Warts are a common but annoying health problem affliciting countless people worldwide. Cryotherapy traditionally has been regarded as the most effect wart removal treatment, but new research from the Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in Iran suggests that an injection of candida antigen, a type of immunotherapy, may be able to get rid of warts faster and keep them away.

The study, now published online in International Journal of Dermatology, found that 76.7 percent of patients with either a verruca vulgaris wart (found anywhere on the body) or a plantar wart (found on the bottom of feet) were cured with immunotherapy, compared to only 56.7 percent of wart patients treated with cryotherapy. In addition, patients who recieved immunotherapy were cured with fewer sessions than those whose warts were frozen off.

Read: 'Tree Man' Finally Gets Surgery To Remove Warts Caused By Rare Genetic Disease Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis

"Intralesional immunotherapy is an effective treatment of warts," the authors wrote, according to a post on Medical Xpress. "This method has a better therapeutic response, needs fewer sessions, and is capable of treating distant warts."

For the study, 60 patients with either a body or foot wart were divided into two groups. The first group recieved an immunotherapy treatment consisting of an injection of candida antigen into their warts every three weeks until complete improvement or a maximum of three sessions. The second group recieved cryotherapy consisting of liquid nitrogen for a maximum of 10 weeks of until the wart had completely cleared.

Warts occur when your skin comes in contact with one of the many viruses classifed as human papillomavirus. In most cases, warts are harmless causing little more than slight discomfort and embarrassment. According to WebMD, they are very contagious, and can spread not only from person to person but also from one part of the body to another.

While some warts can go away on their own, for the most part they need to be treated. Cryotherapy is the standard treatment for warts and involves freezing a wart using a very cold substance, usually liquid nitrogen. The treatment is often painful and may need several tries before the wart is completely removed. This treatment also comes with the risk of possible scarring.

Candida antigen injections are a relatively new treatment option for wart removal, and this is not the first time its success in wart thereapy has been documented. However, as reported by Dermotology News, this treatment also comes with its own set of possible side effects and may cause discomfort, redness, and swelling.

Source: Khozeimeh F, Jabbari F, Mahboubi Oskouei Y, et al. Intralesional immunotherapy compared to cryotherapy in the treatment of warts. International Journal of Dermatology. 2017

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After HPV Vaccinations Rates of Genital Warts Decline Significantly in Women, but Not Men