Q. Please tell me more about treating warts with Tagamet. Do you make a paste of the Tagamet and put it on the wart, or do you swallow the pills?
A. You are not the only person who wants to know about cimetidine (Tagamet) against warts. One reader wrote in:
“My husband has been going through painful sessions of freezing with liquid nitrogen & burning with acid for the last 3 months. It has not helped get rid of his warts. He is desperate to try the Tagamet. How much should he take and for how long?”
The dermatological community is often ambivalent about this approach. A review of the medical literature in the Journal of Dermatological Treatment (Feb., 2012) concluded that:
“Reviewed trials of systemic treatments for cutaneous warts were highly variable in methods and quality, and there was a paucity of evidence from randomized, placebo-controlled trials on which to base the rational use of such therapies.”
That said, there are some studies showing that when cimetidine is taken orally it can sometimes be effective against hard-to-treat warts. The dose is high, so we recommend medical supervision.
Here are some stories from visitors to this website to give you an idea of how some people respond:
“I had great success with Tagamet for my plantar warts. I am a 24-year-old female. Starting in November of 2008 I noticed 2 small warts. I went to my doctor and had them frozen off. They did not go away and then 4 more appeared.
“I went back and had them frozen again I was left with 3 after that. I went back again for the same treatment. They didn’t go away and one was growing! By then I had 3 warts, 2 small and one the size of a dime. I had them frozen off 3 to 4 more times with no success.
“I then tried using duct tape with no success and some homeopathic treatments that did not work. I then was prescribed fluorouracil 5 topical cream (chemotherapy) compounded with 30% acid. After 2 months on that they still had not gone away.
“My Doctor was about to surgically remove them which would have taken off my entire heel because of how big that one was and how close the were together. I told him no thanks and asked if there was anything else I could do.
“He told me to try Tagamet 200mg 3 times a day in combination with the chemo stuff. Three weeks later I was wart free. I noticed a difference the moment I started taking the Tagamet. It was AMAZING especially after all I had gone through to get rid of them. I do think it helped to use the combination but the Tagamet is what really kicked them.” R.S.
“I just wanted to say thanks to this site!
“My 7-year-old son had warts for almost 2.5 years. We tried everything we could to get rid of it. I can’t even describe how many painful evenings we had while applying salicylic acid on the warts.
“We went to the pediatrician every two weeks to burn the warts off but they kept coming back.
“Four weeks ago he had more than 20 warts: hands, feet, elbows, around the mouth and some of them were huge. I started getting really worried because nothing helped and it looked like 5 more were starting to grow. I bought all kinds of medications even in different countries (UK, Europe, USA) just to try. We got rid of only one wart by salicylic acid over 2.5 years!
“Exactly four weeks ago, I found this forum about Tagamet. I went to Walgreens and bought two packages. I gave him one tablet in the morning (200mg) and one in the evening with some orange juice. In two weeks: warts started to dry up. In three weeks: half of them felt off. In four weeks: we still have several left, but they are dry and ready to fell off soon.” Thank you!” Elena
“WOW! I had plantar warts on the bottom of my feet for close to 5 years. It got to the point where I didn’t wear flip flops or anything that showed my feet, which was hard because I’m a surfer, and a skateboarder.
I tried everything including tape, freezing them off, and going to the doctor to get a blister treatment to lift them off, but unfortunately nothing worked.
“Then one day the doctor decided to prescribe an experimental treatment called Tagamet to try and help. I took it for 2 1/2 months and my warts went away. I have to say this treatment is NOT experimental. It really works.”
We strongly urge anyone considering using cimetidine (Tagamet) against warts to seek medical supervision. This is especially true if the patient is a child. Cimetidine can interact with a number of medications, so it is imperative that both the physician and pharmacist double check for any possible incompatibilities.
To learn more about other wart remedies we suggest our book, Quick & Handy Home Remedies from The People’s Pharmacy. You will read stories about banana peel, garlic, Listerine, turmeric and vinegar, as well as duct tape. What works for one person may not work for someone else.
photo credit: happyfeet34 cc cropped
3/4/2018 redirected to: https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/articles/heartburn-drug-tagamet-a-last-resort-against-stubborn-warts/
