Animal remedies for warts: Insights from the folklore

Folk medicine played an important role in human history. Its sources were shaped by experience, superstition, and religion. In this contribution, we analyze traditions of wart therapy, focusing on Europe from a medical-historical perspective. We focus on zootherapy, ie, the use of animals to treat common skin warts. Both domestic and wild animals were used. Mollusks, reptiles, spiders, insects, fish, and mammals are mentioned in the literature. Often, the animals used died an agonizing death in these rites. The cruelty of such procedures may reflect the harsh living conditions of common people in history. In contrast to healing, folk medicine used terms such as "drive away," "lose," or "disappear." Successes were usually individualized. Suggestion and autosuggestion were important. Given the high rate of spontaneous remission (up to 2 of 3 within 2 years), the "effect" of the procedures was probably due to this phenomenon, and we would not recommend any of them. Interestingly, some antimicrobial compounds have recently been isolated from snails and ants.