Verrucas
Verrucas or Plantar Warts are not related to touching frogs but women, men, and children who have a wart may worry that their appearance is frog-like. Whatever body part a wart may appear on, hands, face, neck, feet, they can be a cause of some trouble, and, if on the feet as in the case of verrucas, discomfort and pain. But, the good news is they are not dangerous, and treatments are often simple—beginning with—do nothing!
Where Does a Verruca Come From
Anyone, at any age can get a verruca, officially called verruca vulgaris—which sounds a bit ugly in itself. Verrucas are small, harmless growths on the skin, appearing anywhere, coming in all sizes and shapes and colors from smooth and flat to big rough bumps to little clusters. Though technically a verruca refers to any type of wart, in the UK the term verruca is usually applied to a Plantar Wart or warts of the feet, and that is how we will refer to it here.Verrucas are caused by the Human Papilloma Virus. The virus is just about anywhere and enters the skin from direct contact. Often this virus is kept alive in warm and wet environments such as locker rooms and can enter an area of recent injury or crack in the skin. Whether or not you get verrucas seems to depend on your immune system or sensitivities. Verrucas are a bit of a common problem as 7-10 percent of people has had them, some people get them over and over again.
Preventing a Verruca
- If you already have a verruca, avoid touching it or rubbing yourself with a warty finger
- Wear flip-flops in the gym locker rooms to lower your risk of plantar verrucas
- Change shoes and socks daily and keep feet clean and dry
- Don’t share towels with someone who has a verruca
What to Do about Verrucas
Don’t do anything at all, or just cover the verruca with a plaster. A foam pad can relieve some discomfort on the foot. 90% of verrucas are gone within 2 years, half of them disappearing within 6 months. It is believed that the body naturally deals with a verruca by gradually building up resistance. If you let a verruca heal by itself, you may be less likely to get others, as your body will become immune to that virus.What Not To Do About Verrucas
Health experts caution not to try using a knife to scrape a verruca. Your skin could be damaged, an infection caused, and the verruca may reappear in the damaged area.Treating Verrucas
Dealing with a verruca is a bit interesting in that the idea is to have your body recognize the verruca as foreign and to destroy the verruca virus just as with a cold virus.However, it is usually recommended that you have your doctor check your verruca before you use any home treatment, especially for verrucas on the foot. Corns, calluses and verrucas can sometimes be hard to tell apart. If you have diabetes or a skin problem such as eczema you are recommended to see a doctor.Self Treatments
Acid Treatment - Salicylic Acid is the most commonly used over the counter treatment for verrucas with the most successful reported results. This acid is available in many brand names and comes as either a liquid to be painted on or a plaster to be cut out and placed on the verruca with a daily application. The treatment plan involves soaking the verruca area in warm water for about 10 minutes, rubbing the verruca with a pumice or emery board, protecting the skin around the verruca with petroleum jelly and then applying the acid and covering with a Band-Aid or tape. Always follow package directions for length of time to apply the acid. The process continues taking down the verruca until the area looks like normal skin.Adhesive Tape -In a recent study using duct tape, about 7 in 10 verrucas were reported to disappear within 2 months. Taping usually works best in fingernail areas. Waterproof tape is placed over the verruca and left on for 6 ½ days, removed and left open to air for 12 hours, then taped again for 6 ½ days. With kids, changing the tape every day or other day is recommended.
Herbals - Some people find herbal remedies to be effective such as tea tree oil and garlic juice, or Chelidonium is said to have antiviral properties.
Professional Treatments
Cryotherapy -This is a freezing treatment that is popular with many people. Your doctor commonly uses liquid nitrogen by swab. The treatment is usually repeated for a few months, requiring up to 4 treatments. Evidence has shown that eliminating a verruca with freezing is quicker than with acid, but it can be painful, and there is a risk of scarring. A similar type of cold spray is available from pharmacies for self-application. It can be used on verrucas of the foot, but is not recommended for the face or elsewhere.Lasers -This is use of intense heat to vaporize the virus. With lasers, there can be some risk of scarring.
Surgical Removal - The doctor numbs the area and removes the verruca.
Troubling Problems
Call your doctor:- If you use home remedies and a verruca seems to worsen
- If you use salicylic acid and you see no change after 12 weeks
- If the verruca changes shape or color, it may not be a verruca at all and you should have your doctor examine it
- If the verruca bleeds after a bump or touch
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I'm 13 in about 6 days I've had verrucas since I was 8-9, it's so embarrassing because I have to get changed in a group for PE I have one on the outside of my big toe which is so embarrassing, I don't want to go to a podiatrist just because I'm that ashamed of them, only my best friend knows and she picked them up about the same time she only has 3 but I have tons of them and it's worrying me, my mum knows but we've only tried one cure, it didn't work mainly because I had to wear socks over and I couldn't sleep with socks on, I've reminded her about it but I really want them gone and my nice feet back, please can someone give me a legitimate cure, I don't have duct tape in my house it's only me and my mum please help thanks :)
Jojo - 12-Jun-19 @ 10:09 PM
I had a cluster of warts / verrucas, as emily above describes. There were countless of them everywhere, including between my toes. I had it for a very long time, at least 5 years or more, but to be honest, I didn't really try any remedy as I was too lazy and they weren't affecting me.
But then as I started work life, I noticed I got ill frequently, so researched natural cures for flu, etc. I started taking Vitamin C (1000mg) every day, along with 25ug of zinc gluconate, and vitamin d3 (cholecalciferol), and after a few weeks I noticed the cluster started to disappear, and eventually they all just disappeared. I still get the occasional wart on the ball of my feet, but thank God, they just seem to go by themself now.
However, I still have one massive nasty one on the heel, which is about 3cm and has cones sticking out. I've had it frozen 2 or 3 times, without avail, and more recently started applying nail polish every few nights, but it's been a month and I don't see any progress.
Will try duct tape along with nail polish every night now.
ibn muhammad - 15-Mar-16 @ 6:39 PM
12 months ago I had about 16 verrucas over both feet and these had developed over 8-10 years. I had tried everything over the counter and from the GP -freezing, gels, patches, creams, duct tape etc etc. I was desperate, embarrased and in pain. I finally decided to pay to see a chiropodist but came onto a forum like this first where several people mentioned vinegar. Why not give it a try I thought, cheaper than a chiropodist? So I bought 4 bottles of apple cider vinegar from Sainsburys (99p a bottle) and a plastic box with lid big enough to get my feet in (£4 local pound shop)and every evening for the past 12 months, I have soaked my feet in vinegar for at least 20 minutes. Its been a long slog -no quick solutions here - but I was determined to be rid of these beasties which were taking over my feet! I replaced the vinegar every 6-8 weeks. The smell of the vinegar is quite strong (hence the lid on the plastic box)but I am delighted to say that all I have left is a tiny verucca which will be gone in a few weeks. I also stopped picking them, filing them, pumicing them as I suspect this was spreading them. On the few evenings I have been unable to do this, I bought some sudocream and smeared this thickly over the warts, popped a pair of socks over the top and went to bed. Bingo! This is the first year in many years when I will be able to wear sandles with pride- if we get any sun! Good luck to fellow suffers out there - patience and persistence are key.
Nina - 15-May-13 @ 3:03 PM
I'm almost 15 years old and I've only just got rid of the verrucas that I've had for as long as i can remember. I think it was about 7 years since i got the first few. I had huge clusters of verrucas all over the bottom of my feet and big toes. I had an unrealistic amount of verrucas, and anyone reading this will probably not be imagining them on a scale as large as they actually were, but trust me, there were hundreds - they were uncountable. I used bazuka, home freezing kits and after about 6 years I finally went to the doctors and had them frozen.. 7 times, this did not work either. My verrucas were not even improving! Eventually I bought a 'Micropedi' which is an electric foot filer, and THREE tubes of extra strength bazuka which i religiously applied every single night. First I got rid of as much dead skin as I could, then I moisturised my feet and applied the bazuka to every single massive cluster of veruccas that I had. After a few months my feet had improved very much and now I have no verrucas at all. Sadly I am left with lots of ugly damaged patches of skin which in my opinion are pretty obvious and I can't get rid of them. I still use the Micropedi and moisturise my feet often but the ugly patches of skin are still there, leaving me very self concious of my feet. Being a teenager I like to go to the beach and the pool in the summer, but I'm afraid of getting my feet out because of these ugly obvious patches of damaged skin, HELP?!
emily - 2-Apr-13 @ 5:27 PM
My verruca is spreading and I've been using a prescribed 'salactol' but it just doesn't seem to get better, in fact I think it had spread. It's really upsetting me as it is on my heel so it's very painful, I also do a load of sports and the gym so I am finding that so painful. I'm also worriers about it being a immune disorder, as recently I've had a kidney infection the flu and a constant cold.
Acc - 20-Mar-13 @ 10:55 PM
Removing a Verruca usingis very common practise in the UK and the USA. There are studies that show that using duct tape can be much more effective than using conventional treatment, although It is still advised to seek medical attention as you made have an allergic reaction to the & more…
owen smith - 22-Jan-12 @ 11:31 AM
I've put ducktape on my plantar wart/verruca and it's still there. It's smaller but still there. I go to the gym every other day and then the "waterproof" (real) duck tape comes off!! Aaaargh but does that affect the killing of the wart?
Desmione - 10-May-11 @ 12:26 AM
