for over an hour! It was nasty! My sister had one and she took a 15 blade from my dad's hospital (he's a vet) and cut it off. So gross!!
ReplyDeleteThat is pretty gross.
ReplyDeleteOuch! That sounds pretty painful. I have never had a wart. My niece had one on her and had it removed by a doctor.
ReplyDeleteWarts are evil!!! I had one on my hand for quite a while. I thought that was like the worst place ever to have one because it was so visible but I am thinking the bottom of the foot would be very annoying so now I am torn on that!
ReplyDeleteI'll be having a few small warts removed this year. I'm not looking forward to the removal, but will be MUCH happier when they're gone!
ReplyDeleteOh, and that's THE BEST LINE in all of Despicable Me. ;)
Oh my gosh I was reading this and having flash backs from my childhood. I think I was exactly Belle's age and I had a heck of a big plantar's wart on the bottom of my foot and it hurt like heck when I walked and played soccer (which I did a lot of). So my mom started treating it with compound W - that stuff really does work! she would put it on every night like you do and then the layers started coming off. Eventually we killed off enough layers that she could kind of dig into it and get the "roots" out. (I think she used some sterilized scissors or something). It hurt like heck and I remember crying and carrying on but once she finally got those roots out it never came back. I have quite the scar though to this day. You can get it Mama M! Just wait for it to not be so raw cause that stuff stings like heck on anything but the wart.
ReplyDeletep.s. I love puss ( i know that is weird and gross but it is one of the reasons I became a nurse) and i have watched that "biggest pimple" video multiple times because I think it is so awesome. heh...im weird i know.
OUCH....poor thing......I'd let the wound heal and then take her to the pediatrician.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in HS, the ball of my foot has hundreds of tiny plantar warts on them. Topical meds didn't work...I had to have them lazer'd twice......now that hurt but they have never come back...there. Just discovered one on the tip of my toe last night.
I had a dermatologist say to use the liquid Compound W and then cover with a piece of duct tape. You can cover that with a bandaid to disguise the tape. It takes a long time, but should eventually disappear.
ReplyDeleteOur son had one on his foot and took him to the doctor who just froze it off. He limped one day and then it was all better.
ReplyDeleteThis is gonna sound weird, but have you tried Cimetidine (Tagamet)? I know, I know! It's obviously not made to get rid of them, but it really works! I had quite a few warts as a kid, and it was the only thing that got rid of them. It takes a while, but it's much less painful than any of the other alternatives! It might be something worth looking into :)
ReplyDeleteOK... so this is going to sound weird, but it worked for me and it has worked for everyone I've recommended it to. A cotton ball, soaked in apple cider vinegar and taped over the wart will kill it. It takes 5-7 days, and it starts turning black. You just peel off the black part each morning and night and reapply the apple cider vinegar soaked cotton ball bandage. I don't know what it is about the apple cider vinegar, but it turns the warts black and kills them!
ReplyDeleteP.S. I love your blog :) I've been reading for a while but I think this is my first comment.
I had a HUGE plantar's wart on the heel of my foot when I was about her age as well. I tried everything, but I literally had it for what seemed like years. I also had them on my hands too and those medicated bandages worked for those. But when I finally went to the doctor about the huge one on my foot he put me on Tagamet HB. He said he didn't know why but that in juveniles it works for warts. It's of course over the counter now, but I don't think it was at the time. It was the only thing that finally got rid of my wart!
ReplyDelete