Fact Check: Can a Paste of Slaked Lime, Baking Soda and Water Eliminate Warts Completely?

An Instagram reel claims that a paste of slaked lime, baking soda and water eliminate warts completely. The claim by the user is False.

Claim

In an Instagram reel it is claimed that a paste of slaked lime, baking soda and water eliminate warts completely. In the reel by healthflashy, it is said that "Don’t use this ₹1 ingredient unless you want your warts to completely disappear from the root — and that too in just 1 minute! Allpaste of slaked lime, baking soda and water eliminate warts completely you need is half a teaspoon of chuna (edible lime used in paan). Add half a teaspoon of baking soda to it, and then mix in 2 to 3 drops of water. Stir it well to form a paste. Now, apply this only on the wart. Within just 2 days, the wart will dry up and fall off — and you won’t even notice it happening. So make sure to share this video as much as possible and don’t forget to follow us!"

The reel is captioned as "The Easiest Home Remedy to Remove Warts! Treat Them with Just a 1-Rupee Ingredient!"

The reel can be accessed here.

Fact Check

The claim by the user is False. There is no scientific evidence supporting the claim that a paste of slaked lime (Chuna), baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), and water can completely eliminate warts. While some traditional remedies aim to irritate or chemically burn the wart tissue, this mixture is not a medically approved or safe treatment.

What are warts?

Warts are non-cancerous skin and mucosal growths caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV).

There are over 100 types of HPV, and the virus can affect any part of the body. Warts appear in different forms, including:

• Common warts
• Genital warts
• Flat warts
• Deep warts on hands and feet (Myrmecia)
• Focal epithelial hyperplasia
• Epidermodysplasia verruciformis
• Plantar cysts

HPV spreads through direct skin contact or by touching contaminated surfaces. The risk of getting warts increases when the skin barrier is damaged (for example, by cuts or friction).

Although warts can be stubborn and hard to treat, they often go away on their own over time, usually within a few years. Some HPV types—particularly types 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, and 3

—are considered high-risk because they are linked to certain cancers.

Management of warts

Once a wart is diagnosed, treatment depends on symptoms, patient preference, and cost. While many options exist, no treatment is consistently effective, and warts often return. It’s generally best to start with the simplest and least painful methods.

Observation is a valid approach. About two-thirds of warts go away on their own within two years, though they can sometimes grow or spread. Other treatment options include:

• Topical treatments, such as creams, gels, or liquids applied directly to the wart
• Cryotherapy, which involves freezing the wart with a very cold substance
• Chemical treatments, which involve applying stronger substances to destroy wart tissue
• Immunotherapy, which stimulates the immune system to fight the wart virus
• Injections into the wart, using substances to target the wart from within
• Systemic treatments, including oral or injected medications that affect the whole body and are used for resistant cases
• Alternative/non-drug therapies, such as taping, heat therapy, hypnosis, or herbal remedies (though evidence is limited)
• Surgical options, where the wart is physically removed using tools like lasers or cautery

What are the Medicinal uses of slaked lime?

Slaked lime (calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)₂) plays an important role in boosting calcium intake, especially in areas where it is used to enrich staple foods such as rice. Calcium is vital for bone health, growth, and overall development, and getting enough of it is key to preventing and managing conditions like rickets, which results from calcium deficiency.

What are the Medicinal uses of baking soda?

Sodium bicarbonate, commonly known as baking soda, is a white powder that is soluble in water. When it breaks down, it produces carbon dioxide, sodium carbonate, and water. The release of carbon dioxide gas helps dough rise, making it useful in baking cakes and bread. Sodium bicarbonate may enhance athletic performance and is also used in combination with other substances to treat indigestion and hyperkalemia (high levels of potassium in the blood).

FDA-approved Indications for sodium bicarbonate

1. Acute or chronic metabolic acidosis related to:

• Severe renal disease
• Uncontrolled diabetes
• Severe primary lactic acidosis
• Circulatory insufficiency due to shock
• Severe dehydration
• Extracorporeal circulation of blood
• Cardiac arrest
• Drug toxicity
• Barbiturates
• Toxic alcohols

2. Urine alkalization

3.Severe diarrhea with HCO3- loss

Can a paste of slaked lime, baking soda and water eliminate warts completely?

Studies have shown that slaked lime boosts calcium intake when added to staple foods like rice, while baking soda helps balance acidity, enhance athletic performance, and along with other substances can also treat hyperkalemia and indigestion, but there is no scientific evidence or medical consensus to support the claim that warts can be removed in just by using slaked lime and baking soda. In fact, this mixture may cause skin irritation or chemical burns, particularly on sensitive or broken skin. Warts are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) and require targeted treatments.

An article published in the journal Clinical Medicine and Research mentions that no single treatment is fully effective in all patients. There are various treatment options that the article mentions like removal using salicylic acid, surgical removal by curettage or cautery, chemical cautery, cryotherapy etc. However the article does not mention regarding this home remedy for wart removal.

Another article published in Journal of Integrative Dermatology highlighted that sodium bicarbonate may be a safe and effective option for treating certain skin conditions. It has antimicrobial properties and can be used in both hospitals and clinics, especially for pre-surgery skin preparation. Sodium Bicarbonate may also help with psoriasis, aquagenic pruritus (itching caused by water), and could be used as a shampoo substitute, though with care.

An article in Sathee, by Ministry of Education, mentions that direct contact of slaked lime with the skin may lead to various adverse reactions. It can cause irritation, resulting in redness and itching. Prolonged or high-concentration exposure may lead to chemical burns. Additionally, repeated contact can result in dermatitis, a condition marked by skin inflammation, dryness, scaling, and cracking.

While slaked lime and baking soda have recognized uses, such as boosting calcium intake and managing acidity, there is no scientific evidence or medical consensus supporting their effectiveness in removing warts. Warts are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) and typically require targeted medical treatments like salicylic acid, cryotherapy, or surgical removal. Importantly, applying slaked lime directly to the skin can cause irritation, chemical burns.

Responding to the claim Dr. Vinutha M. M, Consultant - Dermatologist, Venereology & Leprosy, SPARSH Hospital, Yelahanka, Bangalore said, "Using the paste of slaked lime, items such as baking soda and water is not recommended well by medical experts to remove warts. Warts are mainly caused by human papillomavirus, and it may disappear on their own, applying stroke alkanline element can even damage the surrounding healthy skin. Elements like slaked lime and baking soda can even irritate the skin, cause burns, pains, secondary infection and even the permanent pigmentation of scarring, mainly on some sensitive areas like face, neck, and genital region. The major concern is that many people mistake other skin growth for warts, mainly including skin corns, skin tags or rarely more serious lesions as well. A expert can confirm the medical diagnosis and suggest safe medical treatments such as cryotherapy, laser or the other prescription based models mainly depending on factors such as type, size and location of the wart. Remedies related to home may seem convenient, but they can often delay proper medical treatment and worsen the condition of skin. It is also very important to avoid the cutting, forcefully pelling the wart at home, as this can also increase the level of irritation and may allow the infection to spread to nearby skin. People suffering from diabetes, poor level of immunity, sensitive skin should be even more cautious. Any kind of chart that changes colour, bleeds, become more painful, grows continuously or does not respond to basic medical treatment should be examined by a expert. Safe medical treatment is not just about removing the visible dump, but also preventing recurrence and unnecessary damage to skin."

Dr. Vijay Singhal, Senior Consultant - Dermatology, Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute Delhi further added, "Items like slaked lime and baking soda should not be considered as a well guaranteed or safe cure for warts, All these substances may appear to dry or burn the wart superficially, but they do not reliably remove that virus which is responsible for the wart. In most of the cases such kind of harsh applications damage normal skin more than wart only, ultimately leading to chemical burns, open wounds, infections, and post inflammatory marks as well. Warts can also spread even if they are scratched, cut or handled inappropriately. This is the reason why experts advise against home based removal methods which are aggressive in nature. The right medical treatment highly depends on whether the wart is common, or genital or whether the patient is child, pregnant or immunocompromised. Medically supervised treatment is very safe since it targets the wart while safeguarding surrounding skin. People should also consult a expert if the wart is very painful, spreading, bleeding present on some private areas or not improving with standard over the counter care. We often observe patients coming in after trying some harsh home remedies, where the wart remains but the surrounding skin become infected. This makes medical treatment even more difficult and may leave marks that take months to fade. Warts appearing on face, soles, lips or genital areas should never be treated with such kind of mixtures. A proper medical diagnosis helps to decide whether simple topical treatment is enough or some other procedures like cryotherapy, radiofrequency are required for better kind of clearance."

Medical Dialogues Final Take

The claim that a paste of slaked lime, baking soda, and water can eliminate warts completely is unsupported by scientific evidence and potentially dangerous. Slaked limed is a known skin irritant and can cause skin burns or irritation and have no proven antiviral effect against Human Papilloma Virus.

Hence, the claim that a paste of slaked lime, baking soda, and water can eliminate warts completely is FALSE.