Verruca Treatment

What are they and why do we get them?

Verrucas are the same as warts, except due to their location on the bottom of the foot they grow into the foot rather than protruding like warts do. They are caused by the herpes virus but are a different strain to herpes found on other parts of the body. We tend to get them when we have been walking barefoot in public changing areas - especially when our feet are wet from a pool or shower.

Previously almost entirely the domain of young children, verrucas are now being found more frequently in adults. It is probable that this is due to the increased popularity of gyms and swimming with adults.

Why get rid of verrucas?

In children with their young strong immune system, verrucas usually self resolve in a matter of months. However, in some cases they don’t go quickly and in adults they can hang around for years. They can cause pain on walking which leads to limping and then joint instability and or back problems. Also whilst they are on the foot they can spread to other members of the family or members of the public through gym/leisure centre changing rooms. And of course in the Summer many people feel quite self conscious about people seeing their verrucas which can become unsightly.

How to treat verrucas?

There are lots of clinical and non clinical treatments used by people to banish verrucas. On the clinical side most of the treatments have limited success rates and can often be painful. Non clinical treatments tend to be untested and should only be used if you have confidence in the safety of the procedure.

At the Marston Foot Clinic, patients are offered two different treatments. Duct tape treatment is painfree, clinically proven and takes upto 3-4 months to resolve the verruca. Needling ablation is carried out under local anaesthetic and usually destroys the verruca in one treatment.

Duct Tape Treatment

On the first visit the verruca is formerly diagnosed (sometimes they can be confused with corns) and if the patient opts for the duct tape treatment, the first application is made at that visit. The dead skin on the top of the verruca is removed and the duct tape applied. Over the top of this a different type of tape is used to hold the duct tape in place. The patient then needs to keep the verruca covered for the next two weeks until seen again by the chiropodist.

Usually by the end of the first two weeks any pain caused by the verruca will have gone. This treatment takes about 3 - 4 months until the verruca has completely resolved.

Needle Ablation

This treatment is carried out under local anaesthetic. Once the foot is numb, the verruca is treated with a special needle which effectively kills the verruca and alerts the body's immune system to the presence of a virus. The virus usually dies very quickly after the ablation. This is a highly effective treatment which is currently 85% effective. If after returning 5 weeks later the patients' verruca has not resolved, the operation is repeated for free.

If you would like to book in for verruca treatment, or would like to discuss your options, please call the Marston Foot Clinic on 07855 810526