Effective Technique for Getting Rid of Warts – Available Only from a Podiatrist

How long does it take for a wart on your foot to go away? It depends on how you treat it. In our experience here at Fairfax County’s Clifton Foot & Ankle Center, there are five main ways to approach wart treatment. Spoiler alert! — board-certified podiatrist Kenneth R. Wilhelm, DPM currently recommends the fifth method to many of his patients who’re looking for lasting results —

1. No treatment at all
   This approach has varying rates of success. Leave a wart alone, and it may go away. However, it may not. If it does, it could take several years.
   
   
2. Home “folk” remedies
   Treating a wart at home also may or may not be successful. Folk remedies abound, such as applying a banana peel to the wart. Another popular method is to cover the wart with duct tape for several days, rub away layers of the wart with a pumice stone, then repeat the process until the wart is gone.
   
   
3. Drug store liquids and creams
   These methods work in one of two ways: one uses salicylic acid to peel away a wart layer by layer; the other requires you to spray liquid nitrogen onto the wart to freeze it. Daily application of salicylic acid or freezing compound can go on for weeks before you see results and may irritate the surrounding skin.
   
   
4. Traditional treatments at the podiatrist’s office
   Dr. Wilhelm offers prescription-strength creams that are more effective than the kind you get over the counter. Cryotherapy, laser removal, and surgery are other options that may be right for you.
   
   
5. Swift wart technology
   Swift therapy is the latest device in our podiatric toolbox. Swift doesn’t just target the top layers of a wart. It stimulates your body’s immune system to attack the virus that caused the wart in the first place. Swift quite literally gets to the root of the problem. Swift wart treatment is quick, safe, and effective.

One note of caution: please be sure your wart is a wart before you begin home treatment. Don’t assume that bump on your foot is a wart, as it could be some other kind of skin lesion that needs Dr. Wilhelm’s attention. For accurate, caring diagnosis and treatment of plantar warts and all other skin lesions of the feet, call our Centreville podiatry office at (703) 996-3000 or make an appointment online.