Once you have decided to begin plantar wart treatment, you may have questions about SWIFT therapy aftercare. One of the key advantages of addressing warts with SWIFT is that there are very few if any post-treatment care instructions. In this post, we highlight factors to consider after receiving SWIFT therapy for plantar warts, including how to care for treated areas, activity restrictions to consider, signs of healing you can detect and when you’d need to contact our Marietta podiatrist in between treatment sessions.
SWIFT Therapy Aftercare: What to Expect ![SWIFT therapy device]()
Patients can return to all normal activities immediately after a SWIFT session. Your foot may briefly feel warm during your session, and you may temporarily experience mild soreness at the treatment site, but you won’t require post-treatment care such as cleaning a wound, changing bandages, wearing special shoes or limiting your activities.
As soon as treatment is over, you can immediately resume all normal activities—whether you want to return to work, hit the gym or go for a long run. SWIFT therapy is also non-invasive, meaning you won’t have broken skin following treatment. As such, you don’t have to worry about cleansing the treatment area or applying or changing bandages. You can walk out of your appointment with Marietta podiatrist Dr. Alvin Cowans and not think about the treatment site until your next session, which will likely be scheduled for one month after your current visit. In between sessions, your immune system will begin to attack the HPV virus causing your wart, so healing will gradually begin. However, the process can be slow, so it may take some time before you notice signs of improvement.
Post-Treatment Care: Signs of Healing
Most patients require three to four SWIFT therapy sessions, spaced apart by four weeks, in order to achieve complete healing. You may not notice any visible changes to the wart site in the initial weeks following treatment. However, you should notice significant improvement within eight weeks of your initial session.
How will you know if your immune system is responding to treatment? The wart lesion may begin to disappear—typically from its base, since your immune system is fighting the root of the lesion. (This presents a contrast between SWIFT therapy vs traditional plantar wart treatments, since other approaches typically remove your wart surface first, often damaging healthy tissue in the process.) Small black dots, called seeds, could also appear around the treatment area. These are another sign that your body is responding to treatment. Finally, your wart could flatten out, change colors or become crusty. Eventually, you will see healthy skin emerge in place of the wart tissue.
SWIFT Therapy Aftercare: Maximizing Treatment Outcomes
To get optimal results from SWIFT therapy, be sure to keep attend all treatment appointments as scheduled—typically about four weeks apart. Even if you experience healing after one session, be sure to complete your full course of treatment.
After a session, you can manage any mild discomfort with over-the-counter pain medication. Avoid scratching or picking at the treatment area, but do gently wash the treatment site with mild soap and warm water to maintain good hygiene. (Be sure to dry your foot thoroughly after cleansing and before putting your socks or shoes back on.)
Most importantly, be patient with your body—it can take time for your immune system to recognize and fight the wart-causing HPV virus. Know that healing is taking place, even before you see visible proof that your wart is resolving. And, if you have questions between sessions—about post—treatment care or any other foot or ankle concern, you can always reach our team. Call us at 770-727-0614 or follow this link to make an appointment.
