In this thread there is a discussion of the liquid propellant that is used for “Canned air” and it’s boiling points, etc, and how it comes out at -26 degrees celcius. i.e., really friggen cold. I don’t have any warts handy for experimentation at the moment, but I have had them in the past, and the docs froze the off with liquid nitro or some such cold liquid. Could I eschew the doctors office next time and instead run up to Office Max with a que tip?
They now make a product specifically for that purpose. Wartner Wart Removal System. Dunno if canned air can acheive the same effect.
I would think the temperature is not low enough, not to mention that you would have to aim carefully and not freeze more than necessary. OTOH you can use a soldering iron.
Yes. It works, but requires multiple (painful) applications. I’ve applied it directly from the can (carefully) and also with Q-tips. The liquid can cause permanent discoloration of surrounding tissue. I don’t recommend it.
Yes, I was playing doctor. Don’t ask.
I will. Did you have a “nurse” assist you?
Well, you admitted you were playing doctor! It kinda goes without saying … 
permanent discolouration? What colour? Lighter? Darker? Green?
That’s nothing compared to liquid nitrogen, which boils at about -200 celcius. (Though I don’t think doctors apply liquid nitrogen directly to the skin - do they?)
I’ve tried it.
Never had guts enough to complete the procedure though.
It does hurt.
I used “Freeze Mist” used by electronic repair people to find heat sensitive parts.
I believe its CO2 though.
I just sprayed it on using the long nozzle. You know ,the one like on the WD40 can that you always lose.
I’ve had liquid nitrogen applied directly to my toes, to freeze off a verruca … the procedure, as I recall it, went something like:
- technician bloke drags in huge steaming Dewar flask full of liquid nitrogen.
- doctor inserts swab-type thing, like a very long Q-tip, into flask.
- business end of swab-type thing, having acquired a coating of liquid nitrogen, is then applied to my toes.
- brief moment of calm before the sensation hits.
- I squeak, gibber, grimace with pain, and cry like a little girl.
This was quite a few years ago, it’s possible the procedure’s changed.
You can go the opposite route and use heat. Skin burns at 117 degrees F. Warts don’t like heat. Soak it in 115 degree water and it will go away. I heard this on Dr. Dean Adell’s (sp) radio show.
Sorry for the late postings, but I was on vacation & missed these questions.
No, but I didn’t use it only on myself…
Hyperpigmentation, so very dark, and not on each spot, only on a couple.
BTW, I’ve also used liquid nitrogen for the same purpose, and I highly recommend it – far superior.
For those of you who aren’t into pain, here’s a tip: Take a job as a goldfish-bagger. Seriously. I did this for a week when the Ekka (travelling show here in Brisbane) was in town. I started with warts on my thumbs. I ended up wart-free.
Fish water. Several hours a day, for about a week.
Really.
Max
Yes, it works quite well. I’ve used it on a tiny wart on my thumb, and on my daughter’s giant warts, and it works – I’ve never noticed any discoloration, but then again I’ve only done it on five warts total, so that’s not a very big sample.
On myself, I put a several pieces of duct tape on my thumb around the wart, with tiny holes cut out over the wart itself, to insulate the surrounding skin. Then I sprayed directly onto the wart for a minute or so. It was painful, but not too bad (and I don’t have a high pain threshold at all).
For my daughter, I used the commercially available wart freezing product, which is essentially like the Q-tip method that Danalan mentioned, although they use special foam-like applicators rather than Q-tips. And when the can of freeze-off liquid they supplied ran out, I checked the contents label and verified that it was the same stuff that my regular “canned air” was (tetrafluoroethane) and just used canned air as a substitute.
It’s just this kind of scientific goofy threat to life and limb that I’ve grown to expect and admire from the denizens of the SDMB. Honest, if I had a wart, I’d be reporting the results. Thanks.
Band name!
-Joe, follower
I have had it applied to… my penis.
I’ve had a verucca removed with liquid nitrogen too.
I was in agony, I was only about ten at the time, the best age for picking veruccas up from the mandatory school swimming lessons. Within a few weeks of the treatment, I’d got another one.
GAH! Fnergel! Gah! OWWWWWW owwwie owwie owwie!whimper
Now I’ll be reading with my legs crossed.
I’m somehow skeptical. -26 celsius is cold… but not THAT cold. It’s a temperature at which people still go out and function in the middle of winter. And I don’t recall any warts dropping off after being outside for a minute.
-26 is a temperature at which you’d go out and function, but only without exposed skin - it’s DAMNED cold. Frostbite occurs at, what, -30 celsius?