How Can You Get A Verruca?

The virus is passed through physical contact with an area infected by someone else with a verruca. The virus enters the skin via a tiny break or split in the skin. This normally occurs anywhere that barefoot activity takes place especially in areas with damp conditions such as swimming pools and communal showers. The virus can remain dormant in the skin for some time before a verruca can appear.
To help prevent a verruca appearing, use flip-flops in communal areas or verruca socks to avoid catching the virus.

Treatment

Like with all viral infections, the body’s immune system must respond in order to clear the virus from your system. Although this response may not occur quickly for a variety of reasons and sometimes treatments offered may indirectly give the immune system a kick-start. Treatment may be needed for verrucae which are painful, increasing in size or multiplying or have been present for longer than six months.

Common methods used for the treatment of verrucae are:
Caustics: These are normally acids used to treat the virus.
Freezing (Cryotherapy): It freezes the verruca cells.

Both treatments causes inflammation. This encourages the immune system to recognise the virus.

Successful as it is mostly down to your own immune system’s response in conjunction with the treatment. However it make help kick-start the immune system’s response.

What To Expect

Most verruca treatments cause some amount of pain initially and its duration depends on the individuals pain threshold.
Pain from a strong caustic treatment isn’t normally instant and can take up to 48 hours to feel it.

Pain from cryotherapy is normally instant during the treatment, however the area can become blistered which can be painful.

It is important not to burst any blisters or pick at wounds as this can lead to infection. Padding may be applied to the area after treatment by the podiatrist to keep pressure off the treated area.

If any of the treatments become very painful, remove the padding and dressing and soak the foot in a warm footbath with a handful of salt or 2 tablespoons of Bicarbonate of soda for 10 minutes then dry the foot carefully. Cover the area afterwards with a piece of clean gauze dressing. Make an emergency appointment with your podiatrist as soon as possible.

You may take an analgesic/pain killer and rest the foot. DO NOT EXCEED THE STATED DOSAGE in any circumstances when taking pain killers.