Verruca Treatment

At Reed Footcare we know that verrucae treatment can be challenging and its tendency to reoccur can be frustrating for patients. Verrucae can be very resistant to treatment, and there is a range of treatment options available at our clinic. We work with our patients to treat, manage, and successfully eliminate their verrucae infection.

All treatments are aimed at provoking an immune response for your body to get rid of the verruca. These include (after gentle removal of overlying skin); caustic treatments, cryotherapy (freezing) and Faulkner’s Needling under strict clinic conditions. For caustics and cryotherapy, a programme of treatment, with regular visits, may be needed. Advice is given on what you can do at home to continue treatment between visits.  Faulkners needling is a surgical procedure that involves using a local anaestic into the foot and is a soft tissue therapy intended to break down the verruca and create a controlled inflammatory response that stimulates the body’s immune system to recognise the virus and destroy it.

If the verruca does not hurt, is not growing, or spreading, or is on a young child, you may choose to leave it and allow the body time to fight the virus. Many people simply cover it with a dressing.

Results can vary depending on a range of factors. Some verrucae can resolve without treatment. Many verrucae will resolve with treatment although some may be exceedingly difficult to treat. Eradication of a verruca requires every infected cell to be destroyed. This needs an antibody response via the immune system. The virus is confined to the epidermis, and it is thought the immune system does not detect it. Our aim through treatment is to trigger an immune response, and when successful the verruca undergoes a natural deterioration before ultimately disappearing. No verruca treatment is 100% guaranteed.