A verruca is a plantar wart on the sole of your foot. It is caused by the HPV virus. There are many different strains of HPV virus and thus, many different types of verruca. Minute tears on the skin of the foot allow the virus to penetrate the skin. The virus can then stay dormant for long periods of time before showing itself as a verruca, often appearing after periods of stress or illness. The verruca stays in the top layer of skin and doesn’t penetrate to the vascular layer, and thus can go unnoticed by your immune system. Any verruca treatment therefore aims to create inflammation surrounding the verruca in order to provoke an immune response, allowing the verruca to be recognised as a foreign body and eliminated.
Treatment at Nenagh Footcare Clinic
At Nenagh Footcare Clinic your foot will be examined to see if you have a verruca. Sometimes corns can be confused as verrucas, however they present differently and can be identified easily with a few simple steps.
It is not always necessary to treat a verruca – this option will be discussed with you.
It is sometimes not advised to treat a verruca, for example if you have an underlying medical condition or impaired immune system. In this case a treatment regarding managing the verruca will be discussed.
Where treatment is advised, your options will be discussed, taking into account patient age, wishes, and lifestyle. Remember that all verruca treatments aim to create inflammation surrounding the verruca in order to provoke an immune response so that the verruca will be recognised as a foreign body and eliminated. The question is which is the best treatment for you?
Expert Advice
Verrucae that have been there a long time can be hard to get rid or and require persistence.
Verrucae that appear after an illness, and are spotted quickly can be helped on their way by taking a tonic.