What Is Cryotherapy for Warts?
Warts: Who needs them? Not only are they unattractive but they can be painful. They often go away on their own, but that can take up to 2 years. In the meantime they may spread to other parts of your body. If you don't want to wait, you can freeze your warts off by applying liquid nitrogen. Doctors call this process cryotherapy. It’s one of the most common ways to get rid of warts and can lower the chances that the warts will spread.
Cryotherapy for warts usually only takes a few minutes in your doctor's office. Or you can do it at home with a kit, depending on where the wart is located.
What is a wart?
Warts are (usually) harmless growths or bumps found on your skin and in places like the inside of your mouth. They're generally small and feel rough.
They're caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). Although a few warts are spread by sexual contact, most are spread by sharing objects like towels or from casual skin to skin contact, such as from picking at a hangnail after touching a wart on your hand.
Types of warts
Many kinds of warts exist. They're classified based on how they look, what body parts they affect, and the type of HPV strain that causes them. Typical types of warts include:
Common warts (verruca vulgaris). These small bumps usually appear on your hands.
Plantar warts. These form on your feet, especially your soles. They can become quite large, are often flat, and make walking painful.
Mosaic warts. These tiny bumps form on the balls of your feet or under your toes. They're flatter than plantar warts and don't cause much discomfort.
Flat warts. They're found on almost any part of the body and usually grow in large numbers, like 20-100 warts at one time.
Filiform warts. These threadlike warts grow on your face near your mouth, nose, or eyes.
Genital warts. These appear on your genital areas (sex organs) and around your anus (bottom).
You can have cryotherapy (also called cryosurgery) on all types of warts, but results may not be the same. Some warts need more cryotherapy sessions than others to go away. Sometimes, the way the cryotherapy is delivered makes the difference. Doctors use different devices to deliver cryotherapy.
Can I Get Cryotherapy for Wart Removal?
Cryotherapy is a good option if:
- You’re fair-skinned. It can cause scarring in people with darker skin.
- You’re an adult or older child. It's not recommended for children because it can be painful.
- The wart is on a part of your body with no hair. Cryosurgery can cause you to lose your hair permanently in the places where it's done.
- The wart is on your face. Cryotherapy is less likely than other removal methods to cause scarring.
Cryotherapy in Your Doctor’s Office
Most doctors use liquid nitrogen, which can reach temperatures as low as -320 F, to freeze off the wart. Here's how cryotherapy wart removal works:
- First, your doctor may shave off dead skin on the wart area with a blade. They may also use a numbing cream on the area.
- Next, they'll use either a cotton swab or a spray "cryogun" to apply liquid nitrogen to the wart and some of the skin around it, pressing on the wart for a few seconds. This may feel like an ice cube touching your skin, but it won't last long. Your skin may also hurt, turn red, or form a blister.
- If the wart is on your forehead or temple, the liquid nitrogen might give you a headache. As the cold wears off, your skin might also feel hot or burning.
- Once you leave your doctor's office, you should be able to return to your normal routine, including showering and bathing. The area shouldn’t get infected, but watch for signs of it, like redness or swelling.
- Eventually, a scab will form where the liquid nitrogen was applied. That will fall off about a week later. Try not to pick at it before it’s ready to fall off.
- Your doctor will give you aftercare instructions which may include gently washing the treated area with mild soap and water.
- You may need to repeat this treatment once a week for several weeks.
Some doctors advise that you apply salicylic acid, a common wart removal lotion, to your wart after your skin has healed from cryotherapy. This is to get more skin to peel off. They'll let you know if you should do this.
Freezing a Wart at Home
You can buy cryotherapy products to remove warts from your drugstore (for instance, Compound W Freeze Off or Dr. Scholl's Freeze Away Max). Over-the-counter kits use a mix of dimethyl ether and propane instead of liquid nitrogen. They often aren't as effective as the treatment you get in a doctor's office because the acids and the freezing chemicals aren't in as high concentrations as the ones you'd get in a medical setting.
To use, apply the cold liquid to your wart with an applicator (different brands have different ways of doing this). Press the liquid on the wart for 20 seconds or less. Length of time depends on where the wart is. It's normal to feel a sting. A blister usually forms in a few hours and then falls off in a week or so.
Don't try freezing a wart on your genitals or face at home.
There are also other at-home options for treating warts. You could try applying salicylic acid. This comes in a lotion or cream and is available without a prescription. You wet the warty skin, file it with an emery board, and then spread the salicylic acid on your wart. Salicylic acid comes in different strengths, so your doctor can advise you on which one to get.
Some people find pasting a piece of duct tape (usually the silver type) over the wart and leaving it for at least a week works well. Once you remove the tape, check to see whether the wart is gone or if you need to tape it again. The thinking is that the tape deprives the wart of oxygen and removes dead skin -- not to mention you're less likely to pick at it if your wart is covered.
Don't use salicylic acid or duct tape for facial or genital warts. You'll need a doctor's help to get rid of warts there.
Cryotherapy for Genital Warts
Cryotherapy is one of the best ways to remove genital warts. One 2019 study put the success rate at 79%-88%. Another study of 50 women found that healing occurred in 94% of cases and only 10% had a return of genital warts. Treatments was given every 7 days for up to 7 weeks. Removing the concentration of HPV virus in the body also decreases the likelihood of certain types of cancer.
It's important to note that cryotherapy can remove genital warts but it cannot cure them. These types of warts can come back.
Never use home products for freezing genital warts, as they can cause severe damage.
How Well Does Cryotherapy Work?
Cryotherapy's effectiveness depends a lot on the type of warts you have — their size, number, where they're located, and how many treatment sessions you undergo.
One 2015 study put the success rate for treating common warts at 75%. Another review of studies showed that after 3 months, 49% of the people who had cryotherapy no longer had hand warts versus 13% of the people who didn't have cryotherapy. But the review also found that cryotherapy was no more effective than no treatment when it came to treating warts on the feet. And as noted earlier, when treating genital warts, cryotherapy has very high success rates.
In general, cryotherapy usually cures 50% to 70% of warts after three or four treatments, according to American Family Physician. The journal found the treatment to be about as effective as using salicylic acid, but required fewer applications.
Whether treated or not, warts can reappear after they've gone away.
Risks of Getting Cryotherapy for Warts
Side effects of liquid nitrogen for warts are usually mild and include a blister and scarring from the treatment, both of which will go away after a while. You might also have mild skin irritation or redness, as well as hypopigmentation (skin lightening) if you have dark skin. Sometimes, people with pale skin find their skin darkens at the spot where they had cryosurgery.
More serious, though rare, risks include:
- Hair loss
- Numbness or tingling
- Ulcers
- Infection
These side effects are more likely if the freezing is left on for 30 seconds or longer. Ulcers and infection are more likely if you have poor circulation.
Who Should Not Try Cryotherapy for Wart Removal?
You probably should stay away from freezing a wart if you have the following conditions (but always check with your doctor):
- Cryoglobulinemia
- Multiple myeloma
- Raynaud's disease
- Urticaria (cold-induced hives)
These are all conditions made worse by cold. Also, cryosurgery can cause blood vessels to constrict (narrow), so your blood flow is slowed or blocked. You shouldn't have freezing done on areas with poor blood circulation. For instance, if you have diabetic foot problems, cryotherapy might damage your tissues.
Finally, your doctor should check that your growths are not cancerous before doing this treatment.
Takeaways
Cryotherapy for warts is an effective way to get rid of them. A doctor or health care provider applies liquid nitrogen to your wart for few seconds, causing it to form a blister. This blister becomes dead tissue and falls off in a week or less. The procedure is quick and has few side effects. You may need several treatments to completely get rid of your wart.
FAQs on Cryotherapy for Warts
How long does it take for a wart to go away after cryotherapy?
Usually you need about a week for healing, though the blister may fall off in a shorter time. You may need more than one cryotherapy session for a wart to go away.
Can you use cryotherapy for facial wart removal?
Yes you can, but you'll definitely want a professional to remove it as opposed to freezing it at home. This is because you'll want to minimize any scarring and a doctor or other health care provider could do a better job of this.
What should I not do after freezing a wart?
- Don't pick at the blister that forms. This will produce scarring at the spot. You can cover it with a bandage for a few days if the spot is draining.
- Don't spend long periods of time in the sun until the area has healed. After healing, use sunscreen on the spot to prevent scarring.
- Don't use scented soap, makeup, or lotion until the spot has healed. If the spot crusts, apply Vaseline or Aquaphor until the crust falls off.
How effective is liquid nitrogen for warts?
Depending on the body part, the cure rate is 50%-70%.
