Get wart removal in Surrey using lasers, surgery, prescriptions and more

All warts look like excess skin growth. They can have a brown spot in them, which is from broken blood vessels. They are usually round and hard, but they can be misshapen and crusty too.

The most common types of warts include:

Typically using our Erbium Yag (Er:Yag) laser, we can ablate wart tissues residing in your skin. Lasers are effective in that they kill off the blood vessels supplying the wart virus, while preventing bleeding at the same time. They are also very directional. We can very accurately target the HPV infection using this route.

Your skin will form a scab where the wart once was. Eventually, it will fall off, revealing smoothed-over skin. There may be a slight scar. However, we will advise you to use scar gel during aftercare, to reduce the chance of leftover marks. We sell this at our clinic.

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Using a method called electrocauterization, with a tool called a Hyfrecator, we may be able to burn off a wart. This works best with warts that look more like skin tags. It is also a method that requires scraping afterwards.

You may still form a scab, and then a scar, after electrosurgical wart removal. This can depend on how deep the wart is in the skin.

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If a wart can not be treated any other way, we may need to resort to surgical removal. Using a scalpel or other medical cutting and shaving tools, we can slice in and around the wart, to remove it from your skin.

The downside to surgical removal is that you will be left with an open wound, which will need time to heal. You’ll also need to be extra careful about avoiding infection afterwards.

Using liquid nitrogen freezing or aerosol freezing, a medical doctor can kill off a wart by exposing it to extremely low temperatures. This comes to be around -196°C or -320.8°F with liquid nitrogen, and -57°C or -70.6°F with aerosol. At our medical clinic, next to our cosmetic clinic, we offer nitrogen wart freezing. This requires multiple treatments to be effective. A blister, then a scab will form, and fall off. This method can be painful.

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These typically use very strong doses of salicylic acid as a first step (over 17% concentration). A doctor may also use trichloroacetic acid (TCA) or cantharidin in office, to treat the wart. Multiple treatments are still needed with any chemical treatment, and blisters or scabs can be expected.

Some cases may even benefit from topical retinoid prescriptions.

In extreme cases, certain types of medical-grade injections can be used, to clear warts. They can contain antigens, to help your body fight off HPV, or other pharmaceutical options (the same kinds used to treat cancer). Antigen shots can be referred to as immunotherapy for warts.

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Mostly using salicylic acid, you can buy medicated bandages or ointments to apply on a wart (they can be pads, gels, etc.). The concentration of salicylic acid in these preparations are, still, quite strong (around 17%). The acid dissolves the keratin which makes up most of the wart, plus the thick layer of dead skin above the wart.

Using this method, you will need to be careful not to affect the surrounding skin. It will also help to soften the wart before treatment with salicylic acid, such as by soaking in water, applying petroleum jelly or exfoliating the top layers of the wart. In this process, you must be extremely careful not to re-infect yourself, or others, through cross-contamination. At-home wart treatments can take 3 months of daily use to be effective. Please stop, and see a doctor if the wart becomes sore during this period.

It is also possible to buy over-the-counter wart freezing products. However, these still require repeat treatment. They will not be as strong as the treatment you can get in a medical office.

Important: please do not use over the counter wart products on your genitals, mouth, nose, eyes or other sensitive areas. Please do not use at-home treatments for warts if you have diabetes. See a doctor for those cases.

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It may sound crazy, but some studies show that this works (others, not so much). This method involves placing silver duct tape on your wart for about a week, then removing it to rub away dead cells. You’ll need to use a throw-away pumice stone or nail file to do this (again, being careful to avoid cross-contamination). Even if this does work for you, it will likely require repetition. How many times? We can only say: until your wart goes away.

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If you are infected with a common wart (see above), it’s possible it may go away on its own. The problem with waiting, however, is that the HPV virus causing the wart can spread easily through touch, or any skin opening. So, even if your body fights off one wart, you may be playing a game of ‘wack-a-mole’ if another one pops up, or a family member catches it. We feel it is better to have warts treated as soon as possible.

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The HPV virus commonly enters the skin through open wounds. To prevent spreading the HPV virus that is causing your wart, please remember the following care points:

• Never bite, pick or poke at your wart. This includes everyday nail biting, even when you don’t have a visible wart.
• Do not shave over a wart.
• Don’t try to clip off a wart.
• Don’t use the same pumice stone or nail file on your wart, as on other parts of your body. Only use disposable exfoliators on your wart. Throw them away after each use.
• Don’t share towels, nail clippers or other personal care objects with family members, especially if there are wart infections happening in your household.
• Sterilize your personal care equipment, like nail clippers or grooming scissors, after every use.
• Wear a bandage over a visible wart, especially if it has been opened.
• Wash your hands for at least 60 seconds, multiple times a day, to prevent the spread of all disease, including HPV.
• Wear washable water shoes at pools or in gym locker rooms. Clean your feet well after walking barefoot anywhere. Don’t walk barefoot at all if you have a cut or opening on your feet. If you get treated for plantar warts, change all your footwear, or disinfect them, too.
• Get tested regularly for genital strains of HPV. Use condoms and consider a vaccine, if you are sexually active. Always use protection during sex, even if warts are not visible.