Verrucae are a very common condition. It is caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), and living on the very edge of the body, they are difficult for your immune system to spot and treat. As Podiatrists, each of 19 years Nick and I have seen hundreds of patients with verrucae from 1 single 'Satellite' verruca to multiple 'mosaic' verrucae. They appear more prevalent in young children and teenagers, but we see a lot of adults with them too. They can be very difficult to treat, feel uncomfortable and appear unsightly and often embarrassing to patients who avoid exposing their feet at swimming, sports and holidays. Our patients often attend the clinic frustrated, as they have tried every over-the-counter verruca treatment going. Don't get me wrong... some may work for a particular person, but often not for others, and by the time they attend a podiatry appointment they believe the verruca can just be 'dug out' or we can magically make it disappear. Sadly, both of those beliefs are not true and as the verruca is a virus there is no 100% guarantee that we can eradicate them with whatever we use.
Every patient will be given a choice of verruca treatments depending on their heath & wellbeing however, we have recently invested in a Swift Emblation machine, which uses microwave therapy as it's treatment and is proving to be very effective in the treatment of stubborn verrucae and warts.
Please visit or Verruca and Swift pages on the website for more information.
The video below gives an excellent visual explanation of how verrucae occurs and how Swift can help: (2 mins 40)
Our first knowledge of Swift
I first came across Swift while we were living in Australia, I had not seen it but there was a CPD sessions running on Verrucae (or 'Plantar Warts' as the Australians call them). It was ran online by Dr Ivan Bristow, a well know British Podiatric Dermatologist who is associated with The Royal College of Podiatry. We have seen many lectures by Ivan in person in both the UK and Australia and he is a passionate as a Podiatrist and his interest in dermatology.
Any way....I digress!
Ivan has been closely involved in the research of using Swift on verrucae and warts (and currently running studies into other potential uses) and although the lecture was very interesting. I have to say... the cost of the machine, and costs to patients, did put me off a little and like many new ideas it was put to the back of our minds.
How we came to purchase Swift
We got to use the actual Swift machine when we returned back in the UK and when we saw the results for ourselves and we we pretty impressed by how quick and simple the equipment was to use and how it benefited the patients.
We attended The Royal College of Podiatry Conference in 2023 and Nick and I were looking to invest in a piece of equipment which we can use to benefit our patients. It came down to either purchasing a 'Foot Scanner' for use of foot pressures and orthotic therapy or the Swift machine. We tried to look at the pros & cons of both pieces of equipment and which one would be more benefit to our patients.
The big benefit of Swift was that no other Podiatrist in Dumfries & Galloway could offer this treatment to their patients and potential patients did not have to travel to Ayr or Carlisle.
We approached the Swift trade stand and their representatives were all dressed in loud Hawaiian shirts promoting 'how to get rid of verrucae for the summer' It was such a great colourful display and happy atmosphere between their Team and other podiatrists we ended up coming away purchasing a Swift machine and one big hole in our pockets!
Pros and Cons
There are a few cons so let me get them out the way first as the positives do outweigh the negatives.
It can seem initially expensive to patients.
Not suitable for patients with pacemakers, epilepsy, poor circulation, neuropathy (your Podiatrist will fully assess your medical history prior to any Swift treatment and advise who is suitable and who is not)
Not suitable for anyone who has metal plates, implants and screws in area needing treatment.
The treatment can be uncomfortable for a few seconds.
(We do have other treatments available for those not eligible for Swift therapy)
Pros
As mentioned above the treatment costs appear expensive, but when you add up the long term treatment of other verrucae treatments the costs can amount up to the same.
Only need 1-3 treatments. One treatment per month. (sometimes another may be required depending on how long and how big the area needing treated is, but often not required).
Once a month treatment allows patients more freedom than frequent appointments with other verruca treatments.
5-10 seconds of treatment per verruca therefore any discomfort is over quickly.
No need for dressings or keeping foot dry after treatment, You can continue with your normal activities.
Suitable for children over 7 years (but can be uncomfortable so we use a lower wattage setting).
High success rates.
Outcomes of using Swift
We have had a good success rate so far in helping patients get rid of their verruca however, it is still too early to comment on our long term success. We have invested a lot of time and money in this treatment and we truly believe in its benefits to our clinic and hope to encourage more people to come forward for treatment. We hope The Great British Podiatry Clinic Ltd will be the 'go to' clinic for verruca treatments.
Over the coming weeks and months I will be posting more updates on our experiences of using Swift and would like to invite 'you' to share your experiences with verrucae, how did you treat it?, was it successful?
if you have had Swift therapy before whether with us or another Podiatrist, how did you found the treatment. We would love hear your feedback .
We look forward to seeing you soon. Amanda & Nick.
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