Freezing Warts: Will It Get Rid Of Warts?

Does freezing warts work to remove them? It does and actually it is a simple methodology of wart removal. Known as cryotherapy, the process involves applying liquid nitrogen to the wart. This is normally done in a doctor’s office. The liquid nitrogen is applied to the wart with a cotton swab or sprayed onto the wart. Since the process can be pretty nasty, a local anesthetic can be used to reduce pain if necessary. Within one or two hours of treatment, a blister usually forms. The blister dries up in a couple of days and the wart, or part of the wart, then falls off. Occasionally one cryotherapy treatment is all that is needed, while other times 1 or 2 treatments are needed, often done about a week apart.

Benefits of Freezing to Get rid of Warts

There are a few benefits of using cryotherapy to remove warts.

• Cryotherapy could be effective on warts that did not respond to other types of treatments, including treatment with salicylic acid.
• Cryotherapy is considered safer for diabetes patients and those with circulation disorders than treatment with salicylic acid.
• It can be done in a doctor’s office and treatment often only takes a couple of minutes.
• It’s much quicker than treatment with salicylic acid, which can take almost 2 months or longer to remove warts; warts are normally gone in a single month or less with cryotherapy.
• often only one treatment is necessary, while treatment with salicylic acid always involves multiple treatments to burn off warts.
• Cryotherapy might be a better option for patients that cannot apply the salicylic acid themselves since cryotherapy involves just a couple of visits to a medical care office instead of daily treatments for as much as 3 months.
• Cryotherapy typically doesn’t cause scarring (however, now and then it can, particularly when used on very large or thick warts).

Disadvantages of Freezing Warts

There are also some drawbacks to using cryotherapy to eliminate warts.

• Multiple treatments might be necessary, especially for larger warts; 1 to 4 treatments are may be needed daily.
• Cryotherapy is mildly to moderately unpleasant and discomfort can go on for up to 3 days after therapy. Treating genital area warts can be very difficult.
• While some products are available for freezing warts at home, for most satisfactory results you need to see a dermatologist.
• It’s expensive, particularly if you have it done by a dermatologist.
• While rare, infection can occur as a result of cryotherapy.

To learn more about warts and other skin conditions, you can follow the links to the Healthful Skin Guide Internet site. There you will find educational articles on the differing kinds of warts including plantar warts, genital warts, and common warts. There additionally are in depth pictures of what genital warts look like.