Verrucae (warts) are caused by a skin virus which spreads from one person to another via direct contact or by picking up a minute piece of infected skin while walking barefoot in a communal area. People of all ages can be infected and the only prevention is to wear flip flops/ sandals when walking around swimming pools, gym changing rooms, steam rooms, etc.

As with any viral infection, if you are super healthy you will fight it off, if you are tired, stressed or unwell your body won’t easily fight it.

Most verruca treatments are targeted at destroying the piece of skin which has been invaded by the virus.

There are many treatments available and none of them are foolproof as verrucae can be difficult to get rid of;

Phytotherapy, i.e. low frequency laser treatment, is a painless treatment which involves paring away some skin then using an 880nm laser on the verruca for 2 minutes per area. This has to be used weekly for about 6 weeks and is a good treatment for mosaic verrucae.

Cryotherapy involves using liquid nitrogen to freeze the infected area. This breaks down the links between your skin cells and the interstitial fluid fills the area causing a blister to form over the next couple of days. This blisters might need to be drained by the podiatrist then you have to dress the area daily for a few days. After 4-5 weeks the treated area should look normal.

Fractionation/needling involves numbing the verruca using local anaesthetic then piercing the skin using small sterile needles. The aim of this is to induce an immune response to the area. A scab forms after the treatment which takes about 4 weeks to drop off.

Electrosurgery involves numbing the verruca then using a radiowave machine to cut out the verruca. You have to attend the surgery 3 days later to have the wound redressed then every day for 4 weeks you do a salt soak and apply antiseptic and a sterile dressing. After 3 weeks you need to come back to see us for a checkup. The healing time is normally 4 weeks.

Herbal treatment using Tagetes i.e. Marigold paste. This is a good treatment for children or anyone who would prefer a gentle approach. It involves coming to the clinic once a week to have some skin pared away then the Tagetes paste is applied. You have to keep it on between treatments which means no swimming, but you can bath or shower normally. This usually takes about 6 weeks to work.

Homeopathy works well too, a 13 day course of pills has to be taken which then continues to work in your body for a month, so it takes 6 weeks to know whether or not it has worked. It is however completely painless which makes it especially useful if you have multiple verrucae. The only tricky part is that during the 13 day course of pills you really do have to observe some dietary restrictions, e.g. no coffee, limited alcohol, no spicy foods etc. Some people struggle with this.