How to Get Rid of Warts: Treatments, Speed and What Works

What Warts Are — and Why They’re Stubborn

A wart is a small, rough growth caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) infecting the top layer of skin (the epidermis). The virus makes skin cells multiply faster than normal, thickening the surface into the familiar firm, cauliflower-like bump. The everyday wart viruses (low-risk HPV types such as 1, 2, 4, 27 and 57) are a different group from the high-risk types linked to genital warts and certain cancers — a distinction explained fully below.

Warts are stubborn for one main reason: the virus lives inside your own skin cells, partly hidden from the immune system. That’s why a wart can sit unchanged for months, why it can come back after treatment, and why no single method clears every wart first time. A healthy immune system usually does clear them eventually — a large share of warts resolve within about two years untreated — but “eventually” is little comfort when a wart is painful, spreading, or somewhere visible. Treatment removes the visible wart and reduces the viral load so your skin can recover sooner.

The Common Types (and How They Differ)

• Common warts (verruca vulgaris) — rough, raised, dome-shaped, usually on the hands and fingers; often have tiny black dots (clotted capillaries).
• Verrucas (plantar warts) — on the soles of the feet, pushed inward by your body weight and frequently tender to walk on; can occur singly or in clusters (mosaic warts).
• Flat warts (verruca plana) — small, smooth, flat-topped, often appearing in groups on the face, forehead or backs of the hands; common in younger people.
• Filiform warts — long and thread-like, typically around the eyes, nose, mouth and neck; they grow quickly.
• Periungual & subungual warts — around and under the nails, where they are more resistant because the nail shields the virus.

Two look-alikes are worth ruling out before you treat anything. Molluscum contagiosum is caused by a poxvirus, not HPV — it forms smooth, pearly bumps with a central dimple and is treated differently. A skin tag is soft, smooth and hangs on a stalk, unlike a wart’s rough, flat-based surface. Telling them apart is exactly why a quick professional check is worthwhile.

Treatment Methods Compared

There is no single “best” treatment — the right one depends on the wart’s type, size, site and how many you have. What follows is how we actually choose at London Skin Clinic, in order of how often each is our first pick:

One honest headline: a single properly done CO₂ laser session beats months of freezing. We rarely use cryotherapy for warts — it needs multiple visits, is unpredictable, and carries a pigment risk, especially in darker skin. The one exception is the odd small flat wart.

CO₂ Laser: Our Main Tool for Verrucas & Facial Warts

For a stubborn verruca or a facial wart, CO₂ ablative laser is our first choice. It gives the best clearance on the thick skin of the sole — where the viral tissue runs deep — without leaving a linear scar on a weight-bearing area, and on the face it offers the precision to remove the wart with minimal marking. In our hands, CO₂ laser clears stubborn verrucas in around 85–90% of cases within one to two sessions, compared with roughly 50–60% for repeated cryotherapy.

What it’s actually like:

• Pain: the procedure is done under local anaesthetic. The injection stings briefly; the laser itself is then painless.
• Walking after a sole verruca: you walk out the same day with a dressing, are back in normal shoes within 5–7 days, and back to sport at about two weeks.
• Timeline: the wound heals in 2–3 weeks, but the final result — flat, settled skin — is only fairly judged at three months (as in the photo above).
• Side effects: temporary redness for a few weeks and a small chance of pigment change (more relevant in darker skin). Scar risk is low when the laser is used conservatively.

We do not offer Swift microwave therapy; CO₂ laser is our equivalent, and we prefer it because it is single-visit, precise, and lets the surgeon see exactly what has been removed. A recent example: a runner in his thirties came in with a plantar verruca that had been frozen six times over two years at a podiatrist. One CO₂ laser session cleared it; he was back running at two weeks and still clear at his one-year review.

Which Method Suits Which Wart

• A painful verruca on the sole: CO₂ laser — thick sole skin and deep viral tissue respond far better to one laser session than to repeated freezing.
• A facial or flat wart: low-power CO₂ laser or fine cautery for precision and minimal marking — see facial warts.
• A single raised common wart on the hand, limb or trunk: surgical excision under local anaesthetic, closed with sutures, done in one visit.
• Filiform or fleshy warts: curettage and cautery.
• Warts around or under a nail: treated carefully to spare the nail matrix, which sits millimetres away — careless treatment can permanently deform the nail. See nail-unit warts.

Scarring is uncommon with careful technique — our significant-scar rate is under 5% — but any method that removes tissue carries a small risk, covered in avoiding wart scars.

Verrucas: Why They’re Different (and Dearer)

A verruca is simply a wart on the sole of the foot, but the site changes everything. Verruca removal is £500 rather than the £300 for an ordinary wart, and the reason is honest: plantar skin is thick, the viral tissue runs deeper, and it’s a weight-bearing area — so the procedure takes longer, the aftercare is more careful, and occasionally a second session is needed.

Verruca or corn? The quick test is the pinch test: a verruca hurts when you squeeze it side to side, whereas a corn hurts on direct downward pressure. A verruca also interrupts the normal skin lines and shows tiny black dots (thrombosed capillaries); a corn keeps the skin lines running over it. And to answer a common search — there is no neat set of “verruca stages.” They simply enlarge and can multiply over time; there’s no defined progression, so don’t wait for a stage that never comes.

Home Treatments — Do They Work?

Sometimes, with limits. Over-the-counter salicylic acid is a reasonable first try for a small, recent wart if you’re willing to apply it daily for a full 12 weeks and file the dead surface between applications. It is a waste of time for thick plantar verrucas, mosaic warts, and facial or periungual warts. Home freezing kits reach lower intensities than clinical treatment, so they underperform on anything thick or long-standing. Duct-tape and “natural” remedies have weak evidence at best.

Two firm rules. Never use an over-the-counter acid or freezing kit on the face — it can cause dermatitis, pigment changes or superficial burns. And never cut, shave or pick at a wart — it spreads the virus to nearby skin and risks infection. Anything on the face, genitals or under a nail, or any growth you’re not sure is a wart, should be assessed first.

Why Warts Recur, and How to Lower the Odds

Because warts are viral, treatment removes the visible growth but not necessarily the HPV lurking in the surrounding skin — so a wart can return until your immune system clears the virus. This is normal and not a sign treatment failed. Realistically, about 10–15% of warts recur within 12 months, most of them within the first six months; beyond a year, recurrence is uncommon. You can lower the odds by keeping skin intact (moisturise, cover cuts), not sharing towels or razors, wearing flip-flops on pool sides and in shared changing rooms, and treating a wart early before it spreads. More in why some people never get warts and household transmission.

Is a Wart HPV? Do I Have It Forever?

Yes — common warts are caused by HPV, but by skin strains (types 1, 2, 4, 27 and 57) that are completely different from the genital types. A wart on your hand or foot says nothing about your sexual health, and it is not the same virus that causes genital warts or is linked to cervical cancer. This is the single most common worry patients raise, and the reassurance is genuine, not a platitude.

And no, it is not “forever.” No cream, freeze or operation wipes out the virus itself — but in most people the immune system clears that skin strain once the wart is gone, so it stops producing warts. The visible wart is the problem we treat; the virus is something your own immunity generally deals with over time.

Warts in Children

Most childhood warts clear on their own within about two years, and treatment needs local anaesthetic that a young child won’t enjoy — so under the age of ten we usually advise watchful waiting. That said, it isn’t an absolute rule: Mr Gilleard has treated children as young as six who had significant facial warts causing real psychological distress. From around ten, if a wart is painful, spreading, or genuinely upsetting the child, treatment is reasonable. We treat children from age six onwards, judged case by case.

The NHS & Your GP: What They Will and Won’t Do

Patients ask this constantly, so here is the honest picture. The NHS does not fund removal of cosmetic warts, because they’re considered harmless. A GP may occasionally freeze one, but GPs don’t excise warts, and hospital dermatology generally won’t see a wart unless there’s genuine diagnostic doubt. That isn’t a criticism — it’s rationing in the current climate — but it’s the reason most people who want a wart or verruca dealt with properly end up going private. What private care buys you is speed, a choice of method, and one consultant who diagnoses and treats you the same day.

When a Wart Needs a Doctor

Most warts are harmless, but a few skin lesions that mimic warts are not warts — so an accurate diagnosis comes before any removal. In Mr Gilleard’s words:

“If a wart bleeds without trauma, changes colour, grows rapidly, ulcerates, or has failed repeated standard treatment, I’d want it examined and possibly biopsied rather than just treated as a wart.”

The same applies to a wart in someone who is immunocompromised, where warts are more numerous, more stubborn, and carry a higher chance of harbouring something more sinister — a lower threshold for treatment and biopsy is sensible. Where needed, tissue is sent for analysis rather than simply discarded.

Cost and What to Expect

• Consultation: £100
• Wart removal: £300 · each additional wart: £200
• Verruca removal: £500 · each additional verruca: £300

At your visit a consultant confirms the diagnosis, explains the suitable options and, in most cases, removes the wart the same day under local anaesthetic, with simple aftercare — keep the wound moist rather than letting it dry-scab, don’t pick it, and use strict sun protection once healed. The full cost is always confirmed before any procedure. View the wart removal procedure · verruca removal · book an assessment or call 0203 916 6200.

What People Ask on Reddit — A Surgeon’s Honest Take

Threads about warts fill up with the same real questions. Here are the ones we’re asked most, answered plainly.

“I’ve frozen this verruca a dozen times and it won’t die. What am I doing wrong?”

Usually nothing — home and pharmacy freezing just isn’t strong enough for thick plantar skin, and repeated weak freezing can make a verruca more entrenched. This is the single most common reason people end up in clinic. One proper CO₂ laser session clears the great majority.

“Does a hand wart mean I have the same HPV as genital warts?”

No. Skin warts come from different HPV strains entirely. A wart on your finger has nothing to do with sexual health, and it doesn’t mean you’re carrying a genital or high-risk type.

“Will the NHS just remove it for free?”

Generally not for a cosmetic wart — see the section above. A GP might try freezing; they won’t excise. That’s why most people who want it dealt with properly go private.

“Is it worth paying when it might come back anyway?”

Recurrence is only around 10–15% in the first year, and most of that shows up within six months. A single definitive treatment, done well, is a far better bet than months of home products — and if a wart does recur, it can be re-treated.

Your Questions, Answered

What’s the fastest way to get rid of a wart?

A single in-clinic procedure. For a verruca or facial wart that’s usually CO2 laser; for a single common wart it’s surgical excision — both remove the wart in one visit. A properly done laser session beats months of home freezing, which is slow and unpredictable.

Does laser wart removal hurt?

It’s done under local anaesthetic. The anaesthetic injection stings briefly, then the laser itself is painless. Afterwards there’s mild soreness and some redness for a few weeks.

How soon can I walk after verruca laser treatment?

You walk out the same day with a dressing, are back in normal shoes within 5–7 days, and back to sport at about two weeks. The wound heals in 2–3 weeks, though the final settled result is judged at three months.

What’s the most successful verruca treatment?

In our experience CO2 laser, which clears stubborn verrucas in around 85–90% of cases within one to two sessions, versus roughly 50–60% for repeated cryotherapy. We don’t offer Swift microwave therapy; CO2 laser is our single-visit equivalent.

Is a wart 100% HPV, and do I have HPV forever?

Yes, common warts are caused by HPV — but by skin strains (types 1, 2, 4, 27, 57) that are completely different from the genital types, so a hand or foot wart says nothing about sexual health. And no, it’s not forever: the immune system usually clears the strain once the wart is gone.

Can the NHS or a GP remove a wart?

The NHS doesn’t fund removal of cosmetic warts, as they’re considered harmless. A GP may occasionally freeze one but won’t excise it, and hospital dermatology won’t see a wart without diagnostic doubt — which is why most people go private for definitive removal.

Will a wart go away on its own?

Often, yes — a healthy immune system clears many warts within about two years. But that can be slow, and meanwhile a wart may be painful, spread, or be somewhere visible, which is why many people choose to have it removed.

Should a child’s wart be treated?

Usually not under age ten — most childhood warts clear within about two years, and treatment needs local anaesthetic. But a painful, spreading or distressing wart can be treated from around age six, judged case by case.

How much does wart removal cost in London?

At London Skin Clinic the consultation is £100, wart removal is £300 (each additional wart £200) and verruca removal is £500 (each additional £300). You’re given the full cost before any procedure.