There is little proof as to how affective this is but some people use duct tape to cover the verruca. Duct tape is mildly caustic and provides an air tight seal.
Natural treatments that have worked for some people include applying a mixture of tea tree oil and lemon daily – these being mildly anti-viral. Thuja occidentalis – applied in the form of paint once a day. Also the Tagetes variety of marigold has also been found to break down the abnormal cells found in verruca.
Salacylic acid is a common treatment that can be bought from the chemists. It works by irritating the dermo-epidermal junction of the skin thereby separating the verruca from the underlying skin and hopefully provoking an immune response.
Cryotherapy freezes the verruca. At temperatures below -20◦C intracellular ice should form rupturing the cell membranes of the verruca. The disadvantage of Cryotherapy is that the treatment can be very painful and it hasn’t been shown to be any more effective than more gentle treatments.
Needling is an acupuncture technique used under local anaesthetic. The verruca is punctured repeatedly pushing the virus into the deep adipose tissue where it can be recognized and destroyed by the immune system.
Silver Nitrate is a painless caustic treatment and works by destroying a thin layer of skin cells allowing deeper debridement. As the virus lives close to the skins surface the treatment can be affective after a short course.
Whichever treatment you choose you’ll know it’s worked when the skin has returned to a normal appearance and stayed that way for 2 weeks.