How Swift Therapy Helps Treat Those Stubborn Plantar Warts

Learn the most effective treatments to permanently eliminate plantar warts. Find out how to stop them from spreading and finally get relief from pain and embarrassment

Warts are one of the most common skin conditions, and they can appear almost anywhere — from your hands and face to your toes and feet. These growths aren’t just cosmetic concerns; they’re actually caused by an infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV).

HPV enters the body through tiny cuts or breaks in the skin, triggering the formation of rough, raised bumps. Because warts are viral in nature, they spread easily through direct contact or by touching contaminated surfaces such as towels, socks, or floors.

When warts develop on the feet — commonly known as plantar warts — they can be especially troublesome, causing pain with every step as well as embarrassment about their appearance. The good news is that effective treatments can help remove warts, prevent recurrence, and restore comfort.

Duration: 5 years

Treatment: Swift Microwave Therapy and Clear Wart Program

# of Tx: 5 treatments

Performed by Dr. Bhela

The patient had a longstanding plantar warts resistant to multiple treatments over a period exceeding five years. Previous interventions included cantharidin, cryotherapy, debridement, salicylic acid, imiquimod, 5-fluorouracil, and various other standard therapies, none of which achieved sustained improvement.

The patient underwent a course of five Swift Microwave Therapy sessions. Following treatment, the verruca resolved completely, with no signs of recurrence observed at follow-up.

What makes foot warts harder to deal with than hand or finger warts?

Most warts don’t cause major problems — they often remain harmless on the skin until they disappear naturally or are treated. Plantar warts, however, are different. Because they grow on the weight-bearing areas of your feet — the heels, toes, balls of the feet, and arches — they can trigger pain with every step. Many people describe the sensation as if they’re walking on a small pebble, whether they’re in shoes or barefoot.

These warts are pushed deeper into the skin due to constant pressure from standing and walking. Over time, the pressure flattens the wart, making it resemble a callus. This can make it hard to tell the difference just by appearance. A simple “squeeze test” can help: plantar warts are painful when pinched from the sides, while calluses are not.

This distinction is important because the treatments are different. Many people attempt to file down or scrub calluses with pumice stones or nail files. While that might work for callus removal, it’s not recommended for plantar warts — doing so can cause more pain and even spread the viral infection.

Duration: 2 years

Treatment: Swift Microwave Therapy

# of Tx: 3 treatments

Performed by Dr. Bhela

After over 2 years of trying every available treatment with no success, this patient saw their verruca disappear after just three Swift sessions

How do you permanently remove plantar warts?

In some cases, plantar warts disappear on their own without treatment. Like other warts, they may clear naturally as the body’s immune system fights off the virus — but this process can take one to two years.

If your plantar warts are painful, spreading, or interfering with daily activities, waiting is not ideal. Many people first try over-the-counter wart removers from the pharmacy, but these are rarely effective for plantar warts. The reason is that plantar warts grow deep within the skin. Topical acids may burn away the surface, but the root of the wart — and the virus that caused it — remains intact, making recurrence likely.

In fact, using too much of these chemical treatments can irritate healthy skin, increase pain, and even open the door to further infection, allowing warts to spread. That’s why it’s best to seek care from a podiatrist or plantar wart specialist.

Diagnosis is usually straightforward: a physical exam is often enough, though your provider may carefully trim a small section of skin. If it bleeds, that’s a strong indication of a wart rather than a callus.

Once diagnosed, your podiatrist can recommend the most effective treatment. While several methods exist to remove warts from the surface, Swift® therapy stands out as the only treatment that targets the root cause. Instead of just removing the visible wart, Swift uses low-dose microwave energy to stimulate your immune system to recognize and fight the human papillomavirus (HPV). By addressing the infection itself, Swift not only eliminates existing plantar warts but also helps prevent them from coming back.

Duration: 1 month

Treatment: Swift Microwave Therapy

# of Tx: 1 treatment

A patient presented with a rapidly spreading plantar wart of one month’s duration. Concerned about the speed of progression and seeking an effective and prompt resolution, the patient opted for Swift Microwave Therapy. A single treatment session was administered. On follow-up, complete resolution of the wart was observed, with no signs of recurrence. The patient reported high satisfaction with the speed and efficacy of the treatment.

Prescription-Strength Wart Medications

Over-the-counter wart removers are only effective in fewer than half of cases. Prescription-strength medications provide a stronger alternative, working in a similar way by peeling away the wart layer by layer. These can often be applied at home under the guidance of your podiatrist, with follow-up visits to ensure the wart is fully removed.
The drawback is that these treatments only target the surface growth — they do not eliminate the underlying HPV infection that caused the wart in the first place.

Plantar Wart Freezing (Cryotherapy)

Cryotherapy is one of the most widely used plantar wart treatments in the U.S. Liquid nitrogen is applied directly to the wart with a spray or cotton swab, destroying the tissue and creating a blister. Within about a week, the dead skin sloughs off.

Because plantar warts grow deeper into the skin than common warts, cryotherapy is often more painful and requires multiple sessions, usually spaced 2–4 weeks apart. The biggest limitation is that freezing does not directly treat the root cause — the HPV infection. Many providers hope the irritation from cryotherapy will stimulate the immune system, but success rates are generally low.

Immunotherapy with Swift® Therapy

Since plantar warts are caused by HPV, the most effective approach is to activate the body’s immune system to recognize and fight the virus. Swift® microwave therapy does exactly that. By delivering low-dose microwave energy into the affected tissue, Swift stimulates a natural immune response against HPV. This allows the body to not only clear existing warts but also reduce the risk of recurrence.

Unlike topical or destructive treatments that only work on the surface, Swift addresses the true root cause of plantar warts — the viral infection itself.

Surgical Removal of Plantar Warts

Surgery is considered a last resort when other treatments fail, since it carries risks such as scarring. Several surgical options exist, and your provider will determine the best one for your case:

Electrosurgery: Uses an electric needle to burn and cut away infected tissue.
Curettage: Involves scooping out the wart with a spoon-shaped instrument.
Laser Surgery: Burns the blood vessels feeding the wart, cutting off its supply until the tissue dies and falls off. This method often has a lower risk of scarring than other surgical techniques.

Swift offers rapid results

Traditional methods of treatment often require lengthy treatment plans and don’t often show any results immediately. Swift does often require several sessions to completely remove the lesions or plantar warts, but more often than not, patients will see an immediate improvement in their condition; usually, after only one treatment, an improvement will be noticeable. The exact number of treatments required to completely heal the plantar warts or lesions is situational and depends on the patient and their body’s immune response.

Swift has a rapid recovery time

Traditional treatment methods are invasive and destructive. As such, conventional methods of treating plantar warts and other lesions caused by the HPV virus often have lengthy recovery times during which patients will be unable to go about their normal day-to-day activities without extreme pain or discomfort. On the other hand, Swift is non-invasive and non-destructive; as such, patients are able to immediately return to their daily lives with minimal discomfort.

Swift uses the body’s own immune system

Swift is truly revolutionary in that it triggers the body’s own immune system, helping the patient’s system to naturally combat the HPV virus, which causes plantar warts and other similar lesions. Because Swift activates the immune system, the results achieved by Swift Therapy are often far more effective than the traditional methods of treating these lesions because conventional treatments only address the symptoms but do nothing to combat the cause of the lesions. That’s not to say that Swift cures HPV, as it does not. But Swift does help the body fight actively fight against HPV by triggering an immune response.

Swift is suitable for treating children

Unlike traditional methods of treating plantar warts and other lesions caused by HPV, Swift is a safe and suitable method for treating these symptoms in children and adults alike, meaning that just about anybody suffering from lesions caused by HPV can enjoy the benefits of Swift Therapy.

Plantar Wart Before And After Gallery

Visit our Plantar Wart Before and After Gallery which shows hundred of before and after results from Swift Microwave Immunotherapy.

How to Prevent Plantar Warts from Coming Back

Anyone can develop plantar warts, but once you’ve had them, your chances of getting them again are higher. While it may not be possible to prevent recurrence completely, you can lower your risk by following these simple steps:

Avoid direct contact with warts. Never pick, scratch, or touch a wart — whether it’s yours or someone else’s. This is one of the most common ways they spread. If you accidentally come into contact, wash your hands and the affected area thoroughly.
Practice good foot hygiene. Wash your feet daily and dry them well, especially between the toes. Change socks and shoes if they become damp, since moisture creates the perfect environment for viral growth.
Protect the bottoms of your feet. HPV enters through tiny cuts or cracks in the skin. Wear shoes to reduce friction and prevent abrasions. In high-risk public areas such as pools, locker rooms, and showers, always wear flip-flops or water shoes to lower your risk of exposure.
Check feet regularly. Children and teens are especially prone to plantar warts because they often go barefoot in public spaces and may neglect foot hygiene. Examine your feet — and your kids’ feet — frequently to catch warts early before they spread.

If you notice any suspicious bumps or feel pain while walking, contact your podiatrist promptly. Early treatment not only relieves discomfort but also helps prevent plantar warts from recurring.