Plantar Warts
Warts on the bottom of the feet (plantar warts or verrucae) are non-cancerous skin growths on the soles of your feet caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) which enters your body through tiny cuts and breaks in your skin.
Knowing how to treat these often painful skin lesions is just one way the team at Complete Podiatry can help you build an amazing life from the feet up.
We'll help you find the right diagnosis
Plantar warts often develop beneath pressure points such as the heels or balls of your feet following minor trauma to the skin. They may not be obvious for up to 6 months following the initial infection.
Typically, warts on the bottom of the foot commonly demonstrate:
- Small, fleshy or grainy bumps on the soles of the feet
- Hard, flat growths with a well-defined border and a rough surface.
- Bumps that interrupt the normal lines or ridges in the skin of the feet
- Pain with squeezing if in non-pressure areas
- Lumps with one or more black pinpoints (clotted blood vessels)
Your wart can become painful, change size or colour and multiply to the point where it can interfere with your enjoyment of normal daily activities.
You should see your Podiatrist or Doctor if your warts become painful, change size or colour or if they multiply or interfere with your daily activities
Recent research has identified there are a small number of strains of the human papillomavirus that are resistant to treatment. We will keep a close eye on the progress of your wart treatment and discuss this with you should we become concerned you have a resistant strain.
Understanding your treatment options gives you choices
Each wart is as individual as the person it infects so the right advice is essential to ensure your treatment gives the best results for you.
There are 4 main options when it comes to treating plantar warts based on the best scientific evidence available:
- Topical paints from the pharmacy
- Fortnightly acid and padding application
- Needling procedure under local anaesthetic
- Swift Microwave wart treatment
Our Podiatrists will spend time talking to you to gain a deeper understanding of what your goals for treatment are, your lifestyle and how any potential treatment could affect you.
This will help us find the best treatment options for you and make sure you can keep doing everything you want to without your wart treatment causing interruptions during your daily life.
We invest in the best technology for the best results
Swift is a medical microwave technology that is highly effective at resolving warts, verrucae or papillomas.
Swift has an 83% resolution rate, this is a higher success rate than any other wart treatment.
A focussed microwave signal is emitted into the skin using the Swift technology to a predetermined depth to ensure only the wart is treated.
A process called "Heat Shock" occurs within infected skin cells. This causes the wart to release certain proteins into the circulatory system, allowing the immune system to recognise the infection and begin to fight the virus.
With a few exceptions, most people with warts will be able to use Swift