What is the most effective Verruca Treatment?
There is no definitive answer, although there are a number of ways that the HPV evades our immune system. Its best defence appears to be how it stops inflammation which prevents our cells from ‘dealing with the virus’.
Once our cells find the virus they mount an inflammatory global attack and destroy all lesions. Therefore, the aim of any treatment is to initiate this inflammatory response.
However, treatments can fail due to the messengers being ambushed, hence why no single treatment is effective all the time.
What is a Verruca?
A Verruca is a benign tumour and caused by an infection of the epidermis by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).
How do you get a verruca?
The virus enters the epidermis through abrasions of the skin surface. Here, the virus can remain latent for up to 8 months, evading the local immune system.
What do Verruca’s look like?
The virus alters the character of the epidermis, resulting in the visible warty appearance and there may be small black bleeding points.
If I have a verruca does it mean I have a compromised immune system?
A long standing (recalcitrant) verruca is not indicative of a compromised immune system in a healthy individual.
What verruca treatments are available for self care at home?
You may have tried, banana skin, vinegar, vapor rub, tea tree oil, stealing meat from the butcher and burying it (I know, very bizarre), over the counter caustics, duct tape etc etc.
These, you may have realised have limited success.
Children’s Verrucae
Click here for all of our resources for Kid’s foot care here on our dedicated ‘Little Steps’ Page.
What treatments are offered in clinic?
We only offer the best evidence based treatments in our podiatry clinic.
We may suggest caustics, occlusive therapy, debridement, Falknor’s, Swift Therapy or no treatment, dependent on the individual.
Our team are highly experienced and can provide you with further information if you are uncertain.
For example, Falknor’s verruca treatment is one of the treatments we can offer and is designed to make the immune system aware of the presence of the verruca through stimulation, conducted under local anaesthesia.
When the lesion is completely numb, the infected tissue can be broken down with a small needle. The foot stays numb for a couple of hours afterwards, and you can get up and walk after surgery!
Below are the before and after photos of a recalcitrant/long standing painful verruca that was successfully treated with one session of Falknor’s Verruca Treatment.
Swift Microwave Technology (A tissue ablation tool)
Swift is a revolutionary technology developed for the general treatment of skin lesions in podiatry and dermatology.
A study lead by Ivan Bristow found that 75.9% of recalcitrant plantar warts with an average lesion duration of over five years cleared.
This compares well to previous studies using cryotherapy or salicylic acid of just 23-33% resolution.
Swift heats the warty tissue to 41-44 C in a highly controllable, uniform manner.
The treatment microwaves penetrate to a depth of over 3.5 mm travelling in a straight line with energy deposited in alignment.
The ‘beam’ emitted from the device has little lateral spread and minimal damage to surrounding tissue.
The wart is sensitive to heat, and this results in tissue damage or death to the cell membranes and cell structure, this in turn can activates your body’s immune response.
In just seconds the treatment is complete and the healing cascade begins immediately. Treated tissue is quickly replaced, repaired and regenerated.
