Surgery is an option if home treatment and treatment at your health professional's office has failed. Surgery for warts is usually quick and effective. No single surgical method is more effective than another in curing warts. Generally, health professionals start with the surgical method that is least likely to cause scarring.
Cryotherapy sounds like what they did to Ted Williams, and does involve freezing. In this case, doctors use liquid nitrogen to "freeze" your wart. They apply the liquid nitrogen directly onto the plantar wart using a spray-tip or cotton-tip applicator. If you've never experienced cryotherapy before, you might be struck by the sci-fi image of unearthly vapors rising from the nitrogen tank. For children, this method can be too painful and scary, and at any rate, it guarantees neither more nor less success than duct tape or acid treatments. If successful, however, you'll get rid of that plantar wart faster.
It is possible to remove plantar warts. Some success for removing painful plantar warts has been reported by the repeated and extended applications of salicylic acid. The acid, available in drug stores, works by softening the callus over the wart, exposing the virus. Apply the acid at night, and rub the whitened skin off in the morning. During the day, apply a donut-shaped pad over the wart for cushioning and pain relief. Do not use salicylic acid if you have diabetes or peripheral vascular disease.
Cantharidin Doctors and healers have used cantharidin - a substance extracted from the blister beetle - to treat warts for centuries. Today, this therapy is sometimes paired with salicylic acid. Your doctor paints this beetle juice onto your wart and covers it with clear tape. The application is painless, but it causes the skin under the wart to blister, lifting the wart off the skin. Your doctor can then clip away the dead part of the wart in about a week. However, some doctors are hesitant to use cantharidin because it's not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of warts.
Another very low cost way to remove plantar warts is called hyperthermic treatment. Hyperthermic treatment of plantar is very simple and all you need is warm water and a small tube to soak your feet in. It involves soaking your feet in hot water to remove the warts for 90 minutes a day. This is a no-nonsense method on how to remove warts, especially plantar warts. Also, it can relieve the pressure caused by the infection.
Removal of plantar warts using this method may depend on the size of the wart. Usually, it takes about six weeks for the lesion to heal completely. Another disadvantage of the method, aside from the length it takes for the wound to heal, is the pain associated, even if anesthesia is applied, and the scar that forms around the skin area.
Another very low cost way to remove plantar warts is called hyperthermic treatment. Hyperthermic treatment of plantar is very simple and all you need is warm water and a small tube to soak your feet in. It involves soaking your feet in hot water to remove the warts for 90 minutes a day. This is a no-nonsense method on how to remove warts, especially plantar warts. Also, it can relieve the pressure caused by the infection.
So how do you exactly remove plantar warts? Here are 3 ways that may help:
Using Over the Counter Drugs to Remove Plantar Warts
This may be one of the easier methods to try because you can do this from our home. All you have to do is go to your local pharmacy and you can easily find a low cost and possibly effective medicine to remove warts. They contain salicylic acid, which has the potential to kill the virus that causes your plantar warts. However, the drug can be ineffective at times.
You have to be extremely careful when using over the counter wart removal methods. These types of plantar warts removal methods can be harsh on your skin. You must read all directions on the package before using. Also, the wart can come back after a few weeks because the OTC drug may not go deep enough into the skin to kill the virus.
Seek Medical Treatment
If over the counter methods are not an option for you, maybe a visit to your doctor to discuss what ways to remove your warts is a better option.
You'll find that doctors have many methods to choose from. These methods include using acid to burn off the wart or going the opposite route to freezing the wart off using cryotherapy.
Using acids to burn the wart are one of the most common methods is physicians try. They apply a mild acid to the wart. When applied correctly, the viral cells are destroyed and they are replaced by normal healthy skin. Some times many applications are necessary to kill the virus.
Cryotherapy is when the doctor freezes the wart to the point where it falls off after a few days. This method works well on many parts of the body. However, it may be ineffective against plantar warts because they are very deep in the skin.
Use Natural Methods to Remove Plantar Warts
While these types of methods are not well known, you can actually remove plantar warts using natural methods. Most natural methods to remove warts are easy to use. You can even guarantee yourself 100 percent success rate in removing the wart and keeping it off.
Natural methods are great because you can try them methods in the privacy of your home. Finally, most natural methods will run deep enough to kill the virus in the plantar wart.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. The information in this article is not a substitute for specific medical advice. It is recommended you seek a physician for any medical advisement.
Both Corwin Brown & John Purfield are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.