Revolutionary Verucca Treatment - Swift

Swift – The Revolutionary Verucca Treatment

Most of us will have veruccas – also sometimes known as plantar warts – at some time in our lives. Veruccas are caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), as are other types of warts. Warts and veruccas can be contagious and love nothing better than damp skin. Veruccas can be uncomfortable and painful, especially when on the soles of the feet. Eventually, the body will fight off the HPV virus and the veruccas will disappear, but this can take months. 

Conventional Verucca Treatments

The problem with a lot of verucca treatments currently on the market is that they’ve been proven to be fairly ineffective. A 2014 American study looked at the three main methods used by doctors and parents to treat warts and veruccas – salicylic acid, duct tape and cryotherapy. Duct tape was found to be no more effective than doing nothing and leaving the veruccas to get better on their own. Cryotherapy – freezing the veruccas off using liquid nitrogen – is effective, but can produce a range of nasty side effects, especially in children. Treatments might have to be repeated several times to get rid of the verucca completely. Salicylic acid is effective when applied directly to the wart, but can take 12 weeks to get rid of veruccas completely and requires compliance from the patient.

How Swift Is Different?

Swift uses a different approach to treating veruccas. Swift uses the same microwave technology which has been used to treat cancer for 40 years or more, but which has only recently been applied to dermatology and podiatry. The microwaves penetrate into the tissue surrounding the verucca, destroying infected tissue quickly, painlessly and without smell or smoke. The technology has been fully tested to ensure that it conforms to the highest safety standards, and approved for use in the UK. Patients don’t need anaesthetic. It would be a lie to say that the treatment is totally painless, but it hurts no more than a quick scratch, and the pain subsides quickly. Each verucca is treated in a matter of seconds. Unlike more conventional treatments, the microwaves are concentrated in the verucca tissue only, and won’t affect the surrounding skin. The technology is safe and proven over several decades. Many patients find that they only need one treatment to see a huge improvement in their foot condition, unlike other treatments which take weeks or even months. 

Is Swift suitable for me?

At Foot Medic we’ve linked up with the makers of Swift to deliver the treatment to our patients. Most people who come to us with problem veruccas can try the Swift treatment to see whether it helps. There are a few groups such as type 1 diabetics or people with cuts on their feet who might not be suitable for the treatment, but come along to the clinic, grab a coffee and we can talk through your treatment options. We’re very excited about the results which our patients are already seeing from the Swift treatment – why not give it a try?

Getting the Right Pair of School Shoes for your child.

It’s that time of year again when the long school holidays are drawing to a close and parents all over the UK are entering into battle with their kids over what shoes are appropriate for school. Apart from the blazer, kids’ school shoes are probably the most expensive thing you’re going to have to buy and we’re well aware of that fact that what parents think are “sensible shoes” are the ones which kids will probably turn their noses up at. No parent wants to be dealing with a full-on meltdown over school shoes, but we also know there’s a lot of confusion about what sort of shoes are going to look after growing feet, but will tick the fashion boxes too.

Comfort, Support and Flexibility

When you’re dragging a reluctant child around the shops looking for that perfect pair of school shoes, keep three key concepts in mind – comfort, support and flexibility. 

Comfort – obviously a good pair of school shoes needs to be comfortable as a child will be wearing them for 7 hours a day or more. A skilled fitter will be able to suggest the right style of shoe for your child’s foot but advice can be hit or miss, especially at this time of year when shops are so busy. As a parent you can do some basic checks too. Shoes shouldn’t slip off the ankle, and you shouldn’t be able to see gaps between the shoe and your child’s foot. Press on the toe to make sure that there’s a gap between the toe and the shoe. Factoring in a little growing room is wise, but not at the expense of a properly fitting shoe.

Support – this is the main issue with a lot of fashion shoe brands, especially for girls. Ballet flat style shoes are the main culprits as they have no built-in support for the foot at all. Walking for extended periods in ballet flats is known to contribute to foot pain problems and conditions such as plantar fasciitis. Look for a style of shoe which has adequate cushioning and shaping under the sole of the foot rather than being completely flat. Keep the ballet flats for weekends and nights out – not as everyday wear for school. 

Flexibility – this is especially important in younger kids, whose feet are still developing quickly. Shoes should have soles which are bendy and flexible enough to let their feet move in a natural manner when running or jumping. Don’t be afraid to pick up shoes in the shop and bend the soles! Leather’s also more flexible than synthetic alternatives, and has the added benefit of keeping your child’s feet fresher during a long day at school. 

Are great school shoes going to cost a fortune?

They don’t have to. It’s easy to stick to the tried and tested big brands which specialise in school shoes, but if you keep in mind the mantra of “comfort, support, flexibility” you can use this to evaluate supermarket and high street shoes too.

Global recognition for quality of care and advancing industry

Foot Medic Awarded Global Health and Pharma - Podiatrists of the year 2018 

Everyone here at Foot Medic is delighted to announce that we’ve won a Global Health & Pharma Award for service excellence. We usually don’t like blowing our own trumpet but we’re so thrilled to have been nominated for this prestigious award , we can’t wait to let everyone know about it.

Global Health & Pharma is a health industry portal, bringing together all sorts of medical and healthcare organisations to share information, best practice and provide news about what’s going on in the industry. It looks at healthcare issues worldwide, rather than just focusing on the UK. The website and magazine cover core medical services delivered by the NHS as well as allied services such as social care, physiotherapy, dentistry or pharmaceuticals. They highlight organisations and clinics across the globe who are going above and beyond to deliver superior service to their patients, or who have taken on a campaigning role to change the public perception of a condition or healthcare provision.

We’ve been awarded in the Private Healthcare section of the Awards, which covers all healthcare providers from dentists and Harley Street clinics to physiotherapists and hearing specialists. The Global Health and Pharma Award goes a long way in recognising that Foot Medic is doing something just a little bit different from many other podiatrists not just in the UK, but across the world. 

We're Transforming Podiatry

One of the most heard comments as patients leave after treatment is “I didn’t think podiatry was like this!” Let’s be honest. Podiatry has a bit of an image problem, associated with dingy clinics and old-fashioned treatments. Foot Medic is so far from that image that our patients are amazed by the light, airy clinic, freshly-brewed coffee and homemade tablet – and that’s just the reception area! 

The range of conditions which we treat is also extensive and expanding all of the time. We’re excited about modern developments in technology which make diagnosis quicker and clinical outcomes better! 

We provide truly comprehensive medical services relating to the foot and ankle, catering for all age groups, ranging from what we would term as routine problems, like skin pathologies to advanced musculoskeletal services like biomechanics, gait and blood analysis, medical imaging, joint injection and orthoses manufacture.

Fundamentally, as dramatic as it may sound, our mission is to improve the lives of those we treat. We encourage our clients to see beyond the physical tasks of podiatry and focus on the effect of podiatry. In essence we remove and reduce pain from patients’ lives. We improve the quality of their lives and increase and improve mobility. Everyone’s goals are different, one person’s goal might be to walk pain free, another to move more to lose weight, improve health or the athlete who might need to repair and rehab an injury or get better, faster times. Podiatry has a role to play in each of these scenarios and the Foot Medic aims to ensure excellence for everyone it treats.

That’s just scratching the surface of what we’re about at Foot Medic – we could also mention our friendly team, each member of which brings different skills and experience into the clinic, or the fact we’ve got a video-appointment system which lets us help you wherever you’re based in the world. We could be looking at plantar fasciitis in Glasgow on a Monday, and helping a hiker who’s injured his foot in Geneva on a Tuesday.  

Introduction to Foot Anatomy

Introduction to Foot Anatomy