Plantar Wart

[Ronco]

I have a plantar wart on the heel of my right foot.  It is very painful (causes acute pain, probably from favoring that foot, all the way to my hip at times) and I need relief. I first treated it with 40% salicylic acid patches from the drug store.  This burned a hole in my foot but the wart kept returning.  I then went to a Podiatrist and he treated it twice with an 80% acid solution, which also burned a hole in my foot.  The first treatment got rid of most of the wart so the Podiatrist treated it a second time.  Now I have two warts!  I don't feel real confident that a third trip to the Podiatrist will produce satisfactory results.  The Podiatrist did mention that high dosage levels of Tagament have been associated with boosted immune levels that seem to fight the wart virus (may the power be with you Luke Skywarter!).  I read your comments in an earlier response on this approach and tend to agree with your comments.  Besides, Tagament at normal dosages seems to cause me to be irritable and depressed.  When I was heavier than I am now and had challenges with heartburn, I had to switch from Tagament to Zantac 75 to avoid these side effects.  The only other option that the Podiatrist eluded to was sugery.  In your valued opinion, what are my options from here?

Thanks,

Ronco

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Some warts are just too tough, and the best thing is to leave them alone until your body's immune systme gets good and ready to kick it out.  After 2 recurrences, surgery is likely to lead to a third, not to mention the pain and suffering of undergoing it.  I would just pad or file the wart, to make it less obtrusive.  One fine day you'll wake up and you'll have a clear sole.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[dermnurse]

There are several treatments for warts. See a dermatologist for the best one.  Warts may need to be treated every two weeks for successful treatment.  As the wart is treated and is reduced in size, to continue treating it and making it smaller is the best way to get to the base of the wart to get rid of it for good.  Perhaps the one big wart you had was really two warts  that grew together.

The dermatologist should scrape away the callous and the dead wart to get to the "live" wart before each treatment.  
Some treatment options are liquid nitrogen (used best by a dermatologist -vs- a regular doctor in the treatment of warts and every 2 to 3 weeks, if a treatment is missed some treated wart may grow back if a treatment is missed) DNCB is also an effective treatment for stubborn warts, as well as verrusol, and others.  Surgery should be a last resort option.

[Doug1948]

I've had this thing for years now. A boat load of acid. Surgery twice.$500 in aldara cream. I read about using dead candia injections, on warts,in readers digest. I've shown my doctors the article but they've never heard about it. Has any one had any first hand experince using this type of threatment. Can anyone tell me where I might go to recieve this type therapy.

[FredZ]

Gee, got to tell you my wart story (anecdote): ca. 1957, 8th or 9th grade, developed a cluster of plantar warts size of a quarter ($0.25)on my left foot about 1/2 to 3/4" in from the 4th toe/little toe junction on my left foot. It hurt to walk on it. Mom took me to a doc, and he suggested going to a radiologist to have it treated with x-ray. Thank Goodness the radiologist didn't think much of the idea and said NO. So I started putting the stuff "Compound W" on it. Well, eventually I was able to peel off a big section of skin with warts and all. They never came back, and the new skin was fine. Also had a fair-sized wart on my left index finger first knuckle, of all places, for several years. One day it just started to disappear and then it was gone in a few days.
Good luck.

[Tenna]

I have 7 plantar's warts on my right heel, 2 since 1992 and 5 for several years, now, so contary to what Dr. A. Rockoff states, they do not just "go away".

With respect to the comment about Compound W, years ago, that product was formulated with a much stronger acid. Now a days, to protect us from ourselves, I presume, they have weakened it to a 17 % salicylic acid solution which does virtually nothing as far as I can see.

My Aunt claims that X-raying the mother wart is a very effective treatment, but the medical community scoff's at this and I've not been able to find anyone to do it.  

I've tried freezing, strong acid from a podiatrist and the usual over the counter rememdies.  Nothing has worked.  My signicant other says the only answer is to amputate the foot. (Funny isn't he?) But I'm not willing to go to that extent just yet.

This is my thought and it goes along with comment posted by dermnurse.  Repeated strong acid treatment after scraping at a frequency of a couple times a week to once every two weeks at the most, depending on circumstances.  In a few days after the acid treatment, the skin turns color and is ready to fall off and should be scraped again.  

Does anyone know what DNCB is? Is it Dinitrochlorobenzene? or dinitro chloro benzoic acid?  And what is verrusol?

Now, here's my question.  Why on earth can we not purchase a small quantity of strong acid to do this ourselves.  Why do they limit us to 17 % salicylic acid?  I'd like to see them stop treating us like babies and gives us the tools we need to take responsibility for our own lives.

My own Dr. has been trying to get hold of some strong acid so she could commense this treatment for over two months now.  Why can't she get it?

Thanks for listening and I look forward to your comments.