DS ongoing verruca problem - follow dr advice or try something else

[FirstTimeRound984]

My 2yo DS has had a verruca on the bottom of his foot for over a year now, been to the Dr several times (not just for this issue but just asking about it whilst there) they always say just leave it alone it will go away by itself. But it hasn't yet, I don't think it's hurting DS or painful as such but he hates it when I try to have to look at it to check if it seems to be getting better or worse. I'd say on the whole its not getting any better but it's not getting worse either.
I'm very strict about him always wearing (clean) socks and especially around other people/children. He baths when I do so I used that time to try to check it and try to clean it & him obviously but he shouts for me to let go as soon as I touch the foot with the verruca - he is aware that it's there and sort of acts like he doesn't want anyone to know/see it. To this day i have no idea how he got it in the first place as he's never been bare footed around the house (except bath time but I carry him) because I have this thing against bare feet on the floor I think its just dirty.
Anyway, I'm debating whether to buy one of those kits from the pharmacy to speed up the process, I spoke to a pharmacist the other day - told her he's had it for a year etc - she said it will be very painful for him so I was wondering if anyone has any experiences of using these treatments on a young child (he will be 3 in May) is it as painful as people say? I remember having one when I was about 10 and my mum used a treatment and I didn't find it painful just uncomfortable but obviously that's a 10yo not a 2yo. Or should I just leave it be?

My dd is 5, the stuff from the pharmacy didn't do anything to her verruca put it on every night for 6 months. The only thing it did do was burn all the healthy skin around it. We used Vic vapour rub on it after her bath each night then covered it for 24hours with a plaster on GP recommendation an it went in 5 days! When I removed the plaster on the 5th night the verruca had come out whole.

Try soaking a cotton wool pad with cider vinegar and sticking it over the verruca for a few nights. Painless and it has been known to work

My dd had a verruca a few years a go (she has SN & will not tolerate me examining anything for long!),the GP said the same to me,to leave it & it will go on it's own eventually.
But we covered it in a thin layer of superglue & when it had dried put a plaster over it.We had to pick at it every week or so to get it out,then repeat the superglue & plaster, but it got rid of it in the end.

When my dd had one at age 5, we first got the freezing kit and she cried her heart out. It has to he repeated a few times in certain intervals but we gave up as the treatment was causing her so much pain. We then got a treatment from the GP which was a kind of special paint that we put on the verruca, which suffocated it. This also had to be repeated, quite a few times, but it worked brilliantly and didn't cause her any pain. It had been quite an established verruca but went within a couple of weeks!

I went to a chiropodist in the end for my DD as she does a lot of swimming and we all use the same shower/bathroom. She had a couple of treatments which included a homeopathic one (I am VERY sceptical about this) but it dropped off 2 weeks later, never to return. I was amazed. It did cost money though. Over the counter didn't work.

You need to see a foot health professional or chiropodist to properly sort it out. Like over the counter corn products, verruca products cause more harm than good.

I'd pay and take him to a really reputable chiropodist and see what they advise. When I was a child I used to go to the Veruca clinic every week to have mine cut out. The pain was very severe, so I hope things have improved since then.

Thanks for all the advice, I have read about the superglue and plaster method but never tried it for a) never remembered to buy superglue and b) DS doesn't let me near his foot with just my hand so getting him to let me put something on it wouldn't happen without kicks and screams!
I might try the cider vinegar and cotton wool (I have those things in!) but again its him letting me near his foot that'll be a problem. I'm a bit put out that you GP gave you something for it Jokat and I've asked a number of times for help to no avail! Would that be because you DD was older?
Gonna try these home methods (if he lets me) but definitely going to ring my MIL and get the number of her chiropodist. Thanks for the help

Try duct tape, seriously, well recognised treatment by dermatologists and it does work

My ds had a really terrible one on his big toe that then spread to the second toe. Nothing worked so we left it in the end and it's now disappeared on its own. It took a couple of years though!

Had them for years as a dc. Picked them out with a compass at secondary school. Wouldn't recommend it .

I know this is a late reply, but duct tape is MAGIC. I had two huge clusters of them on one foot when I was a teen, and they grew and grew all the way through to my 3rd year of university. TMI warning, but they ended up convex and rock hard, could almost tap dance with them on hard flooring haha! Of course, they were very uncomfortable to walk on.

Nothing got rid of them, nothing from the chemist, banana skin, nothing. I was desperate! Saw on a student forum that duct tape seemed to be the thing, so I tried it. It took just over 2 weeks to clear the whole lot up and I've never had one since. No scars, nothing. Just put a square over the offending verruca and keep replacing when the tape falls off/after bathing/getting wet. It also worked on a wart my friend had on her finger for years.

Podiatrist/Chiropodist here.

Slightly more expensive, but I have had good results with Compeed blister blasters to achieve the same effect as well. Keep covered basically 24/7 save an hour a day. Review after a week and keep going until it either falls out or vanishes. If you have the spare ££ take to a Podiatrist/Chiropodist to remove the "dead" verruca tissue if it builds up. You can strengthen this approach by using one of the OTC verruca treatments based on salycylic acid like salactol etc but be sure to test trial if for a days before hand.

As a general rule I don't touch verrucas in children, as they almost always go on their accord even without treatment and it's usually the parents who are more concerned than the child.That being said, a nudge in the right direction won't hurt.

Verrucas in adults are an entirely different kettle of fish however!

Years ago I took my daughter, then aged around 10, to the chiropodist with a verruka that she'd had for so long she had named it (Tarabithia). As we discussed various ways of treating it, and he was explaining that studies had shown placebos to be just as effective in children, she picked the bloody thing out! It lived in a matchbox for many years to come.

I had one as a child, my DM tried everything under the sun but what worked in the end (when it was at its most angry, red and sore from all the treatments) was a piece of banana skin, secured mushy side against the skin with a waterproof plaster that was kept dry at all times and left for a week or so. When we finally peeled off the plaster the verruca lifted away with it to reveal soft clean healed skin underneath. Definitely try it!