Lemon dipped in vinegar, a treatment for warts? the Rumor Detector searched the scientific literature to see if this treatment had really been tested.
In some people, infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) leads to the emergence of plantar warts, that is, skin lesions under the feet. “Homemade” treatments abound on the web, including the application of a littlelemon peel macerated in vinegar for about a week.
Lemon, a super-ingredient? Not proven
We must first remember that studies have shown that lemon has antimicrobial properties.
But the scientific literature is silent on the effect of lemon or lemon juice on warts. A scientific article sometimes cited on natural remedy sites dates actually from 1966…and doesn’t even mention that this homemade treatment works! Rather, it reads, “These natural methods like applying lemon juice are not to be despised, since these occupy the patient in a harmless way until the problem resolves itself naturally.”
The power of vinegar? Not proven
Could it rather be vinegar which, in the proposed solution, would have a curative action?
Vinegar is indeed antibacterial. But no studies have been done on the effectiveness of vinegar or apple cider vinegar in treating warts. popular logic is that this acid would destroy the tissue of the wart, much like salicylic acid does. This last ingredient is the basis of a treatment against warts, widespread and sold in pharmacies, and whose effect modest has been attested among others in a revue Cochrane. others studies scattered noted the slightly positive effect of vinegar on warts… but sometimes in combination with l’excision of the wart.
In the end, plantar warts remain very difficult to treat, and no major progress has not been carried out for several decades, summarized in 2021 four researchers at the end of a review of the literature on the subject. However, it is not for lack of having tried to innovate: cryotherapy, “duct tape”, pulsed laser, salicylic acid, immunotherapy, and even hypnosis… multiple treatments against warts are offered, but their effects vary according to patients and none is satisfactorily effective, even when they have been rigorously tested — which is not always the case. Warts generally disappear on their own within the first two years (in 65 to 78% of cases), but the lesions are often treatment resistantand reappear periodically.
Verdict
No wart treatment is 100% effective. If Grandma’s remedy of lemon peel and vinegar seems to work, maybe it’s the result of destruction mechanics of the tissues of the wart by the acid of the vinegar.