I had a wart on my pinky 4 years ago, lasted for roughly 20 months (2009 to mid 2010)- looked bad as hell (I know what you mean when you say that) but it went away gradually without applying anything on it. I mentioned it to my Medical Examiner and everything went smoothly.
Most go away in 3-6 months, some can last up to 2-3 years. They are pretty common, but contagious as well. Their latency is quite prolonged, they come out of nowhere; ie. if you were to touch someone with it, one may not develop one until a few weeks to years down the road.