Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Women's health

Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you have medical concerns, please seek medical attention.

Original poster

Verrucas - advice needed

90 replies

Mamatotwoboys · 24/05/2023 21:40

I've had three verrucas for about 8 years now. I paid £350 for an expensive 'Swift' treatment (microwave energy) and it didn't work, apparently it was the most likely treatment to work...

I am now trying at home apple cider vinegar and tape and am on my third night. Would love to hear about any one else's experience of this - what changes did you notice, did it sting (mine is really stinging on night 3 but hoping that means it's working), did the verruca look different, how long did it take to work, etc.

If my verrucas were dormant, will it still work?

I'm really ready to be done with them now...

Thanks!

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
mumtoallboys · 23/04/2024 21:39

DrJoanAllenby · 18/04/2024 15:45

Brutal but effective.

Cotton double threaded on a fine needle. Go under the verruca from east to west and have thread loose either side.

Go under again from north to south.

Gather all four (8 strands) of thread and yank very quickly to split the verruca into four quarters. It will only hurt momentarily and will bleed but you will have broken it up and the quarters can be quickly pulled off/out.

The blood flow to the area seems to help.

You can use a styptic pencil but it will sting.

Plaster or dressing over the are and will be sore for a day or two and you may need to pick remaining bits off with a tweezer but all healed in 4/5 days and verruca gone for good.

I would love to watch a YouTube video of this but I don't think I could do it to my 6 year old without him needing a lot of therapy later in life

blueshoes · 23/04/2024 23:08

mumtoallboys · 23/04/2024 20:05

Does this look like it is dying? Approx day 10 of treatment with salactol. Exact process I am following in my post below

Lookin' good😁

Resist the temptation to scratch it out until it feels like a dry hard crust with depth.

DrJoanAllenby · 24/04/2024 00:31

@mumtoallboys

I had one as a child and just kept picking at it with a needle to remove it.

My son was 5/6 when he got one and perhaps it was easy to get rid of with the needle and thread because it was spotted early.

He wanted it gone so was fine about their being momentary pain and then a couple of days of soreness. I recall doing it in a Friday evening so he had the weekend to heal before school on the Monday.

He's 29 this year and didn't need any therapy!

solice84 · 24/04/2024 06:32

blueshoes · 20/04/2024 00:52

Salactol.

Dry it out by applying everyday for 2-3 weeks. Then when it feels like a hard lump, dig it out with fingernails. It may bleed and leave a hole, but it is sooooooo satisfying.

May have to repeat more than once to get the whole thing out. <whisper> My dh said his had roots.

I wouldn't recommend using finger nails
That's how I ended up with another one under my thumb nail

user746016 · 24/04/2024 06:52

Yes I have two on my hands under fingernails. They’ve been there for two years now. I can’t get rid of them. Don’t do it

mumtoallboys · 09/07/2024 16:17

mumtoallboys · 23/04/2024 20:05

Does this look like it is dying? Approx day 10 of treatment with salactol. Exact process I am following in my post below

Update on verruca! It doesn't hurt anymore and the groves like a fingerprint have returned which I understand is a positive step

Verrucas - advice needed
mumtoallboys · 09/07/2024 16:21

This tape was amazing. Stayed on in the swimming pool. It is like duct tape but more comfortable. I did a weekly shave of the verruca and salactol and it was gone within a month of this process. It didn't really go black, which I took to be a negative sign but maybe it doesn't need to?

Verrucas - advice needed
Oblomov25 · 06/01/2025 19:10

I just paid £170 for microwave swift for ds1. Tried most things already. Really hacked off with it all.

dreamingperfect · 08/01/2025 19:42

Black nail varnish!

protectthesmallones · 08/01/2025 20:03

HaggisFace · 24/05/2023 21:59

Possibly not advisable but I poked around mine with a sterile needle to encourage my body to fight it and it was away with about 6 weeks of doing that. I'd had mine for almost 3 years

This. They sort of protect themselves so the body doesn't attack them. If you can disrupt this your body usually destroys them. Doesn't work so well with the elderly and the immunocompromised.

ZippyCat · 09/01/2025 05:23

I used to have a huge one as a child I would soften it with feet soaking get a needle and stab stab stab and basically annoy the hell out of it and then after a while it disappeared

Icanloveme · 09/01/2025 08:06

Mine is quite painful in the last 6 months or so. I have had 4 sittings with a podiatrist but it's not budging. It's extremely painful.

I tried scholl but it didn't help.

MTQ · 12/09/2025 10:54

I just had the swift treatment done and it almost killed me with the pain. I couldn't walk easy tye bext e days.i had 2 on one foot and 3 on another. I thought they were only supposed to treat 1 verruca but did all five and the pain was 9 out of 10

Icanloveme · 12/09/2025 19:45

Icanloveme · 09/01/2025 08:06

Mine is quite painful in the last 6 months or so. I have had 4 sittings with a podiatrist but it's not budging. It's extremely painful.

I tried scholl but it didn't help.

Want to update that it’s gone over the last 2 months or so. I stopped going to podiatrist for getting it treated end of June because it was a lot of money over a lot of months.

Last month I noticed not being in pain as much and realized that it’s gone.

Original poster
Mamatotwoboys · 12/09/2025 21:03

Thought I’d share an update a couple of years on. I got complacent with the treatment (ACV and duct tape) when it had turned black. Now, 2 years on, it’s worse than ever and spread further on my toe! Damn. Would love to try and get rid of it once and for all… please do share any more tips!

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page