We all have flashbacks to childhood of being sent into swimming lessons wearing the dreaded verruca sock. The embarrassment. The ridicule. The general grossness of the things themselves (peeling them off once they’re wet? No, thank you.) Getting your kids to wear them is a rite of passage. But while verruca socks work as a physical barrier, they don’t actually treat a verruca, and for most swimmers a waterproof plaster does the same job.
And while a plaster easily goes unnoticed, those rubber socks aren’t exactly subtle. They announce a verruca to everybody within diving distance, all for something a much smaller waterproof dressing can cover.
So why do we put ourselves (and our kids) through this? When do you actually need a verruca sock? Do they work in any useful way? And should we be using them at all? We’ve already given you the short answer (barrier, not treatment), but the particulars are a little more complex…
What Are Verruca Socks?
Verruca socks are waterproof coverings worn over the foot, usually for swimming. They put a barrier between the verruca and communal surfaces, rather than leaving the affected skin exposed on the pool floor.
The logic is very straightforward: verrucas are caused by HPV, the human papillomavirus. The virus spreads through direct contact and contaminated surfaces, particularly when skin is wet or damaged, which is why pools and changing rooms get the blame. A verruca is simply a wart on the sole of the foot, and it’s catching in exactly the same way.
What the sock doesn’t do is treat the verruca. It doesn’t kill HPV, remove the verruca or make it disappear any faster. It’s a covering, nothing more.
Do Verruca Socks Actually Work?
It depends what you mean by ‘work’.
If you mean “Will a verruca sock get rid of my verruca?”, then no, it won’t work. A verruca sock doesn’t treat a verruca.
If you mean “Will it cover my verruca while I’m swimming?”, then yes. That’s exactly what it does.
The real question is whether you need an entire sock to do that, and whether the sock itself can cause issues of its own. Plastic socks covering your feet should be discouraged, and a waterproof plaster is perfectly sufficient for the task. Swim England gives exactly the same advice for swimming lessons. So the dreaded verruca socks aren’t actually the best things to use if you have a verruca.
They aren’t useless. They’re just more than most people need for the job they do.
Do You Need A Verruca Sock For Swimming?
No, and you can swim with a verruca.
Given that 1 in 3 children and young people have warts or verrucas at any one time, keeping them all out of the pool was never going to work. Most professional bodies now consider excluding children with verrucas from swimming and other barefoot activities no longer justified.
The advice on covering them does differ slightly. The NHS advises covering warts and verrucas with a plaster when swimming, while the Primary Care Dermatology Society says children with verrucas should go swimming as normal and can cover them if they prefer, because the wart virus is “pretty much everywhere”.
Our advice is simple: if you’re going swimming, cover the verruca with a waterproof plaster. It’s an easy precaution, and it spares you the spectacle of an entire rubber sock for one small patch of skin.
What If A Pool Or School Insists On A Verruca Sock?
Some pools, schools and swimming lessons still have their own rules.
If you’re bothered enough to take a stand over it (pun intended), have a calm chat with whoever makes the decision. Swim England and Aquatics GB both say a waterproof plaster is enough and advise against plastic socks, so show them the current guidance, and this post while you’re at it. Rules like this often outlive the advice they were based on, and once the person in charge sees the facts, they can make a new decision.
In the end, though, the pool or school makes the rules. If they still insist, your choices are fairly simple: wear the sock, or have a rather disproportionate argument about a verruca.
Verruca Sock Or Waterproof Plaster?
For most people, we’d start with a waterproof plaster. It’s smaller, less conspicuous, and does the same containment job without encasing your whole foot.
The obvious drawback is that some plasters treat a swimming pool as their cue to abandon ship. We get it: peeling plasters in the pool are incredibly frustrating, especially with fins going on and off all session.
If yours keeps coming off, ditch the normal plaster and use a transparent waterproof film dressing instead (Tegaderm is one). Wipe the skin around the verruca with rubbing alcohol and let it get completely bone-dry before you put the film on. Then paint liquid bandage over the edges to seal out the water. Do this at least 30 minutes before swimming, so the adhesive has time to bond to the skin.
If that sounds like an absurd amount of engineering for one verruca, that’s where a verruca sock becomes the easier option. It isn’t perfect, but it’s a lot less fiddly.
How Else Can You Stop A Verruca Spreading?
Swimming isn’t the only time to think about containment. Changing your socks daily, not sharing towels, socks or shoes, not walking barefoot in public places, and not scratching or picking a verruca are all standard habits to follow (or avoid!). Flip-flops at the poolside and in communal showers and changing rooms might reduce the chance of catching or spreading verrucas, too.
Leave it alone, however tempting it is. Picking, scratching or cutting a verruca damages the skin, can spread the virus and lets bacteria in. Increasing pain, redness, swelling, pus or discharge are signs of an infected verruca, and mean it needs checking rather than treating at home.
But How Do You Actually Get Rid Of A Verruca?
Covering a verruca and treating one are two different jobs. A sock or a plaster contains it while you swim, but neither makes it go away.
You don’t have to treat every verruca. Half of warts go within a year and two thirds within two years, and they tend to clear faster in children. But if yours is painful, spreading, keeps coming back or has ignored everything you’ve tried, it’s time to look at which verruca treatments actually work, because no amount of rubber sock will shift it.
If you’re not sure what you’re dealing with, or your verruca simply refuses to leave, our podiatrists in Northwich can take a look and help you decide what to do next. You can book an appointment online.
