Warts And Verrucas
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Warts and verrucas are embarrassing for children, but should they be treated or left to heal on their own? Find out here.
What Are Warts and Verrucas?
Warts are small unsightly lumps on the skin that develop when a virus causes the top layer of skin to grow too much. Warts and verrucas are common in children, developing on the hands and feet. When warts develop on the sole of the foot they are called verrucas.
Warts, verrucas and other common skin infections like molluscum, whilst embarrassing, will most often disappear without any treatment. On average, warts and verrucas will heal and disappear within a year for most children. This is because the body’s immune system is divided into two parts. One part of the immune system treats bacterial infections, for example a bad cold or stomach bug, which usually clears within a week. The second part of the immune system tackles the weaker viral infections like warts and verrucas. This second part is much slower and builds up resistance to the virus gradually, which is why warts and verrucas can take a much longer time to heal.
Should We Treat Them?
Verrucas and warts are an embarrassing problem, especially for children. For this reason, parents will often seek medical treatments despite the fact that warts and verrucas will disappear without treatment.
In most instances, a doctor will not recommend treatment for verrucas and warts unless they are causing a high degree of pain and discomfort.
To destroy verrucas and warts liquid nitrogen is sprayed onto the wart to freeze and destroy the cells. A sore blister develops; this forms into a scab which falls off within a fortnight. It is a very painful procedure that also has side effects, including:
• Damaging the skin surrounding the wart, causing the pigmentation of the skin to change colour
• Infection after treatment
Such a painful procedure for a child can also create a dislike for visiting the doctor which can cause even greater problems later.
Before seeking such drastic medical treatments, parents could also consider trying creams, available over the counter which can relieve discomfort and help decrease the time it takes for the wart to heal.
Health columnist for The Guardian and GP, Dr Ann Robinson gives this advice: My advice to parents would be to leave warts and verrucas alone unless they are getting absolutely unmanageable, spreading over the entire surface of the foot so the child can't walk, but that is really rarely the case.
Dr Ann Robinson, GP
Health columnist for The Guardian
10050 Revised November 2012
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