How To Treat Mosaic Warts

March 18, 2024

Warts aren't especially dangerous to an individual's health in most situations, but they are unattractive and aesthetically unappealing. If patients live with warts, they probably want to find a way to treat them so they go away. They can make individuals feel less confident and less attractive, particularly when it's clear others notice them. A mosaic wart is related to the plantar wart, meaning they are part of the same family. They are the type of wart that grows in a cluster, and they are most often found on the bottom of the foot. Most go away without any medical treatment, but some don't. If patients find their mosaic warts are painful, don't go away in a reasonable amount of time, or feel concerned about them for another reason, they should call a doctor right away.

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Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy, which involves freezing, is one of the most common treatment methods used on mosaic warts. Contrary to popular belief, this is not done by placing ice on the wart or patients sticking a foot in ice water. It's done with the help of a medical professional who uses liquid nitrogen to get rid of warts. The doctor applies this to warts, and it causes them to freeze. They will free over, blister, and eventually fall right off. However, it's not always the best option. If patients have deep mosaic warts, freezing them off can be painful and difficult. Depending on just how deep they are, the doctor might need to freeze them more than once. This is where it becomes more painful. Warts found on the bottom of the feet are typically deeper because individuals walk on them and apply their entire body weight to them, which pushes them further in.

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Laser Therapy

Laser therapy is another great option for treating mosaic warts, but it's also one that might feel painful when it's used. Lasers are used to kill the tissue that causes the wart to grow. The laser is applied to the wart, and it travels into the tissue to kill it off. It's time-consuming, and it doesn't work right away. This kind of therapy can take a bit more time to work, which is not something many individuals want to deal with. They want instant results, and this is not the treatment option that provides them. Other laser therapies patients can use include the kinds that remove the skin on the top layers of warts and then kill the interior of the wart. It is more painful than other types of therapy, and many patients choose to forgo this one until there is no other option available. It's painful, and it's not always effective during the first treatment.

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Application Of Salicylic Acid

Salicylic acid is often used to treat several skin conditions. Many individuals use it to dry out and clear up pimples and zits, and it's also used to help clean the face more effectively as an ingredient in many facial cleansers. However, it can also be used to kill mosaic warts found on the bottom of the feet. Patients can purchase salicylic acid over-the-counter too, which is something many consider a plus when it comes to removing warts from the bottom of their feet. This method works because salicylic acid removes one layer of skin at a time through the exfoliation process. This helps slough off the skin so the affected foot appears smoother. Warts appear to disappear over the course of this treatment. The best way to use this is for patients to soak their feet in warm water to soften the skin. When the skin is soft, patients will use a pumice stone to file warts and get rid of the outer layer of skin. This is not always comfortable. Finally, patients will put the salicylic acid on the wart and cover it overnight. This helps over time, and it's less painful than other therapies.

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Oral Or Injected Medication

Oral or injected medications are other treatments that appeal to individuals who don't want to go through the process of having warts removed with lasers or therapies that are slightly more painful. This option is easier, and it allows patients to speak with a doctor about the best non-invasive method. Injecting medication is more painful than taking it orally, but it can be just as effective. The doctor might be able to use medication to kill the wart and get it to fall off or die. Many warts are caused by human papillomavirus, and this medication helps fight the virus and kill warts. Oral medication is also used to do the same thing, but there is no way to know which medication is right for each patient before use. Some might work on some patients depending on the cause of their warts, but it might be a trial and error situation. This means it might take longer to find results that make patients happy.

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Surgical Intervention

Surgical intervention is not something patients want to bother with unless nothing else works. The doctor probably will not even discuss this with patients until other methods of wart treatment fail. Surgery is painful and when it's used, it can also cause scars, though many patients do not mind a few scars on their feet in place of warts. If patients are interested in surgical intervention for their mosaic warts, they're going to need to prove to their doctor they've had warts for years, and they will not go away on their own, don't seem to respond to other treatment methods, and they are painful. This is surgery, so it does require some recovery time. It can be painful, and patients might need to take time off of work. These are just a few of the reasons this is the last resort for treatment of mosaic warts.

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