Verruca - next steps

[Hairybauble]

DD9 has had a painful verruca for about a month. We have been using Bazooka regularly, but it is no better - and indeed the instructions say that it can take months to work!

She is genuinely in a lot of pain with it - particularly after applying the gel liquid. She's sobbing at bedtime, saying it's throbbing etc.

Local private podiatrists won't see her because they generally don't treat children, and the NHS app says that doctors won't do anything about it. The pharmacy just recommended the gel we've been using.

Do I need to push for a doctor's appointment, or is that just wasting everyone's time?

It's a pharmacist thing. GP's won't generally do anything about it other than under particular circumstances (bleeding/on genitals etc.)- see below

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/warts-and-verrucas/

A private podiatrist treated (and cured) my daughter’s large, painful and persistent verruca after months of Bazooka and other freeze spray thingys from the chemist which collectively cost a fortune and didn’t work. However DD is 12. Perhaps look outside your local area to find a foot clinic where they treat children would be my only suggestion.

Have you tried Bazooka extra strength?
Dd had a verruca that we used Bazooka on for months, 3 nights of extra strength and it was gone.

We went to the Drs as DS had several different foot issues all at once. He gave us some acid for the verrucas I can't remember what it was called but using that and sandpaper daily for a good few months has finally got tried of them. Nothing over the counter worked. Just need to get to grips with the toenail fungus and athletes foot now!

Find a podiatrist that treats children. It'll be gone in a week or two.

I used that too and it was gone in 2 weeks. Was painful but it worked

Duct tape it!

When my son had one when he was little, I got a needle and thread and went under the verucca top to bottom and left to right leaving long loose ends and then pulled them upwards which split the verucca into quarters and using tweezers, the quarters could be twisted and pulled off and out. There was some blood and it hurt for a few seconds whilst being done but once it was all pulled out and a plaster put over it, it was just tender the next day and had started healing over.

He was upset when he had seen the verucca and wanted it out immediately so was happy for me to remove it.

It was the only one he ever had and my daughter never had any.

OMG you are brave! Are you medically trained? What sort of thread were you using? I’d be terrified…

Just normal cotton. Just a no nonsense approach and a practical way of removing something that my son didn't want on the ball of his foot.

These helped mine! (Linked here)
mine was really painful too to the point I was walking on the side of my foot. I am pain free now and healing well!

For those of you who saw a podiatrist - did you need several (expensive) treatments? I found one that treats children, but it's £50 a time, which is OK for one-and-done but if we need to go back several times, it's not affordable.

It's astonishing the NHS won't treat children in pain. It might not be life-threatening, but it's bloody nasty.

Which is why I removed my sons one!

Children heal very quickly and yes it hurt initially but well worth having it removed than having it in his foot for weeks and weeks!

We saw a private podiatrist. She took away all the skin that had grown over the verruca and then treated it with something which obviously hit the spot. Cost was £40. She made another appointment for 2 weeks for DD but verruca had all but gone by then so I cancelled it. Yes not cheap but by this time (and bearing in mind I had already probably spent that much on stuff at the chemist) I just wanted it gone.

Salactol along with an emery board worked wonders on my daughter's persistent verucas

honestly duck tape works, weird but true

My daughter developed clusters of verruca after starting swimming lessons....tried the usual at home freeze type treatments without success, went to a podiatrist and paid for treatment again without success.
Long story short, I saw the scholl seal and heal verruca removal gel superdrug and was so cheap I thought I'd give it a try, nothing to lose etc.

Approx 2 weeks later they were all gone.
You do have to protect surrounding skin with Vaseline to avoid irritation but honestly could see it working after the first treatment.

Honestly I thought the same but when I mentioned it to podiatrist she said absolutely not (reason given is that duct tape is not sterile).

I used zinc tape on my son’s, and filed away at it every so often. It took about 4 months but one evening after he’d been swimming (with a plaster over it) I could see it was coming away at the side so I worked away at it and the whole thing came out leaving a small crater best moment of my entire life.

that is interesting, a GP. told us to do it when we couldn't get rid of one and thought they would freeze it off

My LO had about 5 verrucas in a cluster, we tried the bazucca cream but it didn’t work. I read that nail varnish worked and was very dubious but it was a miracle for my daughter. She could barely walk with her verrucas but within a few days they were gone and haven’t returned!

I had one big one when I was younger that wouldn't shift and I think it was one visit to the chiropodist and it went! I am pretty sure whatever they did to it turned it black but this was quite a few years ago!

Strange because a lot of things you put your feet in or on are not sterile either. Unless you have been hacking away at it a verruca is not an open wound.

I read once that using dark nail varnish would help as it cuts of light and air. Just need to keep applying it.

I've taken 2 kids to foot doctors for verrucas. Yes we needed a few visits. The follow ups weren't quite as expensive as the first visits but it was a commitment. I had tried everything and they didn't go so it was worth it.