Wart removal: What are the options? (2024)

FAQs

Wart removal: What are the options? ›

Warts are often treated with a salicylic acid solution or cryotherapy. These are also the best-studied treatments.

Freezing. Freezing therapy administered at the office of a healthcare professional involves applying liquid nitrogen to a wart. This method also is called cryotherapy. It works by causing a blister to form under and around the wart, killing the tissue.

Warts are harmless. In most cases, they go away on their own within months or years. If warts spread or cause pain, or if you don't like the way they look, you may want to treat them.

Salicylic acid removes warts layer-by-layer and is applied to your skin nightly for several months. Cantharidin: Also a topical medication, cantharidin triggers the formation of a blister under your wart. The blister loosens the wart, making it easy to remove.

Some warts may be cancerous, and these will require immediate excision to reduce the probability of metastasis. In these cases, surgery is commonly the most effective treatment option. Surgical procedures are safe in the hands of a trained and experienced medical practitioner.

Cryotherapy for wart removal costs about $610. This average cost includes the initial doctor's visit and up to four follow-up treatments. Factors affecting the cost of cryotherapy for warts may include the size, number and location of the warts.

On average, people who want to remove warts through home treatment with over-the-counter drugs may spend over $30. For newer wart removal treatments such as intralesional immunotherapy, prepare to spend about $190 for three treatments. Another option is pulsed dye laser therapy, which costs $360.

If you have one or more warts, you can rest easy for one important reason: They aren't cancerous. Still, ignoring a wart is never a good idea. Warts are highly contagious, which means you can develop more warts throughout your skin and spread them to others. On top of that, some warts are quite painful.

Contrary to popular belief, cutting off a wart doesn't guarantee that it won't grow back. In fact, cutting off a wart can sometimes make it grow back even bigger and more stubborn than before.

One theory is that the tape deprives the skin cells of oxygen. By “suffocating” the wart, the duct tape makes it more likely that the skin cells will die. The process of applying and removing the duct tape may also remove additional skin cells, which can make the wart less bulky and noticeable.

Does insurance cover wart removal? ›

Will my insurance cover treatment of my warts? Most do but not all insurances cover the treatment or removal of warts. Call your insurance company to inquire as to coverage, copay, coinsurance and deductible.

Warts are caused by certain strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV). There are lots of different strains of HPV and these cause different types of warts. HPV causes too much keratin (a hard protein) to develop in the top skin layer (epidermis). The extra keratin produces the rough, hard texture of a wart.

Below the surface of the skin, the virus will infect the skin cells, leading to the creation of a wart at the surface. This is why when one removes or pulls a wart out, it typically leaves a large hole in the skin. They can be rather deep depending on how severe the skin infection is.

Your doctor will use either a cotton swab or a spray "cryogun" to apply liquid nitrogen to the wart and some of the skin around it. This may feel like an ice cube touching your skin, but it only lasts a few seconds. Your skin may feel numb briefly and may also hurt, turn red, then form a blister.

Most patients experience minimal discomfort during the procedure, although warts in sensitive areas may need topical or injectable pain medication. The site may feel mildly tender for up to 2 weeks.

Complete Remission Rate of All Warts at 6 Weeks. One study reported the complete remission rate of all warts between cryotherapy and salicylic acid treatment at 6 weeks [17]. The complete remission rate was comparable in the salicylic acid group (66.7%) and the cryotherapy group (56.9%) ( = 0.415).

Trichloroacetic acid is a stronger acid than salicylic acid, and it can be used if the first option fails. The acid is related to the acetic acid in apple cider vinegar, which is used as an at-home remedy. It helps burn off the wart while attacking the virus that caused it.

How Does Swift Wart Removal Work? Warts are caused by a virus. Instead of destroying the tissue where the virus lives like most treatments, Swift works by delivering low-power microwave energy that stimulates the body's immune system to remove warts from the inside out.

The skin on the wart may turn black in the first 1 to 2 days, which might signal that the skin cells in the wart are dying. The wart might fall off within 1 to 2 weeks.