What is Verruca Needling?
Verruca needling is a minimally invasive procedure for treating verruca. It involves puncturing the verruca multiple times with a fine needle, creating microtrauma in the affected area. This technique stimulates an immune response and promotes the body's natural healing process.
The success rate of the treatment is between 70-80%, which is significantly higher than that of cryotherapy and acid treatments. These treatments require multiple visits and have a low success rate of 30-50%. If you have a verruca that has not been resolved with treatment, or would like to increase your chances of removal, please get in touch with us to book an appointment.
Verruca needling is a treatment technique that has shown promise in treating verruca. This technique creates microtrauma that stimulates the immune system and promotes healing. Verruca needling has been around since the 1950s. If you are considering this treatment, it is recommended to book an initial podiatry appointment at Dunford Health, where your verruca can be assessed.
What happens during treatment?
The procedure begins with applying a local anaesthetic to numb the area around the verruca. Once the area is numb, a sterile needle is inserted into the verruca, penetrating the skin multiple times. The needle is moved in different directions to create microtrauma within the verruca. This process is repeated until the entire verruca has been needled. The entire procedure is pain-free. (I'm not going to lie that the needle for anaesthetic will be pain-free) however, just like having your blood taken after the initial sharp experience within a few seconds, the pain has gone.
Will it be Painful afterwards?
Some people may suffer discomfort when the anaesthetic wears off. At its worst, this pain is best described as a bruised sensation that can last up to 7 to 10 days. However, most patients report soreness for only 2 to 3 days or no pain at all after the treatment. Pain relievers like Paracetamol are usually sufficient to alleviate any discomfort. Ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatory medications should be avoided.
Dressings and Follow-Up
After the needling procedure, a dressing is applied to protect the area, and you will be free to carry on with your daily activities without interference. The dressing will need to stay in place for two days, after which you will not need a dressing unless instructed to do so by your podiatrist. We will then see you in one week to review your verruca and again in 12 weeks, which gives the immune system time to fight the verruca.
Before
After
