Warts - Verrucas
Warts are viruses that get into the skin through cuts especially when your skin is very soft e.g. after public swimming pools or in showers. Each person’s superficial skin has approximately 5 layers and warts grow in the deepest layer of skin. This is where their cauliflower effect begins to grow. They are usually painful to stand on because they contain tiny nerves and blood vessels. This is a common problem for many young children because their immune system does not completely develop before the age of 12 or 14, so they don’t fight off the virus as well as an adult would. Treatment before this age takes into account whether your child is in pain or if the verruca is growing.
How can Healthy Steps Podiatry help you?
- We can work out what the problem is- wart/verruca or a foreign object like a piece of glass or a thorn.
- We can treat it conservatively by removing the top layers of skin and treating it with acid which takes time, but works in many cases.
- We also use immune boosting tablets you can get from a naturopath. They are non-invasive and kids usually don’t mind them
- We can perform surgery if required. However this is usually done after children’s immune system fully develops.
The biggest error with treating verruca is when practitioners try to burn them or treat them without taking the dead skin on top off. This type of treatment is very painful in most cases and it is best to see us at Healthy Steps Podiatry as we deal with them frequently.
|
|
|
|
