Most verrucas go on their own eventually, so the first choice is whether to treat at all. If you do, salicylic acid from a pharmacy is the usual first step and clears roughly half of verrucas in eight to twelve weeks. If that fails, a podiatrist can offer freezing, Swift microwave therapy, needling or, rarely, surgery. No treatment works for everyone, and the stubborn verruca that has been there for years usually needs clinic treatment.
Key facts
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| First-line treatment | Salicylic acid from a pharmacy, daily for up to 12 weeks |
| How well it works | Clears roughly half of verrucas in 12 weeks (Cochrane) |
| Clinic options | Cryotherapy, Swift microwave therapy, needling, stronger acids |
| Typical UK clinic cost | Treatment session from £50; Swift from £138; needling from £258 (Oct 2026) |
| Avoid home treatment if | You have diabetes, poor circulation or reduced feeling in your feet |
Option 1: leave it alone
Leaving a verruca untreated is often reasonable. Verrucas are harmless and the immune system clears most of them in time: about half in children within a year, slower in adults. If the verruca does not hurt, is not spreading and is not stopping you doing anything, doing nothing is a legitimate choice. Cover it with a plaster or wear a verruca sock for swimming, do not pick it, and check it every month or so.
Treat if it is painful, spreading, has been there more than a year, or is bothering you.
Option 2: salicylic acid (pharmacy)
What it is. A gel, liquid, paint or plaster containing salicylic acid, usually at 12 to 26 per cent for verrucas, sold under brand names such as Bazuka and Scholl as well as pharmacy own brands. The acid softens and dissolves the hard infected skin a layer at a time, and the irritation it causes helps the immune system notice the virus.
How to use it. Every day, for up to twelve weeks: soak the foot for five minutes, file away the softened white skin with an emery board or pumice used only for this, dry, apply the product to the verruca only, and cover. Protect the surrounding skin with petroleum jelly if it stings. Stop and see a pharmacist if the skin becomes very sore or broken.
How well it works. The best evidence (a Cochrane review of trials) puts the clearance rate at roughly half of verrucas over twelve weeks, compared with around a quarter for placebo. It works best on small, early verrucas and worst on mosaic verrucas and the thick-skinned heel.
Who should not use it. Anyone with diabetes, poor circulation or reduced feeling in the feet; children under about four; anyone with a verruca on broken or infected skin. Pregnant women should ask a pharmacist.
Cost. £5 to £12 for a course.
Option 3: freezing at home (pharmacy)
What it is. Aerosol kits (dimethyl ether and propane) that freeze the verruca to around minus 50 degrees Celsius. This is not as cold as the liquid nitrogen a clinic uses.
How well it works. Weak evidence, and generally no better than salicylic acid. The kits are less effective than clinic freezing because they do not get cold enough to reach the base of a thick verruca. They can be useful for a small, early verruca.
Who should not use it. Same groups as salicylic acid.
Cost. £10 to £15 for a kit.
Option 4: cryotherapy at a clinic
What it is. Liquid nitrogen at minus 196 degrees Celsius applied with a spray or probe for ten to thirty seconds, after the hard skin has been pared away. The freeze destroys the infected skin, which blisters, scabs and comes away over a week or two.
How well it works. In trials, clinic cryotherapy is about as effective as salicylic acid over twelve weeks, clearing roughly half of verrucas, with more aggressive freezing working better but hurting more. It works best on hands; on the thick skin of the sole it needs the hard skin removed first and usually two or three sessions two to three weeks apart.
Downsides. It hurts, both during and for a day or two after. It can blister badly. It is not advised for young children for that reason, or for people with poor circulation.
Cost. Across 19 podiatry clinics listed on verrucatreatment.co.uk with a published price, cryotherapy typically starts at £50 per session (checked October 2026). 157 listed clinics say they offer it.
Option 5: Swift microwave therapy
What it is. A handheld probe delivers a two-second pulse of microwave energy into the verruca, heating the tissue to around 42 to 45 degrees Celsius. The idea is not to burn the verruca but to stress the infected cells so the immune system recognises the virus and clears it. Typically three or four treatments, four weeks apart, each taking a few minutes.
How well it works. Published audits and the manufacturer’s data report resolution in around three-quarters of stubborn verrucas after a course, including verrucas that have failed other treatments. Independent randomised trials are still few, so treat the figure as promising rather than proven. Podiatrists have taken it up widely because it is quick, needs no dressing and rarely blisters.
Downsides. Each pulse is sharply painful for a second or two, like a hot needle. It is expensive. It does not work for everyone and some people need a second course.
Cost. Across 34 listed clinics with a published price, Swift typically starts at £138 per session, with a course of three usually priced at a discount (checked October 2026). 239 listed clinics say they offer it. Our Swift guide goes into detail.
Option 6: needling (Falknor’s needling)
What it is. Under local anaesthetic, the podiatrist punctures the verruca many times with a sterile needle, pushing the virus into the deeper layers of skin where the immune system can see it. One treatment, taking about thirty minutes, with a dressing for a few days.
How well it works. Small studies report resolution in around two-thirds of cases from a single treatment, and because it provokes a general immune response it often clears other verrucas on the foot at the same time. It is used for stubborn, long-standing or mosaic verrucas rather than as a first treatment.
Downsides. Needs an injection of local anaesthetic. Some soreness for a few days. Not suitable for people with diabetes or poor circulation without specialist advice.
Cost. Across 48 listed clinics with a published price, needling typically starts at £258 (checked October 2026). 230 listed clinics say they offer it. Our needling guide explains what to expect.
Option 7: other clinic treatments
Stronger acids (silver nitrate, monochloroacetic or trichloroacetic acid) applied by a podiatrist, often with salicylic acid under a dressing. Reasonable evidence, several visits, some pain.
Laser. Pulsed-dye or Nd:YAG laser destroys the blood vessels feeding the verruca. Evidence is limited and it is offered by few UK clinics.
Surgical removal under local anaesthetic. A last resort, because it leaves a scar on the sole that can be permanently painful, and the verruca can recur in the scar.
Prescription creams such as imiquimod are occasionally used off-label by dermatologists for very stubborn cases.
Do home remedies like duct tape work?
Duct tape, tea tree oil, apple cider vinegar, banana skin and garlic all have their advocates. None has good evidence; the duct tape study that started the trend was not borne out by later, larger trials. They are mostly harmless, so trying one alongside salicylic acid costs nothing, but vinegar and garlic can burn the skin and should not be used on children.
Which treatment for which verruca?
| Situation | Reasonable first step |
|---|---|
| Small, new, not painful | Leave it, or salicylic acid |
| Established, painful, otherwise healthy adult | Salicylic acid for 12 weeks, then a podiatrist |
| Child under 10 | Ask a podiatrist; often leave alone or gentle salicylic acid |
| Has failed 12 weeks of acid | Podiatrist: cryotherapy, Swift or needling |
| Mosaic, or there for years | Podiatrist: Swift or needling |
| Diabetes, poor circulation, weak immune system | Podiatrist or GP before any treatment |
Can you get verruca treatment on the NHS?
Most GP practices in England no longer treat verrucas, and NHS podiatry is generally reserved for people at risk, such as those with diabetes. Our guide to verruca treatment on the NHS explains what to expect and why most people end up at a private podiatrist.
How to find a podiatrist for verruca treatment
Use the listings on verrucatreatment.co.uk to find a clinic near you and compare published starting prices; 799 of the 2,859 listed clinics say they treat verrucas. Look for “HCPC” on the listing and check the name on the HCPC register before you book.
Can you get rid of a verruca overnight?
No. Nothing removes a verruca overnight, whatever a product or video claims, because the virus lives in the skin cells and the body has to clear them. Salicylic acid takes about 12 weeks of daily use; freezing takes two or more sessions a fortnight apart; needling and microwave treatment take several weeks to show a result. Cutting or burning a verruca out at home does not work either: it leaves infected skin behind, spreads the virus and risks infection and scarring. What you can do overnight is start properly: file the hard skin after a bath, apply the treatment, cover it, and repeat every day.
Sources
- NHS: Warts and verrucas
- Cochrane: Topical treatments for cutaneous warts (salicylic acid and cryotherapy evidence)
- British Association of Dermatologists: Plantar warts patient information
- Royal College of Podiatry: Verrucae
- Prices: clinic websites of listings on verrucatreatment.co.uk, checked October 2026. Starting prices, not quotes.