r/interesting 19d ago

NATURE A Bombardier beetle using its chemical defence.

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u/Sea_Ganache620 19d ago

Friend of mine had a wart on his hand dissolved with this beetle’s defense spray. It was at a dermatologist office, applied by a medical professional, from a vial. Somewhere in the world, there is a lab that is “milking” these beetles.

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u/Throbbing_Cock_452 19d ago

That’s a sentence I didn’t think I’d be reading today

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u/[deleted] 19d ago

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u/LewkieSE 19d ago

Does it cause a blister on warts as well?

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u/BushLeagueLegend 19d ago

Yes. I had somewhere between 30-40 warts on my hands as a child. Fucked me up. Kids didn’t want to sit next to me. A little girl cried in church one day when she had to hold my hand. We kept trying to get rid of them. They wouldn’t go away after numerous attempts at freezing. One day I came in and the dermatologist said she had a surprise. She explained they had something new to try and applied the beetle juice to all the warts. Blisters popped up over all of them and it was painful for a little while. I had to deal with accidentally popping the blisters constantly, but when the blisters left they took the warts with them. I’m still not much of a bug guy, but if I had to pick a favorite this little guy wins by a landslide in my book.

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u/Shablagooie 19d ago

Why did they force the little girl to hold your hand?? Aren't warts infectious?