Skin problems
Verrucas
A verruca is a wart on the sole of the foot, caused by a common virus. Most clear up on their own eventually, which is why the honest first question is whether yours needs treating at all.
Treatment Summary
How long
30 minutes
What it costs
£35
No new patient fee. Each treatment appointment is the same £35.
Getting in
Free parking at the Tesco next door, under a minute's walk.
What we do
Does it hurt
The verruca itself can be sore to squeeze. Taking down the hard skin over it does not hurt at all. Some treatments sting for a short while and we tell you which before we start, and we stop when you ask.
A short line in a patient's own words goes here, once we have a real one to use.
Placeholder — name and town go here.
How to tell a verruca from a corn.
Corns and verrucas turn up in the same places and look alike to most people, and they are treated in completely different ways. Sorting out which one you have is the first thing we do.
A small early verruca on the sole — at Complete Chiropody and Podiatry in Chester-le-Street
A verruca with a callus rim and tiny black dots — at Complete Chiropody and Podiatry in Chester-le-Street
A large mosaic verruca covering a patch of the sole — at Complete Chiropody and Podiatry in Chester-le-Street
Treatment Information
What we do about it.
01
We confirm what it is
We reduce the surface and look at what is underneath. A verruca interrupts the lines of the skin and has small dark dots in it. A corn has a smooth central core. It takes a minute, and it saves you months of treating the wrong thing.
02
We take the pressure off it
Most of the discomfort comes from hard skin building up over the verruca and pressing it down into the foot. Reducing that is painless and is often the only thing needed to make walking comfortable again.
03
We are honest about treatment
Verrucas are caused by a virus, and your own immune system is what clears them — often within a year or two in children, more slowly in adults. No treatment is guaranteed and several rounds are usual. If it does not hurt and it is not spreading, leaving it alone is a perfectly reasonable choice.
04
We agree a plan and a limit
If you want it treated we go through the options, start with the least aggressive one that suits it, and agree in advance how long to give it before trying something else. Nobody should be six months into a treatment that is clearly not working.
What you can do at home
Get it looked at sooner if…
Any of these change what we do and how quickly we do it. Ring us rather than waiting for a routine appointment.
Online booking opens soon
Our appointment diary is not open just yet. Leave your details and be the first to know when it opens, so you can pick a time that suits you, evenings and weekends included.
Diary opening soonOr ring 07838 652554 and we will find you a time.
Rather talk to someone?
Ring during opening hours and you will speak to a person. Home visits are arranged this way.
A verruca is a plantar wart caused by the human papilloma virus, most often types 1, 2, 4, 27 and 57. The black dots people notice are thrombosed capillaries within the lesion, and the loss of skin striae across the surface is what distinguishes it from a callus. Most resolve spontaneously once cell mediated immunity responds — around two thirds within two years in children, more slowly in adults. Topical salicylic acid with regular debridement has the best evidence among the simple treatments; cryotherapy is comparable rather than superior and is more uncomfortable. Needling and stronger caustics are options for stubborn lesions. People who are immunosuppressed or who have diabetes are managed more cautiously. A lesion that bleeds, changes pigment or does not behave like a wart warrants a second opinion rather than repeated treatment.
Questions
Things people ask about verrucas.
Most do, eventually. Your immune system recognises the virus and clears it, which can take months or a couple of years. If it is not painful and not spreading, waiting is a legitimate plan rather than a cop-out.
Freezing is one option, and it is not the miracle people expect — the evidence puts it about level with acid, and it stings more. We will tell you what suits your verruca rather than reaching for the same thing every time.
Mildly. It spreads on wet floors and through shared towels rather than through ordinary contact. Cover it for swimming, keep your own towel, and do not use the same file on the verruca and then elsewhere.
Usually because the hard skin over it is stopping anything reaching it, or because the treatment was used for two weeks rather than the twelve it needs. Reducing the surface first makes a real difference.
Often not. Children clear them faster than adults, and the treatments are uncomfortable for something that is going to resolve anyway. If it hurts or it is spreading, that changes the answer.
Still have a question?
Ask it here and we will come back to you by email, usually the same working day. If it is urgent, calling is quicker.
Online booking opens soon
Our appointment diary is not open just yet. Leave your details and be the first to know when it opens, so you can pick a time that suits you, evenings and weekends included.
Diary opening soonOr ring 07838 652554 and we will find you a time.
Rather talk to someone?
Ring during opening hours and you will speak to a person. Home visits are arranged this way.
Verrucas
treatment in Chester-le-Street
Our clinic is in Chester-le-Street, right next to Tesco, so parking is free and it is less than a minute's walk from the car park to our door. We also see people from the towns and villages around it, and visit at home across the same area.