Verruca Care

What is a verruca?

A verruca is a viral infection of the skin, similar to a wart. These can be of varying size and number and can occur anywhere on the foot. Most people will know them as having little black dots on the surface of the skin – these are blood vessels which have been pushed to the surface.

At an early stage, the verruca looks just like a blemish on the foot. It can spread quickly into a cluster of lots of tiny verrucae (known as mosaic warts). When you walk and stand, pressure tends to force the verruca into the skin – flattening it.

What causes them and are they contagious?

The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is the cause of verrucae, just as it is for warts and cold sores. The virus is contagious. Direct contact can result in the virus passing from person to person. It is thought that the virus thrives in moist, damp environments. That’s why swimming pools, communal shower areas and changing rooms are places that the virus can spread.

Like all warts, verrucae are harmless and sometimes go away over time without any treatment at all. However, there are lots of reasons to visit a podiatrist for your verruca. First of all, the natural process can take months or years. Secondly, while verrucae don’t always cause pain or discomfort, they are often too painful to ignore. And last of all, some patients find them unsightly. That’s especially true in cases where the verrucae spread quickly over the foot.

What treatment options are available for my verruca?

We offer three different verruca treatment options:

1. Swift microwave therapy: This is a new, innovative technique which involves rapidly heating the virus and it’s our preferred treatment option. The temperature rise causes the virus enzymes to become visible to the body’s defense system. That allows the body to make the required antibodies to destroy the virus.
2. Freezing: We will apply liquid nitrogen to freeze the cells the virus is living in. This causes the cells to die and leaves the virus without the host cell. That means that the virus dies too. Freezing can require a number of repeat treatments. But, you may ask, why not just complete the process at home? However, over-the-counter products are not as powerful as the liquid nitrogen provided in clinic.
3. Salicyclic Acid: The verruca is debrided and a pad is applied with a hole over the verruca. We then fill the hole with salicylic acid. In turn, this destroys the cells which the virus is living in. The pad does need to be left in place for 7 days.

More on Swift treatment

What can I expect during and after treatment?

If you opt for the innovative Swift therapy to treat your verruca, you’ll find the treatment process to be relatively quick and straightforward. We will use the Swift special probe which applies microwave energy to the skin to treat the affected tissue.

Will I feel any pain?

You might feel a hot or warming sensation during the treatment which may be a little uncomfortable for a few seconds. Some patients won’t feel any pain at all. The great thing is that any pain felt during the treatment will quickly subside – that’s one advantage compared to other verruca treatments. Only in rare cases will pain be prolonged.

What can I do after Swift treatment?

For most patients, you will be able to resume normal daily activities straight away.

Will I need more than one treatment?

This all depends on how you respond to the first treatment – sometimes it’s enough to have just one. Some patients may need more than one treatment and we will typically schedule a second treatment between two weeks and a month from the first treatment.

How do I arrange my verruca treatment?

Simply make an appointment with us and we will start the process of dealing with your problem verrucas.