VERRUCAS

A plantar wart (verrucae) is typically associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV), While plantar warts can appear anywhere on the foot, they appear most often on the bottom of the foot. They usually show up on the underside of your toes or your heel.

Occasionally, plantar warts grow inward, below the surface of the skin, and may look like a callus.

Typical appearance of Verrucae:

thickened skin on the bottom of your foot

tiny black dots on your foot

white or skin-coloured lesions on the bottom of your foot

Shop bought topical preparations such as Wartner and Bazuka for the removal of warts and verrucae use a “slow freeze” principle to destroy the cells. A slow freeze gives the cells time to protect themselves, therefore taking a long time to destroy the lesion, if at all. These are also very painful to use as the spray also touches the healthy surrounding skin and this causes pain upon treatment. 

The Cryopen attacks the cells using a fast freeze, destroying the nucleus and therefore removing the lesion as it has not time to protect itself. It is also believed that this process helps the immune system to recognise the virus so that the patient may be less likely to get a verruca again.

Pre-treatment:

Soak for 5 mins every day for one week prior to your appointment

Exfoliate or gently file every day, after soaking, for one week prior to your appointment

Typically go in 1-2 session. A further treatment may sometimes be required if the verruca is very large or has been present for a few years to make sure no viral cells remain.