Buy Cantharidin For Warts

Of all the common skin conditions, patients often cite warts as one of the most troublesome and undesirable. A wart is a viral infection of the skin. While generally harmless, warts can grow on nearly any part of the body. On the face and tops of the hands, warts are raised. On the soles of the feet, the tissue becomes thickened from the pressure of standing and the warts (called plantar warts) are flatter. Warts have a rough surface on which tiny, dark dots can often be seen.

buy cantharidin for warts

Two of the easiest and most frequently used methods of getting rid of a wart are topical salicylic acid treatments and cryosurgery (freezing the wart off using liquid nitrogen). There are, however, some warts that resist both treatments. In these cases, there is another option for eliminating the wart: Cantharidin.

Cantharidin is an odorless and colorless chemical derived from blister beetles. In nature, male blister beetles secret cantharidin during mating. The female blister beetle then uses the secretion to cover her eggs in order to protect them from predators. (Source)

When topically applied to a wart, cantharidin causes controlled blistering underneath the skin. It also triggers the release of an enzyme which breaks the bonds that hold skin cells together. Eventually the blistering below the wart combined with a deterioration of cellular adhesion causes the wart to become detached and peel off.

Cantharidin is a very effective wart treatment, often working well on warts that resist other treatments. The application of cantharidin is less painful than surgical excision and there is no scarring, making it a great option for young children or on warts that appear on highly visible areas.

The side effects of wart removal via cantharidin are typically mild and can include tingling, itching, or burning sensation around the treatment area over the first few hours after being applied. Since cantharidin can cause breaks in the skin, infection is possible, but extremely uncommon if the site is properly cared for and kept clean. The skin may also feel tender for 2-5 days following treatment. During this period some patients may find it painful to apply direct pressure on the area being treated. We encourage patients to discuss the potential for pain with their dermatologist prior to undergoing a cantharidin treatment.

I had several planters warts removed The foot dr cut them out with out numbing me then applied this medicine. It has been almost a week now and the pain has been awful and I have developed a staph infection in both my feet

Cantharidin is a substance derived from the blister beetle Cantharis vesicatoria. The Chinese have used this ancient medicine for thousands of years for a number of maladies. In the 1950's it was used in the US and other westernised countries to treat warts. However, in 1962 due to new manufacturing regulations, it lost its US Food and Drug Administration (FDA approval) and was removed from the market. This saw a decline in its use until recently where it cantharidin being re-evaluated as a viral wart remover that doesn't cause scarring.

Cantharidin is a vesicant that causes a blister to form on the wart or growth. This action lifts the wart off the skin and after a few days when the blister has dried the wart will come off. The action of cantharidin does not go beyond the epidermal cells, the basal layer remains intact hence no scarring. Cantharidin is sometimes effective in treating common viral warts and is very frequently effective for molluscum contagiosum. Both are viral skin infections that result in small, benign lesions.

Usually, the application of cantharidin on a skin lesion is not painful but the resulting blister can sometimes be uncomfortable. In a small number of patients, a ring of small satellite warts surrounding an original viral wart may appear after cantharidin treatment. However, this complication can just as likely occur with other wart removal therapies.

There is the possibility of complications occurring if used to treat plantar warts on the soles of the feet. Isolated reports of inflammation of lymph vessels (lymphangitis) and cellulitis have been documented.

Cantharidin is a naturally occurring odorless, colorless fatty substance of the terpenoid class that is produced as an oral fluid in the alimentary canal of the male blister beetle 1,2. For its natural purpose, the male blister beetle secretes and presents the cantharidin to a female beetle as a copulatory gift during mating. Post-copulation, the female beetle places the cantharidin over her eggs as protection against any potential predators.

Available synthetically since the 1950s, topical applications of cantharidin have been used predominantly as a treatment for cutaneous warts since that time 1,2. In 1962 however, marketers of cantharidin failed to produce sufficient efficacy data, resulting in the FDA revision of approval of cantharidin 2.

Today, topical cantharidin products do not necessarily demonstrate any particular better effectiveness at treating topical skin conditions like warts than other commonly available vesicant and/or keratolytics although various studies have also investigated the possibility of using cantharidin as an inflammatory model or in cancer treatment 2. Regardless, the onging lack of FDA approval is likely related to certain toxic effects that were observed following oral ingestion, which includes ulceration of the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts, along with electrolyte and renal function disturbance in humans and animals 1.

The only therapeutic use for which cantharidin is currently primarily indicated for is as an active ingredient in topical agents for treating common warts (verruca vulgaris), periungual warts, plantar warts, and molluscum contagiosum 1,2,8.

At the same time, such topical cantharidin applications have also been used for a number of off-label indications like callus removal, cutaneous leishmaniasis, herpes zoster, and acquired perforating dermatosis 2. Furthermore, since most topical cantharidin applications are most commonly available in a 0.7% formulation or a more potent 1% mixture, the 0.7% formulation is most commonly indicated for the treatment of common warts, periungual warts, and molluscum contagiosum while the more potent 1% mixture is typically limited only for use by healthcare professionals in a clinical setting for treating plantar warts and other more specialized off-label conditions 1,2,8.

Moreover, there have also been studies into whether or not cantharidin could be effective at being used as an inflammatory model or in cancer treatment - either of which has yet to formally elucidate any results 2.

Cantharidin is a natural toxin produced by the blistering beetle that possesses both vesicant (blistering) and keratolytic effects 1,2. The substance elicits these effects by inducing acantholysis (loss of intercellular connections) through the targeting of the desmosomal dense plaque, resulting in the detachment of the desmosomes from the tonofilaments 1,2. Cantharidin's effectiveness against warts is proposed to be a result of the exfoliation of the wart body as a consequence of the compound's acantholytic action 8. This acantholytic action generally does not go beyond the epidermal cells so that the basal layer remains intact and minimal effect occurs on the corium 8. There is consequently no scarring from the topical application of cantharidin 8.

Cantharidin is specifically absorbed by lipids in the membrane of epidermal keratinocytes, where it activates the release of neutral serine proteases 1,2. These enzymes subsequently break the peptide bonds in surrounding proteins, leading to the progressive degeneration of desmosomal dense plaques, which are important cellular structures that participate in cell-to-cell adhesion 1,2. Such degeneration results in the detachment of the tonofilaments that hold cells together. This process as a whole leads to the selective acantholysis (loss of cellular connections) and blistering of the skin when the cantharidin topical application is applied upon specific topical developments like warts 1,2. A blister(s) at the application site develop within 24 to 48 hours of application and typically resolve within 4 to 7 days 1,2. Factors that can modify this proposed time frame include the volume or concentration of cantharidin used, physical contact time of the applied compound (usually between 4 to 24 hours), the presence of any occlusive dressings, or even patient sensitivity to cantharidin 1,2. The blistered lesions ultimately heal without scarring 1,2.

Finally, there are some studies that suggest cantharidin's chemical profile as a potent and selective inhibitor of protein phosphatase 2A confers upon it an oxidative stress-independent growth inhibition of pancreatic cancer cells through cancer cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis 3.

Nevertheless, the fact that little data regarding the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of cantharidin in the human body exists 5 and certain toxic effects of cantharidin that have been observed following oral ingestion in humans like ulceration of the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts, along with electrolyte and renal function disturbance 1 are strong reasons as to why the compound currently lacks FDA approval is used fairly limitedly for formal therapeutic indications.

Little pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic data regarding cantharidin in the human body currently exists; recruitment for First-Time-In-Human clinical trials regarding such information have been ongoing in 2018 5. There are however some studies regarding such data in animal models like beagle dogs 4.

After oral or IP injection of (3)H-labeled cantharidin, high levels of radioactivity distributed to and were exhibited in the bile, kidney, liver, stomach, and tumor cells of ascites hepatoma-bearing mice 6. Such distribution suggests the agent has an affinity for liver and tumor tissues 6. 041b061a72