How to Cure Verrucas
Verrucae, commonly known as plantar warts, can be an annoying and uncomfortable skin condition that affects countless individuals. These small, fleshy bumps can appear anywhere on the feet but most commonly on the soles (the plantar surface) and can cause pain, discomfort, and embarrassment. If you find yourself grappling with verrucae, fear not! In this article, we’ll explore effective strategies to help you cure verrucae and regain your foot health and confidence.
Before diving into treatment options, it’s essential to understand what verrucae are and how they develop. Verrucae are caused by certain types of the human papillomavirus (HPV) and typically enter the body through tiny cuts or breaks in the skin. In public places like swimming pools or communal showers, the virus can spread easily, leading to its prevalence, although it can easily spread in households as well. This virus causes changes in our skin cells, so hard skin builds up over it and blood vessels grow up into the hard skin. Thats why you sometimes see black dots, but not all the time (so just because a foot lesion doesn’t have black dots, it doesnt mean that it isn’t a verruca). The build up of hard skin can contribute to the pain, and this barrier is also the reason many over-the-counter treatments aren’t effective.
Human’s havent invented a cure for any virus. We can’t cure AIDS, nor the common cold, nor Covid, and we can’t cure verrucae. We rely on the body to fight the virus (which it more easily does in childhood), and we can encourage it to do so. Traditionally we did this by irritating the verruca, either with weak acids from the pharmacist (e.g. Salactol, Bazooka) or stronger acids from a Podiatrist (eg monochloracetic acid) or freezing treatments (also known as cryotherapy). The aim was to produce a localised acute inflammation so that the body sees there is a problem, and produces a response to resolve that and concurrently resolve the verruca. The stronger the treatment, the more successful we were likely to be, but the stronger the treatment, the more painful it was likely to be! The treatments generally worked best if applied regularly over a period of several weeks, rather than a one-off treatment. At my clinic we used to get about 70% success using strong acids or freezing treatments.
In the 1990s, low level laser therapy (LLLT) was introduced as a non-painful treatment for verruace. I used it for several years, sometimes with great success. I remember one particular patient who had a verruca the size of a 50p piece that had been present for 20 years. All previous treatments had failed so he gave up on ever resolving it, until I offered him LLLT. After 6 treatments, his verruca was gone. Both the patient and myself were delighted with the outcome. However, lack of consistency of positive outcomes like this means that it is not used as first line treatment (unless patients specifically request it).
More recently SWIFT microwave therapy is being used which has much higher success levels, but is unfortunately a painful treatment requiring repeated applications. For a much more comfortable treatment with equally high success levels at our clinic, then FALKNOR’S VERRUCA NEEDLING is the answer. For our best value package of 3 needlings over 6 months we achieve a success rate of about 90% with most patients requiring only 2 procedures to be done. One significant advantage of needling (besides it being the most comfortable of the successful treatment options) is that often only one verruca needs to be treated and any additional ones clear up due to the cell-mediated immune response that is generated. Needling is the commonest choice of treatments by our patients but there are other treatment options available but not with the same levels of success. Details of those can be found in this article: www.healthfirstsoutham.co.uk/foot-problems/the-cost-of-verrucas/
Most important to understand is that not all lumps on feet are verrucas. They can be corns, fibromas, foreign bodies, or even cancers. Several years ago I helped save a patient’s life by identifying a lesion on a patient’s foot as a possible cancer despite his GP and a Dermatologist saying it was just a verruca. Fortunately a Plastic Surgeon I instigated a referral to agreed with my suspicions and histology confirmed it was a dangerous form of skin cancer. Thankfully my prompt actions had meant the cancer could easily be excised. That’s why seeing a good Foot Specialist (Podiatrist) with foot-related concerns is often the best choice you can make.
Jonathan Small, Lead Podiatrist, Health First Foot & Gait Clinic, 01926 811272
“From our very first visit until our last, my daughter was treated with the greatest care and kindness. She was very nervous during several procedures and was continuously told what was happening and reassured throughout. Thankfully the verrucas were treated successfully and have not returned.” M.C., Long Itchington