I caught warts when I was around 11 or 12 years old. I got quite a few of them on my hands and feet and found getting rid of them pretty hard.

One of my problems was with those on my feet. As I treated them, they shrunk to the point where I couldn’t see them anymore so I would either give up or treat the wrong spot.

The original treatment for warts came from the observation that milkmaids did not get warts on their hands- it was discovered that the lactic acid in the milk killed off the warts. This gave rise to a range of treatments based on salicylic acid. (There are of course other treatments now, such as freezing and surgical excision).

I decided that if I made my shoes acidic, I could generate the “milkmaid effect” and just kill off the warts on my feet. It seems to have worked quite well, taking a couple of months. The technique is based on Citric acid, a reasonably mild acid (89p for more that I needed!). I put 1-3 grammes (up to half a teaspoon) of acid in my shoes, without socks, and just let it work away. At first, my feet weren’t used to wearing shoes without socks (I was trying to ensure maximum effect with minimum use of acid) so they were slightly sore because of this. Any nick or cut got attacked by the acid which stings a bit, so if I was planning a long walk, I didn’t use acid shoes that day and I wore socks like normal.

Warts are able to recover from treatment at a given rate. A certain amount of treatment will prevent them growing, but to make quick progress I assumed that wearing acid shoes from waking up to going to bed was helpful, finishing the day with a shower to keep my feet clean.

I didn’t find a problem with athlete’s foot- this tends to like alkali conditions so won’t easily thrive in acid shoes.

The result is that I seem to have wart-free feet. I am not treating them and awaiting any warts that I might not have seen to grow to a size where I can see them- but so far, I seem to be free.

Naturally, I must advise you to not copy this insane scheme. i am sure that it produces many hideous and unwanted side effects such as growing a second head, mood swings etc., but it seemed to work for me.

If you do want to try it, start gently and get used to it. Use only a little acid to start with, and, until you are sure, only test it where you are able to wash your feet free of the acid and where you have spare shoes and socks available. You might well find that the acid initially disappears into the nooks and crannies of your shoes, resulting in a delay before the acidity builds up. Naturally, this will probably ruin whatever shoes you use- pick an old pair you are about to throw out.

If you try it, email me. My email name is alan, and my domain is howletts.org.uk...