Plantar warts, 7 years and counting, what now?

Hi there

Have you heard of verrucae needling? Podiatrists in the UK and US will be able to do this for you easily under local anaesthetic. The idea is to push the wart virus further into the body so your immune system can produce an immune response....immunising you against your verrucae.

It doesn't work on everyone but appears to have high success rates. Home treatments don't work well on mosaic plantar warts (verrucae) but duct tape does. Cut it into a circle 1-2mm larger than the wart and put some medical tape over the top (eg hypafix, mefix, saniporefix....the white stretcht breathable tape) most pharmacies sell similar here in the UK.

I hope this helps

 

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Common warts, if that's what you have, can be one of the more difficult and unpredictable problems seen by both podiatrists and dermatologists. Their resolution probably has more to do with the patient and the ability of his/her immune system to kill the causative virus than any particular therapy. One thing I didn't hear you mention was surgical removal, either by curettage or full thickness excision. Without the cooperation of the immune system, though, permanent resolution is unlikely.

 

Thanks very much to both of you.

The podiatrist I saw never suggested surgical removal, nor did I suggest it, as we were trying freezing, then formaldehyde, then I had to skip stop seeing him due to graduating. I have seen surgical removal mentioned online as a last-ditch effort, and one not overwhelmingly successful at resolving the issue for good. I will discuss it the next podiatrist I see. Possibly no closure for me, though, well, I can live with that too. No rest for the wicked (with uncooperative immune systems).

I am actually back in the US now, and here to stay for the next 4 years (for university).... the needling sounds a bit horrifying! But perhaps I will google around to try to get a better idea about that. The duct tape, I really gave it a go, with various kinds of medical tape, but it would not stay on for love or money. I've got a lot of free time right now before starting university, though, I will try it again with American tapes. =)

 

I had a planter's wart for a year on the sole of my feet next to the toes. I had it surgically removed five weeks ago, but it has left a scar which is almost as painful as the wart. However my doctor says the scar will soften in about a month or so. I will keep you posted. One thing is for sure sometimes, if all else fails surgery is the only option. I tried most of the remedies like duct tape, salicylic acid patches and stuff like that before opting for surgery.

 

Am I correct in assuming that this was not done by a podiatrist?

 

It is certainly right

In my opinion you have misled.

 

I have 3 plantar warts with a new fourth one developing. I've had them for over three years. I'm soooo discouraged as I have tried every home remedy possible, as well as having the dr. freeze them.

I also cannot keep a bandage or strong duct tape on my feet while going throughout the day. So frustrating!

I just want these gone. So badly.....

 

I can see this is an old post, but I wanted to pass on what helped me in case someone else comes across it. I had maybe 100's of plantar warts across the ball of my foot covering about 2 square inches. I was afraid to go to the doctor thinking if they tried to surgically remove them, they were basically removing half of the flesh on the bottom of my foot! I couldn't imagine walking on it post-surgery with all that area being removed and who knows if they would have come back? And, like others, I thought I had tried every home remedy available including freezing them off, duct tape, making them bleed (yes, someone told me this heals them - something to do with antibodies in the blood, but it didn't work), and anything over the counter that looked like a possible fix - all that with minimal to no results.

For me, soaking my WHOLE FOOT for 30 minutes at a time in apple cider vinegar did the trick. I had tried soaking a cotton ball in the stuff and wearing that against the warts, but that did nothing and I thought I had used another failed home remedy. But, when I began soaking in about an inch of the vinegar for at least 30 minutes at a time for at least 3 nights in a row, I began to see visible results. Then I soaked a few more times and I haven't had a plantar wart since and that has been about 5 years ago (but I know exactly what I'll do if I ever get one). It's worth at least giving it try.

 

i have had warts on my foot for around 5 years now i have tried many different treatment methods, none worked i had them surgically removed i had a big one on the sole of my foot and a few around, i fully recovered in 2 months, but 5 months later i got very ill and i noticed that my warts were coming back i have been going to my foot doctor for almost a year now, we have constantly been treating it and i am currently using a cream called Aldara it seems to help but my wart is still there, i may have to go through a second operation. my doctor told me that it is possible but a very low chance (1 in a million) it could turn into cancer, so i may get them surgeically removed again just to be safe.

 

My son had two large plantar warts on his feet, very painful, we tried duct tape for months- no help. We went to a foot doctor and he perscribed formaldhide 10% solution. Within two weeks he had no pain, 4 weeks later they fell off. Happines, as he had them on his feet for over a year.
We were told it was best to put the medicine on after a bath or shower when the skin was softend. It worked really well. I am mad that it took me so long to seek help.

 

I too have a 7 year planter wart. Man it is a pain in the *SS!! I'm too embarrassed to go to the doctor (he's attractive)... At one point a couple years ago I would dig out the wart religiously after every shower with a drill bit. Just the bit, twirled it around with my fingers... I would have my glue gun heated up and ready to go and would fill up the wart hole with scalding hot glue. Then I would shove it in there and put another layer on top and go about my day. The theory was to suffocate it. I got to where you could not see roots at all...and the hole was getting smaller. For about a month I did this and when I fel confident it was gone, I stopped. I forgot about it, a week later, my wart was back and looked like it never left!!!! I'm just so frustrated. I will try again soon but this time, will do it every day for months!!! If that doesn't work, I'll drag my butt into the docs and get 'er done.

 

I had 2 plantars warts as a teenager - one on each foot. Had them lasered (the little black dots inside the crater) and they haven't returned since.