Plantar warts affect the sole of the foot and it is caused by the human papillomavirus. This can be uncomfortable but you can visit a podiatrist to remove it. There are many treatment options you can consider for this. The podiatrist will go over different treatment options and give you the pros and cons.
If you are wondering how to treat plantar warts on your own, there are over-the-counter medications such as patches, gels, creams etc. They all contain salicylic acid which can gradually dissolve layers of the wart so that it peels off. You need to check the instructions provided on the label when doing these treatments. Keep in mind that the treatment can irritate the surrounding skin. Other treatments will be carried out by a podiatrist. Make sure that the podiatrist you choose has experience treating plantar warts. One of the treatment methods is freezing the wart with liquid nitrogen. This is known as cryotherapy. When the wart is frozen, it blisters and falls off after some time. You need to understand that this treatment can be a little painful. You may also need several sessions to remove the wart completely.
Swift therapy is relatively new and uses microwave technology to break the wart down.
This treatment method will trigger an immune response which will help clear the virus and therefore remove the wart at the end. This is a quick treatment option and it is a painless procedure. There is a high rate of success for swift therapy. You will need three sessions for this. There may be some discomfort after the treatment. You may notice that the wart has blistered. But this will clear up in a few days. You can also use chemicals to remove plantar warts. Silver nitrate can be used to cauterise the affected area. And this will effectively kill the virus and the wart. The podiatrist will apply a silver nitrate solution to the wart and it will then be covered with a bandage and left for 24 hours. You can remove this after a day. This is an affordable treatment option but you need to keep in mind that there will be some pain involved. And the risks involve scarring. If you have a larger wart, this may not be the right treatment option for you.
Salicylic acid has been a common treatment option for plantar warts.
It will break down the outer layer of the wart. And this triggers an immune response where you immune system starts to attack the virus. The salicylic acid solution will b applied to the wart and then you can cover it with a bandage for a day. This is an effective treatment method and it is quite painless. As mentioned above, you can do this at home. You may need to carry out the treatment for several weeks or months to see some improvement. And it will not be ideal for larger warts. Some other treatment options that are available are laser therapy and surgical excision which can be used for stubborn warts.
