When is cryotherapy recommended for warts?

A wart is a localised skin growth caused by a viral infection. Cryotherapy freezes the wart and nearby tissue, prompting the treated area to blister or crust and gradually clear. More than one visit can be needed, particularly for thick, longstanding, or difficult-to-reach warts.

Treatment can be considered when a wart is painful, interferes with walking or daily tasks, spreads, or has not improved with an appropriate home treatment. The clinician also considers whether the spot is truly a wart, since other growths can look similar.

Do not shave, cut, or aggressively file an uncertain growth. Tell the clinician if you have reduced sensation, poor circulation, diabetes, a weakened immune system, or a history of unusual scarring.

Keep the treated area clean, protect any blister, and avoid picking the crust. Do not share towels, nail tools, or footwear, and wash hands after touching the wart or dressing to reduce spread to other areas.

Have a lesion checked if it bleeds without trauma, changes quickly, becomes unusually painful, or fails to heal. After treatment, contact the clinic for worsening pain, spreading redness, pus, fever, or a wound that is not closing.

Ask what confirms the diagnosis, whether freezing fits the site, how to protect nearby skin, how to reduce spread at home, and when persistent wart tissue should be reassessed.