Cryotherapy
Reviewed by Andrew Schox, BSc(Hons) PGradDipPod MPod, October 2026
Cryotherapy (also called cryosurgery) uses extreme cold to destroy small, shallow skin lesions without surgery. Liquid nitrogen is sprayed or dabbed onto the lesion for a few seconds at a time. It is used for warts, sun spots (actinic keratoses) and some other skin growths. It works best for sun spots and gives mixed results for warts, especially warts on the sole of the foot. Expect a sting during treatment, then redness, a possible blister and a scab. Warts often need several visits.
What is it?
Cryotherapy uses extreme cold to destroy small, shallow skin lesions without cutting them out. The cold comes from liquid nitrogen, which is about -196°C. Your practitioner sprays it onto the lesion or dabs it on with a cotton-tipped swab, for a few seconds at a time.
Freezing kills the cells of the lesion straight away. It keeps damaging them over the next few days as the skin reacts. For warts, the frostbite on the spot is also thought to help your body's immune system (its natural defences) fight the wart virus.
Cryotherapy treats the lesion that is there. It doesn't stop new warts or sun spots from appearing later.
What is it used for?
Cryotherapy is used for small, shallow skin lesions. These include:
- warts, including warts on the sole of the foot (plantar warts, also called verrucas)
- sun spots (actinic keratoses, rough scaly patches caused by sun damage)
- genital warts
- seborrhoeic keratoses (harmless, warty growths that are common with ageing)
- molluscum contagiosum (small, harmless skin bumps caused by a virus)
- skin tags
- Bowen's disease (an early, easily curable form of skin cancer)
A skin specialist (dermatologist) may occasionally suggest it for a small, shallow skin cancer called a superficial basal cell carcinoma.
How much freezing helps depends on the lesion. It has the strongest backing for sun spots. For warts the results are mixed, and for plantar warts it performs poorly. For seborrhoeic keratoses, molluscum, skin tags, Bowen's disease and small skin cancers, it is listed as an option, and how well it works for these isn't clear yet.
Is it right for me?
Cryotherapy suits selected lesions, and a trained practitioner decides whether it suits you. Only appropriately trained health professionals should do it. Freezing is best suited to light skin and to areas without much hair. For warts, it is usually used when other treatments haven't worked.
For a few sun spots, freezing each one is an easy, practical approach. If you have many sun spots across an area, ask whether treating the whole area would suit you better.
Freezing may not be the right choice if:
- the lesion looks unusual or has an unusual history, or a wart bleeds or changes. These need to be checked first, because they could be something more serious. Your practitioner may remove a single doubtful wart to be examined in a laboratory instead of freezing it.
- it is a flat wart (plane wart). These often go away by themselves, so freezing is best avoided.
- it is a sun spot that may be turning into a skin cancer, or a dark patch on the face. These need to be assessed before any freezing.
- the person is a young child. Freezing is painful and is rarely tolerated by children under about 7, so talk about other options first.
If you have diabetes, or a condition that affects blood flow or feeling in your feet or legs, talk to a health professional before you try to treat warts yourself.
What happens?
Freezing is a routine procedure. Your practitioner sprays liquid nitrogen onto the lesion, or dabs it on with a cotton-tipped swab. You usually don't need a local anaesthetic (a medicine to numb the area).
The freezing lasts from a few seconds up to about 10 to 20 seconds, depending on how thick the lesion is. Your practitioner freezes until the lesion turns white and a ring of frozen skin a few millimetres wide forms around it. They then let it thaw and often freeze it a second time. If you will need several visits, they may freeze a little less the first time to see how your skin reacts.
How long to freeze, and how many freeze cycles to use, hasn't been settled. Your practitioner will choose what suits your lesion.
Warts are commonly treated again every 1 to 3 weeks. For sun spots, how well freezing works depends on how deep and how long the freeze is, how many sessions you have, and the skill and experience of the person doing it.
How well does it work?
Results vary a lot between conditions.
Sun spots: Freezing is rated the most effective and commonly used first treatment aimed at single sun spots. Cure rates of 86 to 100 per cent are reported. Using a cream or gel on the skin as well as freezing clears more sun spots than freezing alone.
Common warts: Cure rates of 39 to 78 per cent are reported, depending on how it is done, the type of wart and the person. About 70 per cent of warts improve after 3 to 4 freezing sessions. In one group of people treated for warts on their hands and feet, 64.44 per cent were cured. Overall cure depended on the total number of treatments, not on the gap between them.
Plantar warts: Freezing works less well here. The average cure rate is 45.61 per cent, which is low. Antiviral cream, bleomycin (a medicine injected into the wart) and adapalene gel have done better than freezing. If you have a plantar wart, freezing is one option among several, so ask your podiatrist what else might suit you.
Genital warts: Freezing is an acceptable first choice for a small to moderate number of warts. Clearance of 60 to 90 per cent is reported, and the warts come back in 10 to 40 per cent of people.
Risks and side effects
Some effects are expected. Freezing stings or hurts while it is done, and this usually ends within an hour. A little pain may last up to 3 days. The area goes red, swells and often blisters. Swelling builds up about 12 to 36 hours after freezing, and a blister may follow. Deeper freezes take longer to heal.
Less often, freezing can cause:
- a small risk of infection, and a broken blister can rarely cause one
- a small scar
- skin that is darker or lighter than the skin around it, which may be permanent
- damage to healthy skin close to the lesion
- slow healing
- a lesion that doesn't clear, or comes back
Afterwards
The area usually turns red straight away, and redness and swelling appear within the first 30 minutes. A scab or crust forms over the next few days and drops off over 1 to 2 weeks. Stinging, blistering and pain are a normal response. Keep the area clean and dry, and follow your clinic's aftercare advice.
It usually takes about 4 weeks to see the full effect. If anything is left after 4 weeks, you may need more treatment. Go back to the person who treated you if the lesion hasn't gone after the skin has fully healed.
Note the date of your treatment. That way you can tell whether pain is getting worse after 48 hours, which is one sign to get help (see the section on when to see a podiatrist).
When to see a podiatrist
Book an appointment if
Book an appointment with your podiatrist if you have a wart or skin lesion and want to know whether freezing suits you. Also book if the lesion is still there after the skin has fully healed, if anything remains 4 weeks after treatment, or if a wart has lasted about two years despite creams and freezing. If your immune system is weakened and a wart won't clear, ask to be referred on.
Seek prompt assessment if
Contact your GP or health professional promptly if, after treatment, you have increasing pain, redness or swelling, pus or discharge, pain that gets worse after 48 hours, pain that doesn't settle with pain medicine, or you feel generally unwell. These can be signs of infection. Also see your GP or podiatrist promptly, rather than waiting, if a wart bleeds or changes, or if you are worried about a skin growth. Don't have it frozen again until it has been checked.
Frequently asked questions
Will freezing stop new warts or sun spots from coming back?
No. Freezing destroys the lesion that is there, but it doesn't prevent new ones from appearing later. A treated wart can also return. If a lesion comes back or doesn't clear, go back to the person who treated you. You may need more freezing or a different treatment.
Is freezing better than salicylic acid for plantar warts?
Neither works for everyone. For plantar warts, the average cure rate was 45.61 per cent for freezing and 13.6 per cent for salicylic acid, and both are considered low. Your podiatrist can talk through which options might suit you, including others that have worked better.
Can freezing be used for genital warts if I'm pregnant?
Yes. Freezing with liquid nitrogen, or surgery, is suggested for genital warts during pregnancy. In one group of pregnant women, freezing combined with special dressings cleared all visible warts. The warts came back in 2.17 per cent at 1 month and 10.87 per cent at 3 months. Talk to your doctor about the best option for you.