At some point in our lives, many of us might have had the painful experience of having a verruca on the foot. What is a verruca though and how can it be managed?
Human Papilloma Virus
A verruca (foot wart) is a benign tumour caused by one of 100 possible strains of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). The virus can gain entry into the body from tiny abrasions to the skin and can lay in a dormant state for a period of time. It can commonly be picked up from communal areas such as changing rooms and gym floors etc.
The virus can be triggered to replicate and usually the immune cells can attack foreign substances in the body however the virus releases anti-inflammatory elements to suppress the body’s defense mechanism against it; which makes the virus pretty impressive if you think about it, but it means they can be stubborn to treat without some assistance.
There are many diverse arrays of methods to help the treatment of a verruca. At resonance our experienced and qualified podiatrists can help diagnose and facilitate a management plan for you.
Article by Resonance Lead Podiatrist Parisa Forouzandeh
For enquiries please phone 0800 4 RESPOD or contact us via officeadmin@respod.co.nz
References:
Longhurst & Bristow 2013 Journal of Clinical Medicine doi:10.3390/jcm2020013
Kwok, Holland & Gibbs 2011. British Journal of Dermatology doi:10.1111/j.1365-2133.2011.10218.x
Image credits:
HPV foot treatment ©happyfeet34 (flickr) CC by 2.0
Human Papilloma Virus ©National Cancer Institute ID 2255
