Plantar warts can, at times, affect your performance at work, especially if your work requires you to stand for long or walk because some are quite painful. However, plantar warts are harmless and usually disappear without treatment, but they might take longer to go away in children and adults. Therefore, if you want to eliminate your warts, self-care approaches and guides from your care provider can help. If your warts have taken longer to disappear or are causing disruptive symptoms such as pain, you can cast about for wart San Antonio services to help get rid of your warts to enable you to walk effectively, thus improving your performance at work. Some of the effective ways of dealing with plantar warts include:
Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy is usually performed at work and mostly involves using liquid nitrogen, which is sprayed on your wart. Cryotherapy can be quite painful, thus requiring your care provider to use local anesthesia to numb the area, thus reducing discomfort during the procedure. The freezing results in the formation of a blister around the wart, which usually sloughs off after a week. The treatment also triggers your immune system to fight viral warts. Your care provider may require you to return for more treatments after approximately two to three weeks until your warts disappear.
Salicylic acid
Your dermatologist might also recommend you use some strong peeling medicines, preferably those containing salicylic acid. Salicylic acid usually works by removing your warts layer by layer. Like cryotherapy, salicylic acid also strengthens your immune system, thus enabling your body to fight warts. Your care provider may require you to apply for the prescribed medicine regularly at home because it might take a while before the warts disappear.
Minor surgery
During minor surgery, your care provider usually destroys the wart using an electric needle called electrodesiccation and curettage. Your care provider usually uses a numbing medication before the procedure to reduce pain, thus promoting comfort throughout the procedure. Since surgery causes scarring, it is commonly used to treat plantar warts only when other treatment options are no longer effective.
Laser treatment
Laser treatment also treats plantar warts by burning small blood vessels supplying blood to the wart. Since the wart no longer receives oxygen and nutrients, it dies and later falls off. However, you should note that the treatment needs to be repeated after every two or four weeks for optimal results. Your care provider might also need to numb the area before treatment to help reduce pain.
Immune therapy
In other cases, your care provider may prescribe medications to help stimulate your immune system to help fight viral warts. Therefore, your care provider injects your warts with an antigen that will help fight the wart.
Plantar warts can be painful and uncomfortable to deal with because some take a while before they disappear. However, you can find relief and heal from at-home remedies and OCT medications. However, some might not respond to other treatments, thus requiring you to undergo a minor surgical procedure. Therefore, if you have been battling plantar warts, you can schedule your appointment at Limmer Dermatology today and receive the best treatment option, including cryotherapy and immune therapy.