The nurse is working with the family of a child who is bothered by a wart and tends to pick at it. The family has been trying to remove the wart with a nonprescription product

Question

The nurse assesses to see if the family is using the correct technique with a topical agent such as Duofilm, Mediplast, or Trans-plantar to treat the wart. Which of the following statements by the family would indicate correct technique? a. "We used an emery board to sand the wart, soaked it in warm water, applied the medication, and then dry, reapplied it to cover the whole wart."
b. "We put the topical agent on the wart and covered it with an Elastoplast bandage wrapped with an Ace bandage to prevent picking."
c. "We cut the wart off, applied the medication, and left it open to the air."
d. "We applied a strong vinegar solution and then applied the medication."

Answer 1

A

Feedback
A Correct. First-line therapies include application of topical agents. Preparations such as Duofilm, Occlusal, Duoplant, Trans-Plantar, and Mediplast are available without prescription. The affected area is debrided with an emery board or pumice stone and then soaked in warm water to soften the keratin layer. The medication is applied, allowed to dry, and the reapplied as necessary to cover the entire wart. The solution may be applied once or twice daily until the wart has been removed.
B Incorrect. Assessing the technique for wart removal using nonprescription products, the nurse will know that application without softening the keratin layer is not the most effective method.
C Incorrect. Assessing the technique for wart removal using nonprescription products, the nurse will know that cutting the wart off before applying the medication is not the best approach.
D Incorrect. Assessing the technique for wart removal using nonprescription products, the nurse will know that the use of vinegar is not necessary and the acid in the vinegar may interact with the nonprescription product in a nonefficacious manner.