Self-Medication Advice for Warts

Warts are a fairly common skin condition which many suffer from.

For many patients, the first reaction to discovering a wart is often to wait and see whether it goes away again. Sadly, this tends not to happen, as warts are quite a persistent problem. Rather than disappearing of their own accord, many tend to get bigger and harder to treat. They can also spread, becoming more numerous, so over a couple of years one small wart can become a crop of several larger ones.

So where the problem doesn’t clear up by itself, the second option that many patients look at is usually to consider self-medication.

A range of treatments are available over the counter for treating warts.

Wart Self-Medication Options

• Chemical treatments
  These involve regular topical application of solutions designed to destroy the wart virus. Treatments often include an intense exfoliation of the wart to slough off the outer layers using an emery board. This is so that the acid can penetrate the more active deeper layer. Treatment can be quite uncomfortable, slow and ineffective for the larger and more persistent warts
• Freezing treatments
  Over the counter type treatments are also now available that apply intense cold to the wart. Again, this is designed to destroy the wart virus. The advantages of this option compared to chemical treatments are that it requires less regular application. However, the intensity of cold is not the same as that available to medical professionals and doctors, so it doesn’t always work and can often take a few goes

Is Self-Medication Worth It?

While self medication is cheaper than going to a doctor, it has a much lower success rate. It may be considered where warts are fairly fresh, but for larger, gnarly and well-established warts, the quickest solution for a wart cure generally is to see a professional.

Skin Surgery & Laser Clinic Wart Treatments

1. Freezing/Cryotherapy
   • Doctors at our professional skin clinics are able to offer a more aggressive freezing treatment than the DIY kits
   • This will penetrate the skin more deeply and is suitable for larger/tougher warts
   • 2-3 sessions may be required for full results
2. Laser
   • For more resistant warts or verrucas, doctors can user laser treatment
   • This is designed to penetrate the skin and destroy the virus, allowing healthy skin to regrow
3. Surgery
   • In extremely stubborn cases, wart removal surgery may be the last resort
   • This would remove the area affected by the wart virus, allowing new skin to grow

Wart Removal London & Bristol

Treatment using  freezing, laser or surgical techniques is available at Skin Surgery Laser Clinic who have a selection of locations conveniently based in London and Bristol.

All procedures are carried out by highly trained and experienced doctors and surgeons.

Many patients now choose private treatment for warts, as provision on the NHS is very limited – even where a service is available, there can be lengthy waiting times.

For more information or to book a consultation, please complete the form on this web page or call 020 7386 0464.