Warts: Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

Swift® microwave therapy for wart removal — commonly recommended 

Swift is the treatment we recommend first for most patients, and there’s good reason for that.A small handheld probe is placed on the wart for a one to two seconds at a time — usually just 5 to 10 applications. Inside the probe, microwaves heat the wart tissue underneath the skin. That heat does two things: it damages the wart directly, and more importantly, it wakes up your immune system so your body can recognise the virus and clear it out.  

K-Laser therapy — for tougher cases 

K-Laser is a powerful therapeutic laser. Think of it as concentrated light energy that gets absorbed by the wart, heating it from the inside and breaking it down. It also encourages your body’s healing response in the area. 

We don’t use K-Laser as our first option for most warts — Swift simply has more research behind it for plantar warts. But K-Laser is a great choice when: 

• A wart is unusually large or deep
• Swift hasn’tfully cleared a stubborn lesion 
• A patient can’t have Swift for any reason 
• We want to use a combined approach — for example, laser plus a topical agent

The treatment is straightforward. We trim down any thickened skin over the wart first, sometimes apply a small amount of silver nitrate to help the laser work better, then hold the laser handpiece over the area for a short, targeted treatment. No cuts, no bleeding, no dressings. 

The research base for laser treatment specifically on warts isn’t as large as it is for Swift, but laser therapy is widely used by skin specialists and podiatrists for warts that haven’t responded to other treatments, with good results reported.¹ 

Salicylic acid — the classic topical treatment 

Salicylic acid is the active ingredient in most over-the-counter wart products you’ll see at the pharmacy. It’s been around for decades, and there’s a reason it’s still recommended: it continues to be commonly used, especially when used properly. 

How it works: salicylic acid slowly softens and breaks down the thick, hard skin that builds up on top of a plantar wart. Once that thickened layer is peeled away, your immune system can finally “see” the wart underneath and start dealing with it. The acid also helps strip away the infected tissue layer by layer. 

The evidence: the most respected medical review of wart treatments — the Cochrane Review — found that salicylic acid clears warts in roughly 73% of cases where it’s used properly, compared to about 48% with placebo.² For plantar warts specifically, the effect is more modest but still real.³ 

Why pharmacy products don’t always work: 

Most pharmacy salicylic acid contains a relatively low strength (up to 4-20%). That’s fine for small, fresh warts but often isn’t enough for the deep, stubborn ones. We use professional-strength preparations (up to 60–80%) and — critically — we trim the thickened skin off the top of the wart first. That single step may improve application effectiveness. The acid can actually reach the wart instead of getting stuck in dead skin on the surface. 

If you’ve tried pharmacy salicylic acid and given up, don’t write off the active ingredient — it’s often the application technique that lets the product down. 

A few things to know: 

• It needs daily home use, usually for 8 to12 weeks
• It can irritate the healthy skin around the wart if you’re not careful 
• It’s not safe to use without supervision if you have diabetes, nerve problems, or circulation issues 

We often use salicylic acid alongside Swift or K-Laser — for example, applying it at home between in-clinic sessions to keep the wart under pressure. 

Silver nitrate — quick, simple, and chemical-based 

Silver nitrate comes as either a liquid or a small applicator stick. When it touches a wart, it chemically burns away the infected tissue in a controlled way. It’s been used in medicine for over 100 years and remains a useful option for the right kind of wart. 

When we use it: 

• For smaller plantar warts
• As a quick,localised treatment between bigger sessions 
• To prep a wart before K-Laser (it helps the laser work more effectively)
• For patients who prefer a chemical option over heat or freezing 

What to expect: the treatment is painless to apply and quick — usually just a few seconds. The wart and the skin around it will turn dark brown or black for a few days. That’s completely normal — it’s just the silver compound reacting with the air, similar to how silver jewellery tarnishes over time. The discolouration fades on its own within a week. 

The evidence: a placebo-controlled trial showed that 10% silver nitrate cleared 63% of common warts when applied every other day for up to six weeks.⁴ More recent research has shown silver nitrate (combined with another agent called trichloroacetic acid) reported different outcomes compared with cryotherapy for plantar warts, with fewer warts coming back afterwards.⁵ 

It’s a good, low-cost, low-fuss option that we use either on its own for the right lesions or as part of a combined plan. 

Gap-free wart assessment 

If you have private health insurance with podiatry cover, your first wart assessment is gap-free.  

That means no out-of-pocket cost for new patients to come in and find out exactly what they’re dealing with. If you do not have health insurance, the assessment is $51. 

The assessment includes:

• A proper look at the lesion (some “warts” turn out to be corns or callus — getting the diagnosis right matters) 
• Photos so we can track progress
• A clear plan tailored to your wart, your medical history, and your preferences
• An honest estimate of how many sessions you’llneed and what it will cost