Medical Questions » Feet Questions » Question No. 361
| Question: | I suffer severely from plantar warts, which have been unsuccessfully treated with liquid nitrogen. My GP has now prescribed Tagamet for me. Is this drug useful for warts? Is there anything that can be injected into the wart to help? |
| Answer: | Plantar warts are notoriously difficult and painful to treat. Liquid nitrogen can certainly be tried, particularly on smaller warts, but there is a significant failure rate. I personally prefer to use a fairly radical approach, as it seems to be the only one that works long term.
This involves injecting local anaesthetic under and around the wart (itself a painful process in the sole), then using diathermy to burn away the wart, then cutting out the burnt tissue with a scalpel or fine scissors. Any remaining wart is further burnt away, and the process continued until all identifiable wart is removed. A hole is left in the sole which is filled with Betadine ointment, but not sutured. It is covered with a bandage, and left to slowly heal over the next six weeks. It is only painful for a couple of days after the procedure. The chances of recurrence are small (but still present), and a permanent scar is left on the sole.
Tagamet is a medication that is normally used to treat stomach ulcers, but it has been serendipitously found to destroy the virus that causes warts in some patients. It is unlikely to do any harm to you, must be used for at least six months, and just might trigger the immune system to destroy your plantar wart.
I have had success in young adults who have had dozens of warts on their elbows and knees.
Another method of plantar wart treatment is to inject the anti-cancer drug bleomycin under the wart. If too much is used though, a nasty ulcer can develop, but if not enough is used, the wart will not go away.
|
|
|
