Wart Therapy
At Mint Foot Care, we diagnose plantar warts by performing a physical examination. Based on past history and treatment of warts, lifestyle, health, quantity and size of warts a treatment plan will be prescribed.
We are able to offer the following treatment options and a based on the findings a combination of treatment options may be prescribed.
Chemical Cautery
Chemical cautery removes warts by using specific chemicals in conjunction with debridement in an effort to break down the wart tissue. The use of chemicals cause chemical burns to the skin in order for the wart to die. The chemicals Mint Foot Care has available are potassium hydroxide, salicylic acid and silver nitrate solutions. The wart is treated first by having the overlying callus debrided followed by application of the chemical agent. The wart is then dressed with an occlusive dressing and deflective padding. We usually require the patient to return in 7 days for debridement of the wart followed by application of the chemical agent. Single warts typically require between 6 to 8 treatments and multiple, persistent warts may take longer to remove.
Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy involves freezing a wart using a very cold substance. We use nitrous oxide which rapidly freezes the tissues to -89 degrees.
The wart will be first debrided of overlying callus before applying the nitrous oxide. The nitrous oxide application usually takes less than a minute. Cryotherapy can be uncomfortable but usually does not require a local anaesthetic.
Pain following cryotherapy can last up to 3 days. Healing is generally quick (7 to 14 days) with little or no scarring.
Most warts require 2 to 4 treatments, with 1 to 2 weeks between each treatment.
Multiple Punctate Therapy
This technique initiates an immune response. The treatment involves injection of a local anaesthetic and then once ‘numb’, a syringe needle is used to puncture the wart 100-200 times. This pushes the virus particles into the body inoculating the host to produce an immune reaction. Whilst the injection is a little unpleasant the needling is pain free. The surrounding skin will sometimes become red, swollen and be sore for a few day or so. It is similar to a mild burn. Occasionally a blister may form. This therapy involves usually only one treatment session and a follow up 6 weeks later. The good news is that if you have multiple warts, we only need to needle the primary “mother” wart not all of them.
