VERRUCA TREATMENT Harewood

Needling is a minor surgical procedure to treat verruca(e) under local anaesthesia. By puncturing the verruca with an empty sterile needle many times, the viral particles are directly exposed to the fatty tissue beneath the skin where the body is rich in immune regulators. Here, the immune system can recognise and destroy the virus. As this immune response is often systemic, treatment of only one Verruca is required even where there are many lesions a spontaneous remission occurs in all, or most, verrucae at the same time. One huge advantage over other treatments such as cryotherapy and acids is that only one session of treatment is usually needed, making this an ideal treatment for busy people. Only 24 hours after treatment you can shower as normal without the need to keep bulky dressings dry.

Verrutop® is a new type of verruca treatment as it does not act by freezing or burning the tissue like cryotherapy or other chemical treatments. Instead, it denatures the viral protein and desiccates the tissue, it then detaches from the skin, leaving healthy skin underneath. It should be applied every 7 to 14 days by a podiatrist for 3 to 6 treatments. It is suitable for most adults and some children over 6 years of age. Following application, no dressings or paddings are required and you do not need to keep your foot dry.

Cryotherapy involves the application of extreme cold onto verruca in order to damage the tissue. This method works by causing the cells to rupture, releasing antigens into the blood stream. Once within the blood stream, the virus is recognised by the body’s immune system, and this triggers an immune response. The verruca(e) are frozen using a spray method. Ideally, cryotherapy should be repeated every three to four weeks. It can be painful and may cause blisters and burns, therefore it is not usually recommended in children. Several freezes may be needed to clear warts.