The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns that some wart removal products can catch fire, CBS News reported.
Over-the-counter, cryogenic wart removers, which remove warts from the skin by freezing them off, have caused 14 accidental fires, affecting household objects and the user's skin, since 2009. The products contain a mixture of liquid dimethyl ether and propane. Labels warn that they are flammable.
"This is extremely concerning, especially because people may not be aware that everyday household items like curling irons and straight irons can be hot enough to be an ignition source for these products," Karen Nast, a registered nurse who consults the FDA, said in a statement.
Despite the fire warning labels on the products to not use the removers near open flames or when smoking cigarettes, in three of the reports, there was a candle nearby, but in the other 11 reports no ignition source was identified, according to the FDA.
Ten consumers reported singed hair blisters, burns or skin redness.
USA Today reported that in most cases the fires started when consumers were releasing the mixture from their pressurized canisters.
The FDA has only received 14 reports of fires linked to the wart removing products, but Nast said such occurrences are often under-reported, WebMD reported. She said consumers should alert the FDA if they have had similar experiences or if something goes awry with their product.
"It's important for us to know when and how problems like this happen," she said.
Stephen Stone, a professor of dermatology at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, told USA Today that the brands are usually safe "and sometimes effective, but you don't want to try this stuff on a wart while you got a cigar or cigarette in your mouth."
"You've got to use some common sense," he said.
FDA did not name brands involved in the incidents but products containing the mixture of liquid dimethyl ether and propane include Dr. Scholl's Freeze Away Wart Remover, Compound W Freeze Off and Wartner Cryogenic Wart Removal System.
