Long term verruca starting to hurt , what can I try next? Can GPs do anything?

[NormalForNuneaton]

I've had a verruca for what must be about 10 years now on the bottom of my heel.

Over the years I've tried Salactol gel, duct tape (did this religiously for about 6 months with no luck!) and various Bazooka type freezing sprays but nothing has shifted it or even made much difference.

It doesn't normally bother me but now it hurts sometimes when walking , probably due to change of footwear now it's summer.

Do GP's even do anything about them these days? Or will I just be told to see a private chiropodist?

Will I end up with a massive hole in my foot if it's treated/removed?

GPs recommend duct tape as the most efficient method based on science. I was told not to waste my money on other things. As your problem is long-term, I think homeopathy is your best bet.

See a podiatrist and have a chat through the options

I had mine dry needled at the chiropodist. Coast me £50 and they were gone in a month.

Nothing would cure my DD’s verrucas for eight months. Three days of using duct tape to stick banana skin on to them, and they were gone. Not sure whether it works for everyone but maybe worth a try. It was almost unbelievable how quickly it worked and I am not a natural remedy type of person.

Can you use nail clippers to cut the skin right back so you can see the root? I did this and yanked it out, hurt like hell but it soon went.

I had some that would not go away, then I lived by the ocean and had my feet in salt water every day and they all disappeared in time. If duct tape doesn't work, you could try a salt bath, then don't rinse the salt off...mimic the ocean!

I remember having a stubborn one as a kid and eventually my mum dug it out with a needle and tweezers.

The duct tape approach for 6 months really didn't seem to make any difference although I didn't use banana skin with it.

I might try it again for a month as I don't want to end up with a hole or painful foot whilst on holiday.

Are you sure it's definitely a verruca and not a corn? They can be very stubborn and cause discomfort. A podiatrist will be able to advise and treat it, either way.

I had this and totally understand how you feel. I couldn't wear summery shoes for years because it covered not only the underside of the big toe, but spread to the side of the toe and was a massive cluster of black dots, 5cm in width and very painful.

In the end I cured it by accident, by being lazy. Like you, I'd tried all the duct tapes etc. But during first lockdown when I was really bored, I spotted a tube of bazuka extra strength that I'd bought but never tried. I applied it, but this time I didn't do the filing and cutting because I was demotivated. And that did the trick! One day I noticed it had shrunk by half, so from then one after showering I reapplied bazuka carefully (not going outside the verucca) and didn't file and and cut away and it carried on shrinking! Due to the gigantic size the whole process did take about two months, but it's gone (touch wood!). I think that the cutting/filing I'd done in the past had made it worse, not better.

My next step if that hadn't worked was needling, as mentioned above.

*from then on

Duck tape doesn't appear in the NICE guidelines. The adhesives are very harsh on the healthy skin around the verruca

I had a huge cluster on my foot as a teenager. I dug them out, picked them, filed them down but eventually they went all on their own and I've never had another one. Apparently if your body gets rid of them itself you develop immunity?! Not sure how true that is but I read it somewhere!

Turns out they're caused by a strain of HPV virus and you can indeed develop immunity. Could take donkeys years though.

Please visit a foot health professional or podiatrist.
DO NOT USE DUCT TAPE, it is not licensed for medical use and can make a real mess of the skin.
As a specialist myself I can definitely assure you that a GP will be of no help whatsoever.

Absolutely they are, usually they creep in when your immune system is at a low ebb.

I just had the same - after years of home treatments I saw my gp who froze them off. They were gone within weeks - I wish I’d gone sooner

I had a huge one for years, was referred to specialist podiatrist thru GP and had it needled under local anaesthetic, gone never to return. Game changer for me as I'd had it over 10 years

Let's be clear verrucas do not have roots so don't go looking for roots. It's a viral infection called human papilloma virus.
The only treatment I carried out that actually works is dry needling when done properly with ankle block anaesthetic. Cost around £200 not available on the NHS. It encourages the immune system to attack it by causing dozens of small wounds in the area and it will gradually get smaller and dissipate.
I have seen a couple of cases of verrucous carcinoma which looks just like a verruca but bleeds more. GPS and podiatrists often can't differentiate between the two so if you've had it for years get it checked out by a dermatologist.

I had my frozen of when I younger by a dr. Have noticed they’ve come back. I did privately though and it took a few sessions

I used the duct tape method for persistent warts on dd. The chiropodist did my verruca, 2 visits, covered in between

I had a big cluster of verrucas for many years (c15 ). Tried a couple of times to get rid of them (my dad cut them out once he was a doctor ), as did a work doctor, but they kept coming back. They didn't hurt so I left them. Eventually made a concerted effort myself (as they were starting to spread to the side of my foot and cause discomfort) with salicylic acid, which hurt like hell as it was over such a large area. Stopped just before going skiing to allow the sole of my foot to recover and noticed a few months later that they'd gone away.

It was as if I'd got rid of enough of them to allow my immune system to get rid of the rest

But about 20 years later they re-developed, in the same place . Tried a few things (including duct tape/banana skin/freezing - went though multiple bottles of freezing spray ) before leaving them for a while. Eventually what finally got rid of them was Bazooka Plus liquid plus filing regularly with a pumice stone and "irritating" the centre with the point of nail scissors.

Been clear again now for about 3 years

glutarol solution with a tiny square of zinc oxide tape got rid of mine
Before that I had tried all the remedies. I though I was going to die with mine still living happily on my foot

Podiatrist might not be as expensive as you think? I've been a few times and it wasn't unreasonable.

Try the verucca plasters - we had some success then used the freeze thing every day!

turns out once the skin peeled there was a cluster of them - so took some filing and picking for it to go.