Background: Over-the-counter (OTC) wart-freezing therapies have appeared on the market claiming that they reproduce in-office cryotherapy.
Objective: We sought to determine whether these OTC home wart removal products are as cold as liquid nitrogen.
Methods: The coldness obtained by 3 representative commercial wart products, and liquid nitrogen, was assessed using a thermometer calibrated from -100 degrees C to 50 degrees C. Temperatures of the commercial wart products used were measured and compared with those obtained with liquid nitrogen.
Results: None of the OTC coolants were as cold as liquid nitrogen, and they did not lower temperature as quickly as liquid nitrogen.
Limitations: This study did not evaluate the clinical efficacy of any of the agents studied.
Conclusions: Despite advertising messages, OTC refrigerants do not achieve freezing equivalent to liquid nitrogen.