before i looked up alternatives, i only knew of the wart removers in the form of the bandage strips and the freeze off kits, which i've always been leery of. i used the bandage strips many times for 2 small warts that are on an awkward place on my knuckle. the problem with the strips was that you had to cut them to fit the wart correctly, and some of them you couldn't even cut because they were already pre-attached to the bandage. this usually caused the surrounding healthy skin to be completely corroded away by the salicylic acid. and usually when the wart got really small, the bandage wouldn't adhere to the wart well anymore because of the placement of the wart, and then in 3 months the wart would pop back up. i used those bandages over the course of about 3 years and every 3-9 months the warts would reappear. truly horrible!
this product, however, was great. i don't know why people give bad reviews, the gel goes on and in the area you want it to (very important), and within seconds it is dry and will stay intact until you peel it off later in the day. it really is simple and very effective, and i can't even describe how much better it is than the bandages!