Reviews about the removal of warts with liquid nitrogen in most cases are positive. In modern medicine, this is a very common and effective method of getting rid of warts. This treatment method is also called cryodestruction, which literally translates as "cold destruction." From this article you will learn about the features of the procedure and get acquainted with the reviews of those who have already tried this method of treating pathology.
The benefits of liquid nitrogen
In a normal environment, nitrogen is in a gaseous state, it is part of the air. For the substance to become liquid, a temperature of -196 ยฐ C is necessary. Naturally, nowhere in nature such low temperatures do not exist. Therefore, special devices were invented in which a special temperature is created, and nitrogen and other gases become liquid.
The advantage of this procedure is its versatility. Using nitrogen, you can remove warts, eliminate cervical erosion, and tumors of internal organs. In addition, cryodestruction is used for surgical interventions on the liver and brain.
The vast majority of reviews on cauterization of warts with liquid nitrogen indicate that the undoubted advantage of the procedure is its relatively low cost. Removing warts with a laser costs about twice as much.
This procedure has other advantages:
- short duration;
- lack of need for special training;
- the possibility of spreading the infection to adjacent skin is excluded;
- Scars or scars almost never remain after the procedure.
Disadvantages of the procedure
Despite the large number of advantages, in the reviews about liquid nitrogen of warts, there are some disadvantages:
- there is a chance of getting a burn or scar if the doctor incorrectly calculates the required depth of exposure to liquid nitrogen;
- low efficiency of the procedure in the presence of large or multiple formations, often there is a need for repeated removal;
- tenderness of the procedure, which leads to the need for preliminary administration of an anesthetic.
The last statement is especially often present in reviews about the removal of warts with liquid nitrogen to a child. Children have more sensitive pain receptors on the skin. Therefore, their pain may remain for several days after the procedure. Of course, a lot depends on the individual characteristics of the body. And adults can have a strong reaction to nitrogen.
Contraindications to the procedure
Before studying reviews about the removal of warts with liquid nitrogen, it is worth knowing in which cases this procedure is generally contraindicated. The main conditions in which the use of liquid nitrogen is not recommended are presented below:
- Individual hypersensitivity to nitrogen.
- Epilepsy.
- High blood pressure.
- Irritation of the skin around the wart: redness, itching, rash.
- Pregnancy and lactation.
- Confirmed diagnosis of an infectious disease in the acute period or the presence of clinical signs of infection (fever, sore throat, runny nose, general malaise). In this case, you should postpone the procedure until complete recovery.
Stages of the procedure
There are two ways to cauterize warts: using a special apparatus (cryoprobe) or manually using a cotton swab on which liquid nitrogen is located. Due to its simplicity and accessibility, cosmetology rooms and clinics most often use the manual method of cauterization.
Briefly, the steps for removing a wart can be described as follows:
- Anesthesia.
- Actually cauterization with nitrogen.
- A little pause.
- Getting the result.
- Further skin care.
Anesthesia is not a mandatory procedure. It is carried out in the following cases:
- children
- with a large size of the wart;
- with the location of the wart in sensitive places (face, back of the hands or feet).
Detailed procedure description
As noted in the reviews about the removal of the wart with liquid nitrogen, the manual method is most often used. For this, the doctor takes an applicator. It is a wooden stick at the end of which is a fleece. The doctor exerts slight pressure on the wart for about 30 seconds.
During the procedure, the wart first turns pale and hardens. After she becomes completely white. Already after the end of the action of freezing, the affected skin swells and turns red. And the next day, a bubble forms in this place. It contains a liquid of a blood or serous nature.
After about a week, the bubble disappears, and a crust remains in its place, which independently disappears after two weeks. The fact that there used to be a wart on this place is indicated only by a pale pink speck.
When removing a wart for children, the procedure scheme changes slightly. It is called "stewing." The doctor quickly rotates the applicator in parallel with the skin area with the wart until pale. The procedure is repeated 3-4 times every 1-2 minutes. As a result, the skin that was treated with nitrogen darkens, and then begins to peel off. Warts disappear.
Features of plantar wart removal
Today you can find many reviews about the removal of plantar warts with liquid nitrogen. This is due to the fact that when the formation grows deeper into the skin, they cause pain when walking.
The skin on the sole is rougher, so it takes more time to freeze, and nitrogen must penetrate to a greater depth. All these factors contribute to the occurrence of pain during the procedure, and therefore there is always a need for preliminary anesthesia.
Another feature that is often noted in reviews of cauterization of plantar warts with liquid nitrogen is a long recovery period. Sometimes a person is incapacitated for several weeks after the procedure, as he cannot stand on his affected leg.
The process of the final removal of warts on the soles can take up to 6 months. Fortunately, this is extremely rare. It is recommended to do several procedures with an interval of 3-4 days.
Skin care after the procedure
When a bubble appears at the site of the removed wart, the main rule is to protect it as much as possible from external influences. Especially you should try to avoid water getting on the bubble, as this prevents it from drying out.
Treatment of the bladder with 2% salicylic acid is allowed before exfoliation. To protect the bladder from injury, you can put gauze on it, and then glue it with a band-aid.
Important! Do not glue the patch directly on the bubble, as this will lead to injury.
If the place where the wart was, it hurts, you can take 1 or 2 tablets of pain medication ("Nurofen", "Analgin").
Is it possible to open the bubble
Many recommend not to touch the bubble, let it dry on its own. But there are times when it is very large, delivers a lot of discomfort. Often this occurs when large warts, such as plantar ones, are removed.
In this case, you can open the bubble yourself, but you should adhere to all the rules of antiseptics. Failure to comply with these rules will lead to the ingress of microorganisms through the wound on the skin into the blood, the development of an infectious process.
If you decide to open the bubble yourself, you need to do it as follows:
- Treat hands with alcohol.
- Heat the needle on fire to make it sterile.
- Make two punctures in the bubble.
- Squeeze out the liquid.
- After all the fluid has gone, treat the skin with an antiseptic solution.
- Apply sterile gauze or tissue.
- Seal on top with a band-aid or wrap with a bandage.
The consequences of the procedure
In reviews of the consequences of removing warts with liquid nitrogen, it is noted that residual effects are extremely rare. Most often pink spots remain on the skin. Sometimes they can turn brown and be very noticeable. But after a month, on average, the skin is regenerated, and the stain disappears.
With the removal of large warts and improper care of the bladder, an infectious inflammatory process may develop. In this case, you need to see a doctor so that he prescribes the appropriate therapy.
Reviews about the procedure
In their reviews of the removal of warts with liquid nitrogen, patients most often note the following points:
- The presence of unpleasant or even painful sensations during the procedure and several days after.
- Most notice that the warts are completely gone after treatment.
- For some, the doctor prescribed immunomodulators and vitamins, as the effectiveness of the procedure decreases with weakened immunity.
- The vast majority of patients say that there are no changes on the skin after the procedure.
Whatever flaws this procedure may have, everyone who went through it unanimously reiterates that this method combines accessibility and effectiveness in the best way.