The management of plantar warts – a podiatric perspective

10 Dermatological Nursing, 2009, Vol 8, No 3 Ivan Bristow is a Lecturer at the School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton. Jane Greenwood is Specialist Podiatrist in Long Term Conditions, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust The number of treatments offered for a particular condition is often indicative of the unsatisfactory success rate in curing the problem. This can be demonstrated by the documented plethora of treatments suggested for plantar warts (or verrucae), which range from the traditional to the bizarre — including banana skins, hypnosis and nail varnish. This paper aims to review the problem of plantar warts and take an evidence-based approach, balancing research findings coupled with the authors’ combined 40 years of experience in managing this common problem.