I want to put this out there because I have found nothing about this online.

I have/had a wart which was initially frozen off using cryo.

Then some months later it reappeared, albeit very small - aldara was used with very limited (nil) impact for some time. I decided the aldara seemed to be failing to make any impact - other than damaging surrounding more sentative skin - so I damaged the surface of the wart, put aldara on it, and days later it healed much much much smaller - to the point at which I am no longer certain it is even there at all.

Could it be that after cryo the wart may only regrow beneath the surface, the skin providing a protective barrier to aldara? I think this could be the case - given my experience.

Interested to hear any thoughts on this.

Hi Andy,

Warts - including those that return- can have a variety of appearances including size, etc. Warts can be kind of flat, and I haven't heard that this is more common following cryo, so not sure.

I wonder if it could be the immune response is a bit more developed now, so the recurring wart wasn't as large? Without really meaning to do so, cryo can spur the immune respones because it opens the cells to the broader immune response and tends to leave a pretty good reservoir of virus in those cells (which the immune system sniffs out).

Interesting, and thanks for posting.

Fredo

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has this still been working out for you? Im really nervous about "damaging" my skin and putting aldera on it....

Yes this is still working for me, but I am not here to recommend you do this = just sharing my experience with it.

I need some help. I have been using aldera and it's just killing my skin, so I had to stop. I havent used it in about a month now. I know i do have some warts and Im going to the doctor tomorrow and she is going to want to burn them off Im sure. Do you think I should have her hold off on doing that and try using the aldera again? I just dont know what to do once my skin gets really red and its kind of painful. so I have to stop and I usually dont make it through my month dose. My skin seems to be almost back to normal now. but eh, I just dont know.

Hi redxluckyxcharms,

You have to weigh the pros and cons of anything, including Aldara. The obvious downside is that skin irritation is very common; usually this is described as mild and doesn't necessitate suspending treatment, but in your case it does seem to have been a real issue.

A couple of pros: Even if Aldara doesn't 100% eliminate the warts, it can still often reduce the size of the lesions so that removal by another method is easier. Also, Aldara works by stimulating the immune system, so recurrences are less likely than with other treatment options.

If you discuss treatment options at your visit tomorrow, make sure your health care provider understands the type of experience you've had with Aldara, and keep in mind some of the points covered above as to the advantages of this treatment. If you don't mind, stop in sometime and let us know how things went and how you're doing.

Best,
Fredo

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