Treating Your Verrucae: Options You Should Know

When you have uncomfortable growths on your feet and you head to the podiatrist, you may be surprised to learn that you have a condition known as verrucae (also known as plantar warts). However, rather than dwell on the fact that you have a viral foot infection, you should get to know the ways that you can get your verrucae treated and cleared up as soon as possible. That way, you can start feeling better as soon as possible and your pain and discomfort will soon be a thing of the past.

Try Covering Your Verrucae And Let Them Heal On Their Own

Many times, your podiatrist will recommend that you try to allow your verrucae to heal on their own. This means that you will want to avoid touching the warts on your feet as much as possible. Touching or picking at them can actually cause the infection to spread and new growths to emerge.

If the verrucae on your feet are causing you discomfort, you can cover them with plaster that will help protect your feet and can help to shrink and get rid of your plantar warts. Even with plaster, it may take your feet several months, even a few years, to heal completely although the discomfort may subside before that time.

Consider Verrucae Removal Options

If you just cannot stand the discomfort in your feet due to your plantar warts or they continue to grow or spread in spite of your best efforts, you may want to consider the different options for having the growths removed. Cryosurgery is one such option. This treatment essentially equates to freezing the warts off of your feet using liquid nitrogen.

Your doctor or podiatrist can also remove the verrucae on your feet through traditional surgical excision. Your feet will be numbed and your doctor will use a scalpel to cut the affected tissue from your feet. However, excision is usually not the first option considered as recovery can be painful.

Laser surgery is another treatment that can be used to remove verrucae. This is an extremely precise type of surgery that can help reduce pain, bleeding, and recovery time from removing your verrucae and can be effective for larger patches of affected skin.

With these treatment options in mind, you can move forward in overcoming your verrucae and get to feeling better sooner. If you are not in pain due to your plantar warts, the wait-and-see method may be the best choice. But should you begin to experience difficulty walking or standing, you now know your other options as well. For more information, talk to a professional like Jeffrey M Marks DPM.