PEDICARE SOLVES
Plantar warts
PEDICARE SOLVES
What are warts?
Warts can appear at any age, but they are most common in childhood. They are a viral skin infection caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). More than 150 types have been identified, which makes an effective treatment hard to find. There are several types of warts, and the type of virus determines their size and shape.
In pedicure, we most often see warts on the sole of the foot, known as plantar warts (verrucae plantares), which sit flush with the skin and grow inwards. They usually appear on the part of the foot that carries the most load, which often makes walking difficult and painful.
Top quality
We use state-of-the-art equipment from leading manufacturers for all our treatments.
Hygiene
All instruments and accessories are sterilised to the highest standards after every use.
Customer care
We keep written and photographic records for every client.
PEDICARE SOLVES
How can you get rid of warts quickly and painlessly?
There are many ways to get rid of warts. One option is to leave them alone: by some estimates, more than half disappear on their own within two years. But if warts are painful and make walking difficult, they need treatment. Gentler methods are recommended first, such as topical treatments. Acid preparations should only be used under supervision, as they are quite aggressive and can cause a wound. Inflammation can easily follow, the wound may not heal, or a scar may form, which can make walking difficult for years.
A breakthrough in plantar wart treatment
We are proud to introduce our brand-new technology for removing even the most stubborn warts.
Fast treatment
Microwave energy delivers a precise, highly controlled dose to the target area in a few seconds, so the treatment takes less than 15 minutes.
Clean treatment
Because the microwaves travel to a set depth, they do not damage the skin surface or destroy tissue at the treatment site, unlike cryotherapy, salicylic acid or laser ablation.
What is Swift?
Swift is a new, advanced technology cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as it has proven highly effective in removing plantar warts.
Swift uses a low dose of microwave energy to treat the HPV virus and stimulate the body’s natural immune response. In other words, we treat the cause, not the symptoms.
What do our customers think?
Frequently Asked Questions
- Practise good hygiene, as HPV infection is contagious. Moist skin allows the virus to spread quickly.
- Wash the treated area every day with lukewarm running water and, if needed, a mild liquid soap. Use a separate towel for this area only and dry it thoroughly. You can also use a hairdryer.
- If your pedicurist has recommended a product to help the area heal, apply it as instructed.
- If the treated area hurts, take the pressure off it and wear very comfortable shoes.
- Do not forcibly peel the hardened skin over the wart, or you may spread the infection to other areas or even cause a scar.
- If your pedicurist has booked you a follow-up or further treatment, make sure you attend.
The area will probably need to be treated several times, depending on how deep and stubborn each wart is. Our experience shows that persistence pays off.
See a specialist if you suspect you have a wart. The longer you wait, the more likely the wart is to persist. Watch for symptoms such as the feeling of painful pebbles in your shoes, round, flat patches of skin with a sunken centre, and discomfort that stops you from doing your usual activities.
The Swift protocol involves 3 to 4 treatments, 4 weeks apart, to match the body’s natural immune cycle. Each treatment takes only 5 to 10 minutes and is a simple “socks off, socks on” procedure: minimal tissue removal, no broken skin and no dressings. No home care is needed between treatments, and you can return to your daily activities straight away.
Pain varies from person to person and with the type of wart, but most patients feel brief discomfort, as the temperature of the infected tissue rises quickly during each 2-second energy pulse. The pain stops as soon as the energy is switched off, and there is no further pain after treatment. Some patients even report immediate pain relief. Everyone can return to their daily activities straight after treatment.
Because Swift uses the body’s own immune system to target the cause of the wart (HPV), it is highly effective compared with other treatments. For more information on Swift and how it compares with traditional methods, visit www.warttreatmentinfo.com.
You can also choose freezing treatment, known as cryotherapy. At Pedicare, we use ACCURETT, an advanced CO2 freezing technology that is fast, painless and, above all, very effective. The treatment is also suitable for children.
ACCURETT is a high-performance cryosurgical device designed for superficial lesions such as viral warts, pigment spots and age spots. It uses carbon dioxide (CO2) for so-called soft freezing: a gentler treatment that is enough to freeze superficial lesions and allows faster healing. The applicator has a specially designed tip, so we can treat only the infected tissue very precisely without affecting healthy skin. Freezing destroys the cells of the top layer of skin locally. The resulting increase in blood flow helps the body form new, healthy tissue. Importantly, this type of freezing is not expected to be painful.