Treating Verrucas

People with verrucas have three basic treatment options: over-the-counter methods, doctor-administered methods, and expectant management. All these options have advantages and disadvantages, and there is no single treatment that is guaranteed to rid you of your verrucas forever. Expectant management is not something we'd advise, due to the contagious nature of the virus. Treatment may be an ongoing process, and verrucas can return even after they completely disappear.

What Your Doctor Can Do

Cryotherapy, in which warts are frozen with liquid nitrogen, is the gold standard in verruca treatment. Your family doctor can spray your verrucas with liquid nitrogen to destroy the skin cells affected by the human papilloma virus, or may use a stick to apply the nitrogen. This treatment is quite uncomfortable and takes between five and 15 minutes. Your foot will hurt after the treatment, and a blister will form the next day. 

Surgery is not usually recommended for verrucas, but it may be the only option for patients who did not respond to other treatments or for those who have a large number of verrucas. 

Home Treatments

A form of cryotherapy that uses dimethyl-ether or propane is available over the counter in most countries. This method sprays verrucas with an extremely cold solution as well, but temperatures are significantly milder compared to liquid nitrogen. Some patients have success removing their verrucas and other warts with this treatment, but it does not work for everyone.

Salicylic acid is the active ingredient in most other home treatments for verrucas and other warts. These treatments come in many forms:

• Gel
• Paint
• Plasters
• Creams

This may give patients the impression that the treatment can't possibly work as well, but I finally got rid of my verrucas using salicylic acid after trying both liquid nitrogen and at-home freezing techniques. 

You may be surprised that the British National Health Service (NHS) discusses applying duct tape as a home treatment for verrucas. Though they admit there is little clinical evidence this method kills warts, they describe how patients can attempt it at home.

The NHS website suggests patients place "a piece of duct tape over your wart for about six days". They add: "If the tape falls off, simply replace it with a fresh piece. After six days, remove the tape and soak the wart in water." 

Finally, an alternative method that is often suggested is soaking verrucas in copious amounts of apple cider vinegar. This dries the warts out, and will hopefully trigger them to fall off. 

See Also: Thirteen Natural Home Remedies for Warts Removal

Preventing Verrucas

Preventing verrucas is, fortunately, relatively simple: always wear slippers or flip-flops when you walk around communal sports areas or spas. If you currently have verrucas, you can help keep others in your household wart-free by wearing slippers or socks at all times.