The idea is that the tape irritates the area enough that your body's immune system pays attention and attacks the virus that causes the wart.

When I had a plantar wart, Compound W worked. But this is the herbal forum....

Please see my post at:
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/herbal/msg1221484626372.html

Good luck, let me know how you make out....

I was looking for something to help with plantar warts and wanted to get opinions on the use of this product (found on ebay) since I am starting to look into alternative/complimentary therapies. (I am in no way connected to this company--just curious about educated opinions on the ingredients and their use for this purpose.) It is a salve called Bio-T and contains the following: water, black walnut, burdock, turmeric, white willow bark, olive leaf extract, mineral salts. It claims to stimulate the immune response to engage the body's natural defense mechanisms against the wart virus.

I would give a link to the ebay listing, and/or the company website, but I think this isn't allowed on GardenWeb. Hopefully this is enough information to get some opinions about the potential effectiveness of this product.

Thanks!

--Orena

Among the claims made for this salve, the company says "Bio-T will safely eliminate moles, warts and skin cancers."

They go on to say "I BELIEVE that Bio-T can assist the body in eliminating other viral driven diseases, but I do not KNOW this for certain...I will not sell Bio-T if I know that you are using it in an attempt to eliminate a malignant cancer".

So first they claim Bio-T cures skin cancers, then caution that they don't want you to use it on a "malignant" cancer. The company apparently is unaware that all cancers are malignant by definition. Alarmingly, they also suggest using their product on dysplastic moles (which are lesions that might develop into malignant melanoma). In any case there's no real evidence Bio-T works on benign or or malignant skin lesions.

The product is claimed to contain willow bark extract, so it's possible there's some salicylic acid in it - only it's doubtful it'd be strong enough to work on warts. You can obtain salicylic acid plasters which gradually dissolve away warts, and which are known to be effective (as well as being a plant-based remedy).

I appreciate your taking the time to offer an opinion. I too, am a bit skeptical, but since the drugstore brands don't seem to be helping (after three months) I was looking for something as a last resort before having them removed by a doctor. I've read that even if they are removed from the surface, they can regrow. I got the impression that this product prompts the immune system to attack the virus, which would seem to be more effective at getting ALL of it, from the inside out, so to speak.

I've also read about using tea tree or lemon essential oil, and may try that with duct tape. The penny as mentioned in another post is an interesting concept too since there's a boatload of discussion out there about the effects of copper and silver on bacteria and viruses. (So much that I just get confused... :)

I have such ambivalent feelings about so many of these potential remedies that haven't been "proven" with clinical trials. On one hand, many of them probably do work, but it is such an expensive hassle to get proper clinical trials done. On the other hand, I'm sure some are just snake oil that may have worked (or acted as a placebo) for some, but for most do nothing or actually harm. The person selling this product has a lot of mostly excellent feedback, so that's a good sign, but certainly nothing to trust. I'm just grateful that this is a relatively benign malady and I'm not currently trolling the internet for alternative cures for something more serious...

Although I can't even say that either. I've done scads of research on alternative (including herbal) therapies for depression, ADD, PMS, and other fairly serious mood/behavior disorders since conventional allopathic medicine has failed my family miserably in this area. There is just so much to learn it's overwhelming! And the one MD I've found in my area who has a serious interest in complimentary therapies doesn't take my insurance. Another discussion altogether there. Ah well.
Thanks again.

The idea of salves promoted to eliminate skin cancers is a very dangerous one we've talked about in this forum before (another example is caustic bloodroot salves). Even if a superficial cancer can be burned away (with the risk of severe scarring), there's no way to know if residual deeper tumor you can't see is still there and can spread or metastasize. The makers of "Bio-T" appear to be placing potential buyers at similar risk.

Obviously if we're dealing with warts the risk of unproven treatments is less (skin damage, allergic reactions and ineffectiveness). But since salicylic acid plasters work, I'd try them before buying a product sold by someone whose website is full of misinformation and bad advice.

Regardless, the makers of this product may be violating federal law with their promotion unless it has been properly tested and validated as a drug (the website's FAQs page promotes the product specifically for the removal of warts, skin tags and moles, which to my understanding would make it a drug, not a supplement under the law).

http://wartsplantarwarts.com/

* Removes Genital Warts, Moles, Skin Tags with 1-3 Applications