People do not like unsightly warts on any part of the body. Verrucas are warts on the sole of the foot, which are flattened by the weight of walking on them. The compaction of the hard skin that may arise can lead to pain on walking.
Warts and verrucas are caused by a viral infection. Your immune system will get rid of them eventually, but often after months or even years. In the meantime, the treatment consists of destroying the hard, dead skin associated with them.
Leave them alone, as often they will go away. 70% by 2 years. If you are intent on self treatment, do the following but start only if you mean to finish or all you will have done is to make it worse. Soak the wart/verruca in warm water to soften it then apply any of the proprietary products (they are all equivalent) eg Bazuka comes as a gel or paint. Follow the instructions.
- Do not pick it with your fingers. Do not waste your time filing with an emery board. Take the top layer off with a strong pair of tweezers daily. Continue for several weeks.
- Finish what you started, and beware it can be painful to complete the task, especially for children.
- Liquid nitrogen may work, but it is likely that you can’t cause yourself enough pain to treat adequately. We no longer have access to liquid nitrogen, and so we have no better treatment than that which you can get yourself.
Special cases…
- On the face: take great care as the gels or paints can burn. Probably better to get a referral.
- Genital warts are sexually transmitted, and often associated with other infections – we recommend a check-up at the genitourinary medicine clinic.
Infectivity…
Yes, you can spread warts from person to person. However, this is less of an issue than you may think, as the virus is everywhere. You are almost as likely to get a wart from someone who doesn’t have one. Therefore simple covering of your verruca in the swimming pool is adequate.