Fish eye treatment: ointments, medicines and cryotherapy

The treatment for the fish eye can be carried out at home with the use of ointments or solutions based on acetylsalicylic acid indicated by the dermatologist. The treatment is slow and can take more than 30 days, depending on the size of the injury.

Other ways to treat this type of warts are through dermatological surgery such as cryotherapy, electrocautery or the application of nitric acid or liquid nitrogen, for example.

The fish eye, also called plantar wart, is a skin disease caused by some subtypes of human papilloma virus (HPV) that can penetrate the skin while walking barefoot in places contaminated with the virus, such as swimming pools, clubs, gymnasium academies and dressing rooms. Find out more details on the subject.

There are several treatments to remove the fish eye, these are:

1. Ointments and acid solutions

The use of ointments or solutions with acids in their composition is the main way to treat fish eggs, being able to indicate products that contain salicylic, nitric or trichloroacetic acid. For the general, the dermatologist recommends the application of the ointment or the solution once a day, because it promotes the exfoliation of the skin, removing the more superficial layer and, as a result, the wart.

The application in the home of the ointment indicated by the dermatologist can be carried out in two steps:

• Recommend skin excess: This step is important to remove excess skin, promoting the most direct and effective action of the product indicated by the dermatologist. It is recommended to put the feet in removal in a bucket with tibia water and a well of heavy salt to soften the skin and remove all the dirt as much as possible. After the feet are clearly clean and the skin is softer, use a pumice stone on the feet to remove excess keratin from the region surrounding the wart. It is important that this procedure does not cause pain or discomfort;
• Apply the ointment or the acid solution: After removing the excess skin, the product recommended by the doctor can be applied directly to the fish eye or according to its indication, and in some cases the doctor may specifically indicate the time that he should have the product on the wart.

Some examples of salicylic acid ointments from 5 to 40%, which the doctor may indicate are: benzac, transvercid, vaselix, verrufilm, foot vitals or another with a specific preparation carried out in the pharmacy.

It is not recommended that the person tries to remove the skin to remove the wart, because the virus can expand and give rise to new warts. In addition, there is also a risk that an infection may occur in the region, as the skin becomes weaker and can become a gateway for other microorganisms.

2. Other forms of treatment

In cases where the treatment with acid does not give the expected results, when the person has many warts or when the fish eye is very deep, other dermatological treatments can be recommended to eliminate the wart.

One of the indicated treatments is cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen, in which the wart is subjected to very low temperatures, but at least -200 ºC, which allows its freezing and elimination. This type of therapy does not cause pain, as the low temperatures allow pain control.

Depending on the size of the wart, 1 session might be needed for the little ones and 3 or 4 for the bigger ones.