47 verrucas!!!!

[Sunlight82]

I caught by first verruca 8 years ago when I was very ill whilst pregnant. Since then they have slowly spread over both feet. I saw a chiropodist for 5 year until she basically gave up with them, then I saw a private podiatrist who told me I had 47 and gave me the swift treatment on 4 of the biggest ones which basically microwaves them and was more painful than childbirth). It didn’t work. He told me I needed to be referred to a dermatologist as medication for it was the only thing left. I saw my GP months ago who said they can’t refer for verrucas and sent me to the surgery podiatrist. I’ve just been for that appointment, was in 2 minutes for him to tell me there’s nothing they can do.

I can’t carry on like this! I’m in agony all of the time. They throb 24 hours a day, it’s painful to walk, I can’t exercise or walk any distance. I’ve passed them to everyone in my family despite me being so careful to keep them covered at all times.

What on Earth do I do now? They’ve told me I need to go private but we can’t afford it. I am absolutely desperate

I know they are controversial - but I had a lot of warts on my hand as a child and I saw a homeopathist who saw me for some consultations and prescribed sulphur. . They all shrunk and disappeared and haven't returned.

Have you had any bloods taken?

Thanks everyone for your advice. I’ve just watched that embarrassing bodies episode and now I’m petrified there’s something drastic wrong with me. I have healthy anxiety anyway. I have no idea who to turn to now. I guess I ask the gp for a blood test.

We could get the money together for a private appointment as it’s usually £200 but I’m worried about the cost of ongoing treatment and appointments - we couldn’t afford that

I’m sure something like this was on embarrassing bodies a few years back, it turned out the person had an auto immune illness which meant they couldn’t fight the verruca infection (or something like that) May be worth searching you tube to find it

I eventually picked every bit of the biggest one out. I did it over several days as it was so painful. I soaked it first then used tweezers. Only thing that worked.

Do you know which one was first?

I got my first verruca 8 years ago during my first pregnancy and had blood tests with my second 5 years ago and all was fine. Surely something would have shown up then?

Yes I do know which one was first. I’m tempted to just gouge it out with the sharpest knife I can find. At least if I end up in A&E they might do some bloods

There is research being done into immunological treatments for verrucas, usually involving the mumps vaccine, I think, but other childhood infections can trigger the same reaction. I had stubborn verrucas as a child until I caught chicken pox, at which point I developed dozens of painful ones on both feet, which then went away permanently as the chicken pox spots went. Is there something like that you could strategically come into contact with, OP?

Is there any way to numb it a bit?

there are some cases of anti virals helping although not confirmed by mass studies. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26885794 "Oral Acyclovir in the Treatment of Verruca."

Tea Because I’ve seen more of them than you & I know success is rare. This is why dermatology isn’t interested, they know it’s unlikely to work, or they go then pop up in a different location afterwards & you have to go through it all again.

If anyone does figure out how to kill viruses there’s a Nobel prize in it for you.

GP.
There may be an underlying cause that needs dealing with.

Of course the GP can refer you! They are just choosing not to. This makes me so angry. Write a letter explaining the physical and psychological impact that the verrucas are having on you, and demand to be referred to somebody who can help. Honestly, this is what the NHS is there for, and so many of the actual consultants are APPALLED when they hear/see what people are being refused referrals for. This is part of how the NHS is being run down. But they can actually refer. Make a pest of yourself until they do it.

If you try Romeo’s idea, you can buy Acyclovir tablets from Superdrug online they’re £20ish. I don’t know if your GP would give you a prescription or not?

It might sounds unlikely but the more you get the more likely they are to just vanish one day. I had a long term super persistent verruca- over 10 years and then it got a lot worse with clusters on every toe. Tried everything to no avail and then about 6-12 months after the infestation appeared they suddenly went away, practically overnight! Even the original one which was do deep I though it would come out the top of my foot! It was surreal how something so widespread and horrid could vanish. It was as if my body finally noticed it was there and just absorbed it!

Op I think you’d be better addressing the health anxiety. If you cut too deep on plantar skin it will scar & form a corn.

The corn will hurt more & if it’s over scar tissue the treatment interval is

I had a massively stubborn mosaic of verrucas on my heel and footner peels were finally the death of them

I had lots of veruccas like this and they eventually went away on their own after several years once my immune system became able to deal with them. Your GP can refer you to a dermatologist if they are causing significant discomfort which they are. Maybe see another GP.

I'd go back to the G.P and tell them that unless they referred me for treatment then I would kill myself. I wouldn't but it would get them moving.

When I had loads on my foot in the past the GP prescribed a solution that had formaldehyde in it. I soaked my foot in this solution every night. This killed the top layers of skin on the foot and then this could be scraped away fairly painlessly. (I did this myself). The verrucas went with the dead skin.

aw @Cheekyfeckery Dr Christian is a lovely fella. I met him and he was lovely. It was a launch of a product where all the TV GPs were having a meal and being shown a presentation and I was in the corner doing social media (tweeting). Everyone ignored me except him - he made a point of coming and talking to me and even got me a drink.

What MotherOfDragonite said.

The 'stretched NHS' is there to treat you,not fob you off. Your Gp needs to extract a digit or two.

Another vote for Thuja www.nelsonspharmacy.com/thuja-30c. These work and pretty fast too. I know several people including my own child who had persistent verrucas and this is the only thing that worked.

Much sympathy, my daughter has had over 20 for several years. And yes, we've tried many home remedies, and leaving them alone. If we leave them she gets more and they become more painful. She's fit healthy and has a good diet.

It's not necessarily anything more sinister so try not to worry, but do get blood tests done. Poor thing, it must be awful.

I had a couple of big clusters on my foot for years, nothing would shift them, they just spread. I went on a weekend break to a place with a hot tub - used the hot tub with a verucca sock, but water still gets in, and within a couple of days they started to disappear, gone within a week. Wonder if it was the chemicals in the hot tub.