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?

The future of healthcare - its all about connecting people

When I was a student I spent a year or so working for Scotland’s telephone contact centre, NHS 24. We would take calls from all over the country. The system was operated on a triangular principle of call centres, in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Due to the geographical nature of Scotland, the highlands and islands specifically, getting medical help and advice could be difficult. 

Sometimes when taking calls where we would have to lead the caller through a set of processes, the outcome being determined by the answers they would give. We would rely heavily on the their descriptions of themselves or the person they were calling about. They would say things like ‘its a bit swollen’ or ‘the rash is red and raised’ and a million other variations of those types of things. Often I would sit there on the phone thinking, what if we could see this. Wouldn’t that be so much easier

I was an undergraduate podiatry student then. Fast forward six years, I am the director of a company, an employer and yet still a podiatrist above all. I enjoy being a podiatrist. And my standard answer to those who say ‘how can you do this job’ has become something along the lines of ‘ I enjoy helping people. I take away pain and advise people on improving their health’. Wanting to help people comes from somewhere deep within care givers, whatever form that might take, the doctor, the nurse or indeed the podiatrist. 

I can hear the phone at reception from my office. Sometimes we are unable to offer patients appointments. Victims of our own success some might say. Its true to say that my team of podiatrists are proud of providing very good care to patients. That can mean from time to time we struggle to help everyone who asks for it, when they need it most. I thought on the solution for around a year. I knew if I could connect with patients remotely, just like I thought of when I was at NHS 24, I could help more people, faster. 

It wasn’t until a dinner with friend and colleague Damien Gough, who was well versed in the application of technology in healthcare that the notion started to become a reality. Damien and I had shared our motivations and passion for helping people on a larger scale than we were already able to do. Across our meatballs and pasta we returned suggestions like, Skype, Facebook messenger, and various others. All these would be discounted for a number of reasons including data security, encryption and what we thought was a trusted, serious platform for patients to engage with. After a few months of exchanges we finally developed a system that would work. It was secure, private, reputable. It was easy to use and reliable. Finally, we had done it. So after a year in the planning, in the end, it took only a matter of weeks to finalise once we had something tangible to work with. 

The system is simple. From the outset I wanted to have the fewest number of clicks required to connect, ensuring it was uncomplicated for the user. Now we have a care portal which 

 user through 3 clicks of a mouse can be face to face with an expert. No waiting times, no busy waiting rooms, transport or parking issues to worry about. The future of healthcare provision has arrived. I predict that virtual consultations will become routine. Change takes time and Im sure it wont be without resistance from those who fear it but it still feels good to be at the front end of it.

You can watch our short video explaining how our tele-medicine portal works here

Or if you would like to use the service right now click here

Shin Splints - A Runner's Curse

The problem. 

Shin splints are an extremely common problem particularly in runners who are increasing their mileage or those who have just started to run. Shin splints are a soft tissue injury where the muscles that control the slow lowering of you foot at each step  (deceleration) and also help to maintain the longitudinal arch of the foot are under severe pressure from the increased, repetitive strains placed upon them.

The two main muscles involved are tibialis anterior and tibialis posterior. Most soft tissue injuries are caused by the structures either being too weak or too short to do the job you're expecting from them. So by increasing your mileage the likelihood is they're going to start to break down.

Each bone has a covering called periosteum. This lining can become inflamed in relation to the injury, this is called periostitis. Many podiatrists and other healthcare professionals see this as a precursor to higher levels of injury such as tibial stress fractures.

Can you still run if you have shin splints? 

If you MUST run, you should do so on a treadmill with a slight incline. This will work better for you as the forefoot has less distance to travel from the shin on landing and the forces will be reduced through your deceleration. Don't run downhill, this is likely to aggravate the problem. Run for 5 minutes, stop and stretch, always remember to do stretching, not strengthening at this point. Repeat the process 5 or 6 times while you have little or no pain. As you progress you can start skipping your stop intervals and be able to run for extended periods.

If, after following this advice you still experience shin pain, you should consult with your podiatrist. If you have had another from of injury it is important to rule out other causes.


Stretching. 
Assuming your pain is shin splints and hasn't developed from a problem in the bone itself, you should get great results from following these easy stretches for tibialis posterior and tibialis anterior. You should also consider 'foot control' and rule out a biomechanical factor in your symptoms. Prescription orthotics can help in many instances with range of motion limitations and other functional anatomy problems.

Using Salicylic Acid to treat Veruccae - get the most from your treatment

Application of salicylic acid will leave the site white and macerated

Salicylic applications are widely available from shops and pharmacies. It has been used as a traditional treatment for veruccae for years. The packs which are available to buy are typically about 12% in strength. This includes brands like bazooka etc.

Podiatrists use formulations which are much more potent that this, sometimes more than 5 times stronger. These preparations are not available to buy and can only be given to you by a suitably qualified person such as a podiatrist in this instance.

Before applying any acid or caustic based treatment the podiatrist will remove the thick layer of skin which covers the actual verucca using a scalpel. This is called sharp debridment. It is common for the verucca to bleed during sharp debridment so you shouldn’t be alarmed if this is the case. By debriding the verucca the podiatrist can treat the seat of the growth, at the capillary bed level.

All verucca treatments will, in one way or another, destroy tissue locally. There is no single treatment which has shown to be more effective over another. That's why we will explain each of the available treatments to you and elect the one most suitable for your lifestyle.

Here are a few tips to help you get the most from your salicylic acid treatment.

• Keep the site dry. If you get the site or the dressing wet you will not get the desired effect from the treatment. Use plastic shower seals if you need to but it is important to keep it dry. 

• Ensure to follow up with your podiatrist if they have asked you to, and if a review appointment has been made for you it is important that you attend. This is because we have applied acid to your foot, it’s important that we check to ensure you are not having any unexpected side effects or burn.
   
• If applying a home treatment on the advice of the podiatrist it is a good idea to review at 2 or 3 weekly intervals to check your progress.
   
• Remember, your veruccae are caused by a virus. Even if the podiatrist can get rid of your verucca this time doesn’t mean that you won’t get another in the future.
   
• If you experience pain associated with your treatment call us for an appointment.
   
• Lastly, remember veruccae are self limiting and harmless. They are annoying but you will not come to any harm as the result of a veruccae. They are not linked to hygiene but can be passed on from one person to another, so it’s a good idea to cover your veruccae with veruccae socks when swimming or using communal facilities.