warts & verrucae

• what are warts?

  firm round, raised growths with a rough surface, small cauliflower looking, greyish/white or light brown. few mm in size, commonly found on hands and knees
• what is a verrucas?

  warts on the soles of the feet. Normally have tiny black dot in the centre (blood has clotted in, the tiny blood vessel on the surface. Can be painful on weight bearing
• warts and verrucae: referral?

  • facial/gential wards
  • bleeding
  • itching
  • diabetics
  • immunocompromised patients
  • change in appearance/size/colour of the wart (suspect-cancer)
  • no significant improvement within 3 month of OTC treatment
• warts and verrucae treatment?

  >salicylic acid- bazuka/salactol

  • soften/destroys skin- removal of infected tissue
  • lactic acid- antimicrobial keratolyti, enhances absorption of salicylic acid

  > cryotherapy

  • little evidence to support use, can be tried OTC
  • wart should come away in about 10 days
• warts and verrucae counselling?

  • duct tape is comparable to OTC cryotherapy in effectiveness
  • soak affected area in warm water for 5-10 minutes before treatment use
  • remove dead skin- pumice stone/emery board
  • verrucas transferred by walking on wet surfaces etc
• Wart


  patient walks in with the following image :  skin coloured nodule but may appear darker on black or brown skin.

  Diagnosis?

  
• Verrucae


  Patient walks into pharmacy presenting with the following: small nodule on the toe with tiny black dots under the hard skin.