Warts

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Warts are a contagious skin lesion caused by Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). There are several different strains of HPV, each with different areas of the body they affect. The strains that cause Warts or Verrucae’s being benign.

Contracting a Wart is surprisingly easy, all it takes is a break/scratch in the skin. The wart virus is very resistant and can live outside of the body for prolonged periods of time. So places like Public swimming pools, changing rooms, and sports fields are prime places to catch one of these nasties.

A Wart is the result of a failure of your immune system to destroy the virus infecting the skin. Your body then encapsulates the infected tissue (walls it off) from healthy tissue. this causes a thickening of the skin which can then appear raised and cauliflower like; or when under the foot the pressure causes the wart to grow into your foot which can be very painful.

Treatment is aimed to get the body’s immune system to recognise the virus and destroy it. This can be achieved through many different methods ranging from non invasive and minimally painful procedures, through to surgical interventions.

Usually the first step in treatment is correctly identifying the bump on your foot as a Wart, then our Podiatrist will treat it conservatively at first usually including: Debridement (scraping off the dead skin and wart tissue) followed by either acid or silver nitrate application.

Your Podiatrist can discuss the causes, and tailor a treatment plan appropriate for you factoring in things like: Age, Wart size, Location, Pregnancy status, Pain tolerance, Immune status among other things.

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