So I asked my dad about getting rid of a wart that had formed on my finger.  My dad said "Hold on a moment..." and went into his bathroom.  A moment later he triumphantly returned with an unopened package of Compound W.  "Here you go!  It's not even opened, yet!"  Hmmm...  Naturally suspicious of my dad's habits, I check the expiration date.  Sure enough, all I see is the year "2014."

"Yeah, ok.  Thanks!  Let me go to the drug store..."  I hand it back to him, carelessly inconsiderate of the fact that he will probably attempt to give me the same product again at a future date... (I'm such an idiot, sometimes!?)

So I hit the drug store.  Some place called "Barney's" which hopefully wasn't meant to reassure me...  I look around for a moment, and then a drug pusher comes around and asks if I need any assistance.  I'm (naturally) looking in the skin care section and see only baby products and beauty products...  The drug pusher takes me to the proper section (I forget what it was called) but it has a fairly representative display of Compound W products.

By the time I've reached the pharmacy, I already know that there is a 40% salicylic acid product(s) available.  Hmmm...  Examining each product's ingredients, I find a max 17% salicylic acid, EXCEPT in a band-aid thing.  Ok.  But there's also the "freeze-off" products that I've only previously believed were available through a certified doctor or whatever.  So I grab both the "Compound W Freeze Off Advanced" which has 15 applications (the maximum available applications of all the products) and the band-aid thing which is the only 40% salicylic acid product.

I go to the register to check out.  I ask the clerk if both products could be combined.  She says she'll have to consult with the pharmacist.  The pharmacist comes around (wow!  ok, she's a little aged, but darn it!  she STILL has it!  yes, that cleavage was worth the consultation! and YES her consultation was spot on!)

Whoops!  What were we talking about?  Oh yes!  Cleavage!  Whoops!  No!  I mean...  What?  Oh, yes!  Compound W Freeze Off Advanced!"  This product did not work for me.  THAT IS NOT TO SAY that this product is not successfully used by some consumers.  I *have* seen testimonies that it works for some consumers!

So, my attempts can be described thus:

1) Followed the rules, strictly.  Pressed the "activation" cap for 3 secs and then applied for 20 seconds to wart.  Result: Wart stretched, yawned and said "Thank you!  It gets hot here in Georgia!"

2) B*tch!  Pressed the activation cap for FOUR seconds, and applied until my hand got tired of this crap and I had other crap to do.  Result: Wart chuckled slightly but said "Ouch!  You're killing me!"

3) Oh, yeah?  Stopped by the local liquor store and bought "Gentleman Jack" liquor (warning: FORTY PERCENT liquor, and I did NOT say "proof!")  Got home and took a few shots.  Went out onto the porch (so that no one would see and be horrified) and played "light the wart" with a lighter.  At first it hurt immediately but after quite a few lights it didn't hurt as quickly.  I think I hit it a few times after it stopped hurting immediately to clear out any "roots."  Yay!  Jack Daniels comes through AGAIN!

EDIT!  Yay!  This morning (Sat, Aug 1) I happened to noticed that the wart had turned white.  After reading WebMD (and a few other medical websites to verify) I realized that this was a symptom of a dead wart.  This evening (late Sat, Aug 1) after a few shots (I bought a large bottle of "Gentleman Jack," heh!)
I decided to test the medical data that I had on warts (the bottom of a wart is rounded and smooth without "roots) and grabbed it with my fingernails and pulled.  Sure enough, it "ripped" out with hardly any pain!  Yay!  The pharmacist had warned me that if I saw black "seeds" in the wound that I would need to visit a doctor and have them "dig" out the remaining roots!  Heh...  I believe the good pharmacist is mistaking the top of blood vessels for "seeds" and underestimating the contagious level of warts!  If she had simply used my variation of the "electrician's band-aid" then I'm sure she would not have had to visit the doctor and have surgery to "dig" the "seeds" out!

What's my variation of the "electrician's band-aid?"  Simply tear off ONE sheet of toilet paper and fold it horizontally until you can't and "break" it in half.  Then fold it again (tearing it in half to trim excess) until it's a size that will fit a particular wound.  I happen to have a left-over bottle of 91% isopropyl alcohol that I use but 70% will work, too.  Soak your "final" toilet paper in alcohol and squeeze the excess out (a dripping piece of toilet paper will degrade electrical tape adhesive.)  Then use it to cover the wound.  Now wrap electrical tape around it normally.  This will have the dual benefit of 1) disinfecting the wound and 2) preventing the tape from damaging the wound as it's removed.