How To Remove A Verruca Root

Verrucas are really common – name one kid at school that didn’t have one. This is because they are incredibly contagious, they’re everywhere. But how do you treat them, get rid of them, finally remove them? This article will ‘walk you’ through the top 5 ways to get rid of a verruca pun intended.

1. Verrucas are a type of wart that appears on the soles of the feet.
2. They’re caused by the HPV virus (human papillomavirus) and are most commonly located on the ball of the foot.
3. They can have tiny black dots in the centre of them and usually appear flat because of the weight put on them.
4. Verrucas are known as plantar warts which can cluster together to form mosaic warts ( which are not as beautiful as they sound)! They don’t cause any harm but people can find them itchy, painful, or just plain embarrassing.

So how do you get rid of them? By far the most effective way of removing a verruca is by Verrutop solution applied by a professional Podiatrist/Chiropodist, During the 3-6 treatments, the solution reacts with the verruca to mummify the tissue. The cells underneath then renew and the verruca simply falls off. If you want more information, head over to our verruca removal page, Pros:

The fastest way to remove a verruca.It’s pain-free.It’s 90% effective on people who have between 3 and 6 treatments.For adults and children.Doesn’t damage skin.

Cons:

Requires 3-6 treatments.

Another effective way of removing a verruca is by verruca needling (also known as dry needling). It’s a small, painless procedure that uses a fine needle to push infected cells into the skin underneath the verruca. This triggers an immune response from your body to destroy the verruca. Pros:

Few number of treatments needed. Very effective from research. Non-painful.

Cons:

Most expensive.

Salicylic acid is an ingredient commonly found in over-the-counter pharmacy verruca removal creams, gels, and medicated plasters. It softens the hard outer layer, allowing the medication to break down verruca over time. The most effective way to use salicylic acid is via a Podiatrist who can use high concentrations to get even better results.

Tips for the most effective treatment include soaking the verruca and removing excess hard skin with a nail file or pumice stone before applying the salicylic acid. Once the treatment is dry, cover the verruca with a plaster or tape. Always follow the instructions carefully and try not to touch healthy skin with the medication as this can cause irritation.

Pros:

Readily available. Well researched, Highly effective if used via a Podiatrist / Chiropodist.

Cons:

Can take weeks to work if over-the-counter concentration used. Needs daily treatment if over-the-counter concentration used.

Is it possible to cut a verruca out?

Can a verruca be cut out? Yes, if your doctor decides that is the right treatment for you, the wart or verruca can be carefully cut out using a surgical scalpel.

How do you know when you have killed a verruca?

Health: My left foot ‘How are the feet?’ 32-year-old Tariq Khan enquires when we meet at the Marigold Clinic in the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital. He invites me to take off my shoe and sock and clamber on to a couch and then peers at my foot. ‘Not a problem,’ he pronounces, peeling on a pair of surgical gloves and reaching for a fresh scalpel.

‘When it comes to verrucas,’ says Khan, placing the offending foot over a tin bowl and whittling away delicately at the exposed callous on the ball of my foot, ‘I’m your man.’ As he works, he explains how there are five layers of skin and that the verruca virus lodges itself into the third layer, from where it rapidly multiplies and spreads.

By now he has pared down the callous to the peachy-pink skin below. ‘You see that?’ he indicates, drawing my attention to a tracery of microscopic haemorrhages beneath the surface that indicate the verruca is still alive, despite my concerted eight-year campaign to eradicate it.

• I’m not entirely sure where I first picked it up – from a grotty swimming pool, probably.
• Wherever it came from, it’s been a complete pain, regularly swelling in size, its mottled callous a constant source of irritation, sometimes reducing me to a hobble.
• The faces of countless clueless GPs and well-meaning nurses flash before me, their gazes becoming gradually more sheepish until they eventually admit defeat and refer me on elsewhere.

Finally, six months ago, I got referred here to see Khan. I have heard good reports – that he has a PhD in verrucas and devised a revolutionary new system of treating them. I wonder what it is. I have already endured cryotherapy, which entailed having localised frostbite applied using a liquid-nitrogen spray.

This kills off several layers of skin, later shaved away, in the hope of zapping the elusive virus along the way. Then there were the acid-based treatments, which, painted on to the affected area, burn and blister your skin. Although the British Medical Journal reported last year that this was successful in 75 per cent of cases, it had proved singularly unsuccessful in mine.

Laser surgery, I had been told, did not enjoy particularly high success rates either, and in some cases even stimulated the verrucas to resurface more virulently. I had tried the less conventional remedies, too, such as banana-skin poultices, which puckered the skin to a white, rubbery consistency that I then vigorously attacked with a mini-grater.

I’d even been known to go at the damn thing with a penknife, obsessively gouging holes into it. All to no avail. ‘The verruca is a kind of ingrowing wart,’ explains the softly spoken Khan. ‘There are 80 different types of verruca out there. Of these, six are the most common and they usually appear on the hands or feet, but sometimes also on the nose, lips, eyebrows, back, neck – in fact anywhere on the body.

‘You can burn a verruca, you can freeze it, you can cut it, you can do anything you like to it, but chances are it’s not going to help because you’re dealing with a virus, and a very clever virus at that – one that knows how to hover and hide behind the body’s natural defences.

‘When we burn, freeze or cut it, all we are doing is making a big hole in your skin and hoping that the immune system can kick in and clear up the mess. But often it’s not strong enough to do that, either because you’re getting old or because you’ve recently been under the weather. ‘Every time you use acid or liquid nitrogen, you are just opening up a wound and allowing the virus to disperse and take root in surrounding blood vessels and tissue, where it just starts replicating again.’ Khan claims a 90 per cent success rate when treating verrucas.

So if he’s not resorting to freezing or burning, what does he use? Marigolds. Hence the name of the clinic. Taufiq Khan, Tariq’s father, first became interested in marigolds while treating ulcers in the 70s. He discovered that there were two major families: the Calendula or pot marigold that comes in two varieties and the Tagetes marigold that comes in 57 varieties.

Up until then homeopaths had classified all these varieties together, but Khan Sr discovered that the different types produced totally different effects, some stimulating cell growth, others inhibiting it. He found that certain marigolds of the Tagetes variety could be used to attack undesirable virus-like cells that were multiplying quickly, while leaving the surrounding skin and tissue unaffected.

Taufiq went on to apply this discovery to treating bunions and joint inflammation, while his son Tariq further developed his research to tackle the treatment of warts and verrucas. Today, the father-and-son team have their own line in patented homeopathic medicines, supplied mainly from their marigold nursery in Enfield, and they head up the Marigold Clinic where, apart from verrucas, bunions and ulcers, they also treat fungal infections of the skin and nails.

1. The NHS-backed clinic started life back in 1981 at St Pancras Hospital before relocating to its present site in 2002.
2. Its reputation received a well-earnt boost a couple of years ago when it won an award for good practice in complementary medicine from Prince Charles’s Foundation of Integrated Medicines.

‘After that everything went mad,’ Tariq recalls. ‘GPs from all over started referring patients to us, and suddenly we had a six-month waiting list. We even ran out of marigolds at one point and had to step up production. I think that, before, a lot of people simply hadn’t realised that homeopathic treatments were available on the NHS.’ There are no accurate figures regarding verruca sufferers, but Tariq reckons that he sees upwards of 120 new patients a month.

I had been booked in for three half-hour sessions. At the first, Khan prepared a pungent and gooey marigold poultice that he swaddled on to my foot with padded bandages. I have to wet it once a day and to leave it on for a week.’When I apply this,’ he explains, ‘it only works in a localised way on the hard skin or virus.

Viruses grow very quickly. Your normal skin has a different proliferation rate. It is not like the acid or freeze treatments which kill absolutely everything. Marigolds leave normal skin unaffected.’ He also advised me to take marigold-based tablets three times a day.

1. ‘These work from the inside out – boosting up your immune system forcing the verruca out.’ Which one, I wondered, of the 57 varieties of marigold was Tariq using on me? ‘Can’t tell you,’ he responded coyly.
2. ‘It’s a secret formula.’ But he did volunteer that it was a cocktail of several types.
3. When I come back a week later, the skin beneath the dressing is stained a vivid brown and Khan cuts away at it as easily as cheese.

‘Good. That means the marigolds are doing their job – they’re inhibiting the flow of protein to the virus.’ Khan pares away at the discoloured skin. ‘You have five layers of skin and the top three is where the verruca enters, attaching itself to blood vessels and nerve endings.

1. That area has now just died and so the blood vessels are no longer touching it.
2. It is an odd concept to grasp.
3. People tend to think a verruca is either there or it isn’t.
4. But it’s more multi-layered than that.
5. Try to think of it in terms of traffic lights.
6. If green is alive and red is dead, then your verruca is now on yellow.

Normal, healthy pink tissue is beginning to develop.’ Khan makes up an identical poultice to the first one and I return again the following week, when he reapplies himself with the blade. ‘As the verruca dies, it changes colour. When it turns black, you know that the supply of blood to the virus has been cut off.

• The verruca is dead and will push itself out.
• ‘When verrucas are alive they will bleed profusely when you cut them.
• But the fact that I can cut away now with no bleeding means that there is no blood supplying it.
• That is not to say that you are entirely out of danger.
• The dead particles are still in there and can reinfect.

It shouldn’t happen, because your immune system is building up again now, but it can.’ Khan explains that my case has been complicated by my verruca’s location immediately beneath a bone. That pressure on it, combined with the build-up of dead scar tissue through prolonged and extensive treatment with acids and liquid nitrogen means that I will have to regularly file and smear it with marigold tinctures for another couple of months.

1. ‘As the new skin is building up you continue to scrape away the old tissue with bits of old dead virus floating in it,’ Khan says.
2. One month on and I am still religiously taking the tablets, applying the tinctures and filing away.
3. But Khan’s marigolds have been a godsend for me, and my verruca is finally dead.

And I can promise you one thing – you won’t catch me down at the swimming pool again without my flip-flops. · The Marigold Clinic,, Greenwell Street, London W1 (020 7391 8833). Spliffs – A Celebration of Cannabis Culture, by Nick Jones, is published by Chrysalis Impact at £7.99.

Does duct tape remove verrucas?

Using duct tape to remove a wart is a home remedy that some people believe can work. However, studies have produced mixed results on its effectiveness, and it can cause skin irritation in some people. Warts develop as a result of a viral infection that the body takes several months or years to mount an immune response against.

Therefore, it can take a while for warts to resolve on their own. Duct tape wart removal may help people get rid of warts more quickly, but this method requires frequent and repeated applications of duct tape, which can be difficult to keep up. For this reason, some people might prefer other home remedies or medical treatment options.

In this article, we explain how to perform duct tape wart removal. We also discuss other ways to remove warts. Share on Pinterest People must use repeated applications of duct tape to remove a wart with this method. Proponents of using duct tape for wart removal think that it may work for several reasons. One theory is that the tape deprives the skin cells of oxygen.

1. By “suffocating” the wart, the duct tape makes it more likely that the skin cells will die.
2. The process of applying and removing the duct tape may also remove additional skin cells, which can make the wart less bulky and noticeable.
3. However, there is a lack of recent research into using duct tape as a wart removal treatment, and earlier studies have produced mixed results.

One 2002 study found that the duct tape method was significantly more effective than cryotherapy, which involves using liquid nitrogen to freeze the wart. The study included 51 participants ages 3–22. They received either up to six sessions of cryotherapy, which took place every 2–3 weeks, or 2 months of duct tape application.

Warts resolved entirely in 85% of the participants in the duct tape group and in 60% of those in the cryotherapy group. However, a 2007 study into using adhesive pads to treat warts found that adding duct tape to a breathable fabric called moleskin made no difference to its effectiveness. The 80 adult participants wore either a moleskin pad with duct tape covering the pad or just a moleskin pad.

After 2 months, warts had resolved in 21% of the participants who used the duct tape and in 22% of those who used only the pad. The authors of a 2014 meta-analysis concluded that the current evidence suggests that duct tape is no better than placebo for wart removal.

1. They examined previous studies that investigated duct tape removal, salicylic acid application, and cryotherapy treatments.
2. Some researchers point out that a limitation of this research is the difficulty of continually applying the duct tape and keeping it on for 2–3 months.
3. Without proper and continued application, the therapy is unlikely to work.

A person can follow the steps below to use duct tape to remove warts:

Cut a small piece of duct tape that is large enough to cover the wart and stay on the affected area.Clean the wart area and allow it to dry thoroughly. Apply the duct tape to the wart. Some people may first wish to apply a 17% salicylic acid solution to increase the chance that the wart will come off. Salicylic acid solution is available to buy at most drugstores.If the duct tape falls off, replace it with another piece.Remove the tape once every week. Wash the wart and gently use an emery board, pumice stone, or piece of sandpaper to remove the dead skin cells.Allow the wart to dry overnight.Reapply the duct tape to the wart for another week.

For the duct tape method to work, a person will usually need to wear the duct tape for a total of 8 weeks, The tape must be occlusive, which means that it does not allow air to escape. Adhesives such as cloth bandages will not have the same effect. Scientists warn that people who try duct tape wart removal can experience side effects, which may include :

rednessitchingbleeding eczema other skin reactions

Anyone who notices these side effects should stop using the duct tape method straight away. Once the area has healed, they can try using other home remedies or medical treatments instead. A healthcare professional will be able to offer advice on which options may be best for them.

Cryotherapy : Doctors spray a short burst of liquid nitrogen onto the wart or apply it with a cotton-tipped applicator. The liquid nitrogen freezes the wart’s skin cells, and they fall off over time. Learn more about freezing warts here, Salicylic acid : This natural peeling agent can help slough wart skin cells. However, a person must apply the acid consistently to see the results. Salicylic acid is usually the first-line treatment for warts, according to an article in the journal Paediatrics & Child Health, Learn how this technique works here, Laser therapy : Doctors can use lasers, such as a carbon dioxide laser or a pulsed dye laser, to burn off the wart. However, some people may experience skin scarring as a result of undergoing laser therapy. Intralesional injections : Doctors can inject medications that have different clinical effects into treatment-resistant warts. For example, they can inject bleomycin to stop the cells dividing, or they may use interferon to stimulate the body to mount an immune response to the virus causing the wart.

The location and size of the wart will often determine the best treatment option. Salicylic acid applications are a common home remedy for warts. A person can buy these at most drugstores and paint them on, much like nail polish. Salicylic acid patches are also available.

1. To enhance the effectiveness of this treatment, a person should soak the wart in warm water for about 10 minutes and use an emery board or pumice stone to file away the wart’s skin before applying the salicylic acid.
2. A person can also purchase freezing solutions for wart treatment at a drugstore.
3. These are not liquid nitrogen, but they work in a similar way.

People should not attempt to apply ice to freeze a wart. Doing this will not be effective, and it is likely to damage the surrounding skin. Most warts are not medically harmful, but some people dislike their appearance. Without treatment, warts will usually go away within 2–3 years but often sooner.

How painful is verruca removal?

Does it hurt? – As with many treatments for skin lesions, some discomfort, even pain may be experienced during treatment. This varies from person to person but most people undergoing describe verruca microwave therapy as like a prick with a needle although some may find it more painful.

What is the black dot in a verruca?

Symptoms – The symptoms of a plantar wart may include:

Thickened skin. A plantar wart often resembles a callus because of its tough, thick tissue. Pain. Walking and standing may be painful. Squeezing the sides of the wart may also cause pain. Tiny black dots. These often appear on the surface of the wart. The dots are actually dried blood contained in the capillaries (tiny blood vessels). Plantar warts grow deep into the skin. Usually, this growth occurs slowly with the wart starting small and becoming larger over time.

What does the core of a verruca look like?

What does a verruca look like? – The reason that corns and verrucas are so commonly misdiagnosed and confused with one another is that they look so similar. A verruca will, in most cases, develop into a hard lump, similar to a corn; however, there will be some minor differences.

• The most obvious difference in most cases is that a verruca will have a black dot in its center; this is however, dependent on the depth of the verruca.
• This black dot is formed by the capillaries bleeding as the virus in your foot hardens.
• Verrucas will also be slightly more pointed out of the foot than corns will appear to be.

Verrucas will often come in two different varieties. That is a singular verruca which in most cases will appear flat and not raised from the bed of the foot, or a cluster of verrucas, also known as a ” mosaic wart “, can come in the form of a raised hard lump, sometimes having the appearance of cauliflower.

How do they cut out a verruca?

Genital Wart – Genital warts are usually caused by different types of HPV than the other types of wart. They usually spread by sexual contact and are the most commonly diagnosed sexually transmitted infection in the UK. If you have these warts, it’s important to go to a sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinic for further advice.

• Don’t use over-the-counter wart treatments on genital warts.
• What is the treatment for warts and verrucae? If you are suffering with a wart or verruca, Dr Rippon offers three safe and effective treatments that will remove the offending wart.
• The best treatment option for you will be confirmed by Dr Rippon after a full assessment at your consultation.

Whichever treatment method is used to remove your wart, the procedure will usually only take a few minutes. An anaesthetic may be applied before removal but isn’t always necessary, as there is minimal discomfort during the treatment. EXCISION The wart or verrucae is carefully cut out using a surgical scalpel.

• This procedure can be done under local anaesthetic and will require a small stitch in the skin.
• The wart or verrucae is removed immediately in this treatment option.
• CURETTAGE is a medical word for cutting out a growth.
• Warts are not dug out.
• Instead, they are scooped out.
• The tool used in wart curettage is often spoon-shaped to easily remove the growth.

CRYOTHERAPY This treatment method involves using Liquid Nitrogen to freeze off the wart or verrucae. The cold temperature kills the cells within the wart or verrucae, as well as constricting the blood supply. This causes the cells to die and naturally fall off.

Is a wart dead if it bleeds?

Common warts FAQs – Q: Are common warts contagious by touch? A: The virus that causes common warts, human papillomavirus (HPV), is contagious. Children and people with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk of contracting HPV, which can be spread through skin-to-skin contact or through contact with an object or surface carrying the virus.

The risk of contracting HPV is especially high in warm, wet conditions, such as those found at a swimming pool or in a locker room.4 Q: Are common warts HPV? A: Common warts are caused by infection with human papillomavirus (HPV), which is an umbrella term for over 100 types of viruses. Certain strains of HPV can cause common warts to develop on the hands, fingers and other non-genital areas of the body.

Other strains of HPV can cause different wart types to appear on different parts of the body, including sexually transmittable genital warts, or different conditions altogether, including, in rare cases, cervical cancer or anal cancer, Q: Are common warts the same as genital warts ? A: No, common warts are not the same as genital warts.

Though both types of wart are caused by the HPV group of viruses, the strains that cause each type are different and so are the methods of transmission. Unlike common warts, genital warts are spread through sexual contact, they are an STI/STD. Common warts cannot spread to the pubic area and genital warts cannot spread to the hands or other parts of the body.20 1 21 Read more about genital warts.

Q: Can you get a common wart on your arm? A: Yes. Though common warts often develop on the hands or fingers, they can also appear anywhere else on the body other than the genital area. Q: What is the difference between common warts and plantar warts? A: Both common warts and plantar warts are a product of the human papillomavirus (HPV) group of viruses.

• Unlike plantar warts, however, common warts can develop anywhere on the body, though most typically grow on the hands and fingers.
• Plantar warts are found on the feet only.22 Q: What is the difference between common warts and water warts? A: Common warts are caused by infection with HPV.
• Water warts, also known as molluscum contagiosum, are caused by infection with the molluscum contagiosum virus.

The infection causes small, painless raised bumps or lesions on the skin, which often appear in groups and typically clear up on their own.23 Q: What kind of wart do I have? A: If you are concerned about a wart or another skin condition, you can use the Ada app to find out more about your symptoms.

1. To receive a confirmed diagnosis, however, it is necessary to see a licensed doctor.
2. Q: Do common warts bleed? A: A common wart should not bleed unless it is scraped, scratched or injured in some way.
3. If a wart bleeds without a clear cause or bleeds profusely after injury, it is important to consult a doctor without delay.7 24 Q: Can common warts be painful? A: While most warts do not cause pain, some can, especially if they grow in an area which is pressed on often, e.g.

a fingertip. If a common wart is painful, it is recommended that you see a doctor to make sure it is not serious and to receive appropriate treatment.25 Q: Can a common wart get infected? A: A wart itself is the result of infection of the skin with HPV.

Warts do not generally become infected with bacteria, unless they are scratched, cut or otherwise injured in some way. In such cases, it is possible that bacteria may enter the wart or surrounding area, and a bacterial infection may result, causing pain, discoloration and other symptoms. If you are concerned that a wart may be infected, it is advisable to consult a doctor.26 Q: Should I be concerned about common warts during pregnancy? A: No, infection with HPV should not pose any risk to your baby.

As in any case of common warts, no treatment may be necessary, though options are available over the counter and from doctors.27 Q: Does duct tape work on common warts? A: Occasionally recommended as a home remedy for warts, duct tape has not been confirmed as an effective treatment.

Covering the wart with a small piece of duct tapeRemoving the duct tape every three to six days and gently using an emery board or pumice stone on the wartCovering the wart with a fresh piece of duct tape about 10 to 12 hours later

Results may only be seen after a number of weeks, if at all. Duct tape can cause skin irritation, bleeding and pain when removed. It should never be used in sensitive areas, such as the underarms or face.28 Q: What are the signs that a common wart is going away? A: When it is clearing up, or “dying”, a wart may shrink and start to disappear.

Why is my verruca so deep?

Caused by a Viral Infection – Verrucas (or verrucae) are warts that grow on the bottom of your feet. Chiropodists sometimes call them plantar warts (plantar is a medical term for the sole). They are rough, fairly round and white or yellow. Unlike corns and calluses, verrucas contain tiny blood vessels that look like black dots.

Verrucas Usually Get Worse

They may grow and grow if untreated. It could reach the point where it’s over a centimetre wide and bordered or covered by hard skin – a real nuisance. Over time, the pressure you exert on it when standing or in motion may force the verruca deeper into your foot.

They Can Multiply

The skin surrounding the verruca can get infected too, especially if you scratch the growth ( warts often itch ). So if you don’t treat it swiftly, you may end up with a cluster of them. This is known as having mosaic warts, and they’re harder to get rid of than a solitary wart.

Verrucas Cause Foot Pain

Foot pain, discomfort and tenderness are familiar to many sufferers, especially when weight-bearing areas, such as the ball of the foot, are infected. Imagine how awful it feels to stand, walk or run when a verruca has really taken hold and is growing across – and into – the bottom of your foot.

Verrucas Make Staying Active Difficult

A painful verruca makes everyday activities such as climbing the stairs challenging. Your enthusiasm for playing sport or visiting the gym is likely to diminish. You’ll also find it difficult to enjoy all the fantastic things there are to do in London,

Verruca Infections Spread Easily

If you touch your verruca then another part of your foot, you may inadvertently spread the infection. What’s more, it’s all too easy to infect other people. The infection spreads via skin-to-skin contact and contaminated surfaces. Everything from towels to swimming pool tiles can become verruca hotspots.

Verruca Treatment is More Effective than Ever

There’s no guarantee verrucas will clear up without treatment – some linger for years. Professional verruca treatments are better than ever and more powerful than over-the-counter products. Our skilled chiropodists provide:

• Strong acid-based treatments – the acid destroys infected skin cells.
• Cryotherapy – infected cells are frozen to rupture them. The virus enters your bloodstream, where it’s dealt with by your immune system.
• Verruca needling – the verruca is punctured with a sterile needle. This brings the virus into contact with your fatty tissue, which is rich in infection-combatting immune regulators.
• Swift microwave treatment – a microwave-emitting probe heats up and destroys infected cells.