Treatment
Many people don't bother to treat them because treatment can be more uncomfortable and troublesome than the warts - they are hardly ever a serious problem. However, warts may be painful and they often look ugly and cause embarrassment.
To get rid of them, we have to stimulate the body's own immune system to attack the wart virus. Persistence with the treatment and patience is essential!
Occlusion
Just keeping the wart covered 24 hours of the day may result in clearance. Duct tape is convenient and inexpensive.
Chemical treatment.
Chemical treatment includes wart paints containing salicylic acid or similar compounds, which work by removing the dead surface skin cells. Podophyllin is a cytotoxic agent, and must not be used in pregnancy or in women considering pregnancy.
The paint is normally applied once daily. Perseverance is essential - although 70% of warts will go with wart paints, it may take twelve weeks to work! Even if the wart doesn't go completely, the wart paint usually makes it smaller and less uncomfortable.
First, the skin should be softened in a bath or bowl of hot soapy water. The hard skin should be rubbed away from the wart surface with a piece of pumice stone or emery board. The wart paint or gel should be applied accurately, allowing it to dry. It works better if covered with plaster or duct tape (particularly recommended when the wart is on the foot).
Stronger preparations such as Upton's paste are used for thick verrucas, applied every few days. It is important to protect the surrounding skin with adhesive plaster before applying Upton's paste, and to apply a plaster over the paste to keep it in place.
If the chemical makes the skin sore, stop treatment until the discomfort has settled, then recommence as above. Take care to keep the chemical off normal skin.
3% formalin solution can be used to soak multiple mosaic plantar warts several times a week. Protect unaffected skin with Vaseline, and apply cotton wool soaked in the solution, left in place for about ten minutes before rinsing off.
