Most Effective Treatment for Plantar Warts

Plantar warts are viral infections caused by the human papillomavirus, or HPV that appear of the soles of the feet. According to the Mayo Clinic, plantar warts are not cancerous, and while they are also not a serious health concern they can be extremely painful. There are many effective ways to remove plantar warts, and your doctor will decide which treatment is appropriate. In many cases, the choice of treatment is simply a doctor's preference.

Medication

• Medication can remove plantar warts. According to PodiatryChannel.com, many doctors use a medical acid such as salicylic acid or dichloroacetic acid to burn the warts off. The solution, applied directly to the warts over a period of days, removes dead skin, and the virus with it. Imiquimod is an antiviral agent used in creams that are applied directly to the wart to combat the virus. Medication used to combat plantar warts is almost always applied directly to the warts.

Curettage

• A popular form of surgery used to remove plantar warts, curettage, is, according to PodiatryChannel.com, most commonly used when there are only a few isolated warts to remove. Doctors may also use curettage to remove warts that may remain after another course of treatment. In curettage, which can be performed in the doctor's office in a single appointment using local anesthesia, the doctor remove the warts with a series of electrically charged needles.

Specialized Surgery

• Laser surgery is new and effective at killing the virus causing the infection. It is expensive, however, and it may be difficult to justify the cost just to remove warts. In cryotherapy, the doctor freezes the virus using liquid nitrogen; the warts turn black and fall off. Plantar warts tend to be a deeper form of wart, and in some cases cryotherapy may not reach deep enough below the surface of the foot to effectively kill the virus.