Hardened Wart Removal

Common warts are contagious skin growths caused by human papillomavirus. Plantar warts and flat warts require the same treatments and removal procedures as common warts. Appropriate wart removal treatments and procedures vary based on how serious the infections become. Warts often disappear on their own, but you may prefer a removal treatment if they are particularly unsightly or are spreading uncontrollably. Stubborn, hardened warts may require more than popular over-the-counter treatments such as salicylic acid gel. Fortunately, there are effective and readily accessible treatment alternatives for hardened wart removal.

Duct Tape

• Try a two-month duct tape treatment on your hardened warts before spending money on expensive and invasive procedures to remove them. Cover the wart with duct tape for six consecutive days. Remove the duct tape overnight on the sixth evening and reapply it the next morning. Wear the duct tape on the wart for another six days. Repeat this process until the hardened wart sloughs off, which may take upwards of two months. Replace the duct tape immediately if it falls off at any point--such as while showering or working out--during the course of your treatment.

Cryotherapy and Cantharidin

• Consult your doctor or dermatologist about the next best removal alternative if duct tape treatment is undesirable or has not worked on your hardened warts. Ask your doctor about cryotherapy and cantharidin. Many doctors refer cryotherapy, which is using liquid nitrogen to freeze the warts off. The treatment is nearly painless and is highly effective. The warts gradually shed off of your skin within a week after treatment. However, cryotherapy does not cure HPV---the underlying cause of the hardened warts---so, they may return over time.

  However, your doctor may rather apply cantharidin treatments to hardened warts than attempt cryotherapy. Cantharidin creates blisters that lift the warts off of your skin whereas your doctor may easily remove them. The treatment does not hurt, but the resulting blisters may cause pain or discomfort.

Surgery

• Ask your doctor for a recommendation regarding surgical hardened wart removal if neither cryotherapy nor cantharidin prove effective. Basic wart removal surgery entails the administration of a local anesthetic before cutting the wart away with an electric needle. This process is known as electrodessication and curettage. You may need or prefer laser surgery to remove the hardened warts as well. Much like electrodessication and curettage, laser surgery invasively removes the hardened wart. However, the process is far more costly and thus often a last resort for physical removal.

Alternative Treatments

• There are other more drastic alternative treatments you should discuss with your doctor if hardened warts continue to be a problem after surgery. Ask your doctor about immunotherapy, antivirals and retinoids in this case. Immunotherapy with squaric acid dibutylester and Imiquimod (Aldara) may be applied to hardened common, plantar and flat warts that resist other removal options. These medications try to boost your natural HPV rejection. A direct injection of antiviral medication such as bleomycin (Blenoxane) can kill hardened warts in the most extreme cases. There are also retinoids, which stunt skin cell growth. Your doctor may apply these to a hardened wart in an attempt to stop its skin cell growth altogether.