Warts: Diagnosis and treatment
Warts are curable.
Your dermatologist knows it takes time to clear warts and that you can certainly get rid of them.
How do dermatologists diagnose warts?
Your dermatologist can usually diagnose warts by looking at them.
If a wart is growing rapidly, looks like an open sore, or fails to clear with treatment, your dermatologist may perform a skin biopsy. During this procedure, your dermatologist numbs the area and removes a sample from the growth. This procedure can be done in the office while you’re awake.
A skin biopsy can tell your dermatologist if you have a wart or another skin condition.
How do dermatologists treat non-genital warts?
Most warts are harmless, and many go away on their own. However, without treatment, it takes time for warts to clear — from a few months to years.
Treatment can help:
Clear warts more quickly.
Reduce the risk of spreading the virus that causes warts to others or to other parts of your body.
It is also easier to treat warts when you have fewer, smaller warts.
You may be able to treat your warts at home with a wart treatment that you can buy online or in a store.
However, you should see a board-certified dermatologist if you have:
Warts on your face or genital area
A wart that is changing, hurts, itches, burns, or bleeds
Many warts
Doubts about whether you have a wart(s)
Tried at-home treatment and cannot get rid of the wart(s)
A weakened immune system (e.g., cancer, HIV, organ transplant)
Diabetes
Keep in mind that for some patients, treatment may not be recommended.
When treatment is recommended, dermatologists offer a range of treatments. A treatment plan may include one or more of the following:
Salicylic acid: This is a common treatment for warts. It works by stripping away the layers of the wart. It’s an at-home treatment used for:
Common warts
Plantar warts
Flat warts (not on the face)
Wart treatments that you can buy without a prescription often contain salicylic acid. Your dermatologist may recommend one of these products or a prescription medication that contains a stronger dose.
You usually apply salicylic acid once a day after softening the wart. To soften a wart, you bathe or soak a wart in warm water.
When using salicylic acid, your dermatologist may tell you to:
Soften the wart.
Apply salicylic acid to the wart.
Cover the treated wart with duct tape or a bandage.
Leave the duct tape or bandage on overnight or for 24 hours, then remove, and repeat these steps again. Only cover the wart if your dermatologist recommends this.
Keep in mind that results take time. To improve results, your dermatologist may add another treatment like cryosurgery (freezing), which is described below.
As salicylic acid destroys the wart, the surrounding skin can become sore. If this happens, you should stop treatment for a few days and restart when it feels better.
Possible side effects include irritated skin and stinging where you apply salicylic acid.
Occlusion (cover up): Covering up a wart can help you get rid of the wart. It can also create a moist environment that helps to soften a wart. Your dermatologist may recommend covering a wart with duct tape or a bandage. Occlusion is used to treat:
Common warts
Occlusion works best when the duct tape or bandage is placed on top of a medication applied to the wart, such as salicylic acid.
Possible side effects include irritated skin and peeling.
Cryosurgery (freezing): A common treatment for warts, this is a procedure that your dermatologist performs during an office visit while you remain awake.
Dermatologists use cryosurgery to treat:
Common warts
Plantar warts
Flat warts
Filiform warts
Your dermatologist will freeze your wart with a very cold substance, which causes the wart to scab up and fall off. To give you the best result, your dermatologist may also prescribe medication that you can apply to the wart at home, such as salicylic acid.
After treatment with cryosurgery, you may see crusting or a blister on your treated skin. This is expected. The treated area usually heals within 4 to 7 days.
Most patients need more than one cryosurgery treatment. Treatment may be repeated every 2 to 4 weeks.
Because cryosurgery can be painful, it’s primarily used to treat older children and adults.
A possible side effect is lightening, darkening, or scarring of the treated skin.
If you’re unsure how to care for your skin while (or after) treating a wart, ask your dermatologist.
Following the at-home care that your dermatologist gives you can prevent scars (including keloids), dark spots, and light areas.
Cantharidin: This is a medication that your dermatologist paints on the wart(s). Also known as beetle juice, cantharidin causes a blister to form around and under the wart.
Dermatologists use cantharidin to treat:
Common warts
Plantar warts
To treat plantar warts, your dermatologist may use a medication that contains cantharidin, podophyllotoxin, and salicylic acid.
Whether your dermatologist uses cantharidin alone or with other medications, this treatment requires at-home care. You will need to wash off the medication at home later in the day. This avoids excessive blistering. You will also need to keep the treated area clean and dry.
You’ll also need to return to the office later so that your dermatologist can clip away the dead part of the wart and treat any remaining wart.
With this treatment, pain and blistering are expected. The skin in the treated area may also turn lighter or darker than the surrounding skin. This discoloration usually goes away in a few weeks to months.
Brand name: Ycanth
Electrosurgery (burning) and curettage (scraping): Electrosurgery destroys the wart by burning it off. Your dermatologist can perform this procedure during an appointment while you remain awake. This procedure is used to treat:
Common warts
Plantar warts
Filiform warts
To burn and scrape a wart, your dermatologist begins by numbing the skin to be treated. Your dermatologist will then burn and scrape the wart as needed. Most patients need one treatment.
The treated area will be sore, discolored, and swollen. You may have some bleeding.
Excision (cutting): Your dermatologist may surgically remove the wart by cutting it out. This is a surgical procedure that your dermatologist can perform during an office visit while you remain awake. Your dermatologist will numb the area before performing surgery.
Excision is usually used to treat:
Common warts
Filiform warts
The advantage of excision is that the wart is immediately removed. However, as the surgical wound heals, you may develop a scar.
Possible side effects include bleeding and infection. These are rare when performed by a dermatologist.
How dermatologists treat stubborn warts
When warts have not cleared with time or other treatments, your dermatologist may use one of the following:
Laser therapy: If other treatments have not worked, your dermatologist may recommend this in-office procedure. A laser can effectively treat stubborn warts and may clear them quickly.
Laser therapy can be used to treat all types of warts, including some genital warts.
Before treatment, your dermatologist may numb your wart(s) with either an injection or numbing cream.
After laser therapy, you’ll likely have some discoloration, swelling, and discomfort. That’s expected.
You’ll need to care for the area at home, so you’ll be given instructions on what to do. The treated area may feel sore for up to 2 weeks.
To clear warts, some patients need more than one laser treatment session.
Possible side effects include bleeding, temporarily discolored skin, or a burning sensation.
5-fluorouracil (5-FU): When a wart remains despite other treatments, your dermatologist may recommend this medication. 5-FU is a chemotherapy medication that can also slow the growth of the wart-causing virus.
Dermatologists prescribe 5-FU to treat:
Common warts
Plantar warts
Flat warts
There are two ways to treat warts with 5-FU. You may apply this medication at home and then cover the treated wart with tape or a bandage. With at-home treatment, patients often apply 5-FU daily for 4 to 12 weeks.
Your dermatologist can also inject this medication into the wart. You may need to see your dermatologist more than once for injections.
As 5-FU works, you can expect to see skin discoloration and swelling. A possible side effect is skin lightening or darkening where the wart once was. This is usually temporary and goes away in a few weeks to months.
Brand names: Carac, Efudex, and Tolak
Bleomycin: This is achemotherapy medication. It can also effectively treat warts that are hard to get rid of, so your dermatologist may use bleomycin when other treatments fail. Dermatologists use bleomycin to treat stubborn:
Common warts
Plantar warts
During this in-office procedure, your dermatologist may inject this medication into a wart. Another option is to apply bleomycin to the surface of the wart and then prick the wart, allowing bleomycin to get inside the wart.
As bleomycin works, it can cause the treated area to feel painful for up to 2 weeks. You should also see the wart dying. As the wart dies, you may see dead skin and a dry, dark scab or peeling skin. These are expected.
You’ll need to care for the skin treated at home and be given instructions on what to do.
Some patients need more than one treatment with bleomycin.
Possible side effects include pain, bleeding, and darkening of the skin in the treated area.
Brand name: Blenoxane
Immunotherapy: This treatment stimulates your immune system, so it can more effectively fight the wart-causing virus. It may be considered when other treatments fail to work. Dermatologists use it to treat:
Common warts
Plantar warts
There are several immunotherapy medications. One immunotherapy medication used to treat warts is imiquimod cream.
You use imiquimod at home, applying it to the wart as directed.
Imiquimod should cause a skin reaction. You may see a rash, blistering, or bleeding. The treated skin may feel painful.
Brand names (imiquimod): Aldara, Zyclara
Before (A) and after (B) one immunotherapy treatment.
Other treatments, including salicylic acid and cryosurgery, failed to clear this patient’s wart.
Trichloroacetic acid: This medication can destroy stubborn warts. It is used to treat:
Common warts, especially on the palms and soles
Flat warts
Genital warts
During this in-office procedure, your dermatologist will scrape or file down the wart and then apply the medication to the wart. After applying the medication, your dermatologist may also prick the wart, allowing medication to get inside.
Possible side effects of this treatment include pain, burning, or darker skin (hyperpigmentation) where the medication is applied. While rare, a scar can form on the treated skin.
Brand name: Tri-Chlor
Antiviral medication: If other treatments are unsuccessful, your dermatologist may prescribe this medication. Antiviral medications are used to treat infections caused by a virus.
Patients typically apply an antiviral medication at home. Antiviral medications that may be used to treat warts include acyclovir and cidofovir. Your dermatologist will tell you how often to apply the medication.
Possible side effects when applying one of these medications include irritated skin, itching, or burning.
Brand names: Zovirax, Sitavig (acyclovir) and Vistide (cidofovir)
For best results: Follow your dermatologists’ instructions
Your dermatologist will carefully select your wart treatment based on your health, age, type of wart you have, and other considerations. You play an important role in the results you see.
To get the best results:
Return for treatment as needed.
Care for the treated area as instructed, whether that be applying treatment at home, caring for the treated area after your dermatologist treats it, or both.
If you’re unsure what to do, be sure to ask.
Once the warts clear, you can prevent more warts. To find out what dermatologists recommend, go to Warts: 8 dermatologists’ tips for preventing warts.
Images
1, 2: Getty Images
3: Used with permission of the JAAD Case Reports:
JAAD Case Reports. 2023 Dec:42:106-8.
References
Goldstein BG, Goldstein AO, et al. (section editors: Dellavalle RP, Levy ML, et al.). “Cutaneous warts (common, plantar, and flat warts)” UpToDate. Last updated: January 2, 2025. Last accessed March 27, 2025.
Jayaprasad S, Subramaniyan R, et al. “Comparative evaluation of topical 10% potassium hydroxide and 30% trichloroacetic acid in the treatment of plane warts.” Indian J Dermatol. 2016 Nov-Dec;61(6):634-9.
Meghana Reddy E, Rajashekar TS, et al. “Comparative study of intralesional acyclovir vs immunotherapy for treatment of viral warts.” Cureus. 2023 May 9;15(5):e38781.
Nguyen AL, Quint KD, et al. “Real-life treatment of cutaneous warts with cantharidin podophyllin salicylic acid solution.” Dermatol Ther. 2019 Nov;32(6):e13143.
Vakharia PP, Chopra R, et al. “Efficacy and safety of topical cantharidin treatment for molluscum contagiosum and warts: A systematic review.” Am J Clin Dermatol. 2018 Dec;19(6):791-803.
Written by:
Paula Ludmann, MS
Reviewed by:
Laurel Geraghty, MD, FAAD
Carrie L. Kovarik, MD, FAAD
William Warren Kwan, MD, FAAD
Morgan Murphrey, MD, FAAD
Sanna Ronkainen, MD, FAAD
Last updated: 5/8/25