A medical-historical review of European folk medicine traditions using animals (zootherapy) to treat common skin warts, including mollusks, reptiles, spiders, insects, fish, and mammals.
Folklore wart remedies relying on zootherapy likely owe any apparent success to spontaneous remission, which occurs in up to 2/3 of cases within 2 years; suggestion and autosuggestion also play a role. Some antimicrobial compounds have recently been isolated from snails and ants.
Purely historical and descriptive review with no controlled data; outcomes of folk remedies were individualized and anecdotal, making efficacy impossible to assess rigorously.
None of the animal-based folk remedies reviewed are recommended. Clinicians should counsel patients that up to two-thirds of common warts resolve spontaneously within 2 years, which likely explains historical reports of 'cures.'
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