Bazuka

Bazuka Gel is a treatment that you apply to verrucas and warts. It functions by both eliminating the infection and stopping you from passing it on. It’s available as both a standard and extra strength gel – which might be more suitable for you if you need a stronger treatment.

Warts and verrucas are small, rough bumps that appear on your skin. Verrucas affect your feet whilst warts can appear anywhere. But otherwise, there’s little difference between the two. Bazuka Gel is suitable to treat verrucas as well as warts on certain parts of your body. It’s not suitable for you to use on your face, genitals or other areas like your armpits, though.

How does Bazuka Gel work?

Bazuka Gel contains two active ingredients: salicylic acid and lactic acid, whereas Bazuka Extra Strength Gel only contains salicylic acid – just in a higher concentration. They both work to treat verrucas and warts in the same way, though. They soften hard skin growth, making it easier to remove, and help to kill the virus that causes verrucas and warts (Human papillomavirus, or HPV). ^[1]

Bazuka Gel also hardens over the verruca or wart, which creates a barrier between it and anything else in order to reduce the risk of it spreading.

What doses of Bazuka Gel are there?

Bazuka Gel comes as 12% w/w salicylic acid and 4% w/w lactic acid, whereas Bazuka Extra Strength Gel contains 24% w/w salicylic acid.

If you’re not sure which of these treatments could be best for you, chat to our clinician. They’ll recommend the most suitable type of bazuka gel for you to take based on your needs and symptoms.

Always make sure you follow the advice of a clinician when you’re using Bazuka treatments. The method for using both Bazuka Gel and Bazuka Extra Strength Gel is the same, and the process is typically as follows.

When you’re opening it for the first time:

• hold the tube upright
• unscrew and remove the combined white and green (or yellow for the extra strength gel) cap and nozzle combination from the tube
• remove the red collar and dispose of it safely
• hold the tube upright for 30 seconds
• carefully replace the white and green/yellow cap and nozzle combination
• firmly tighten it to pierce the top of the tube
• briefly loosen the green (or yellow) cap to release some pressure, before re-tightening it

To use the gel:

• follow the below steps once a day, every day (usually in the evening) until the wart, callus, verruca or corn is removed
• soak the affected area in warm water for two to three minutes
• thoroughly dry the area using your own towel
• gently remove the green/yellow cap whilst keeping the white nozzle in place
• carefully apply a thin coating (one or two drops) to the affected area, taking care not to get it on the surrounding skin
• allow the gel to dry for a few minutes before replacing the coloured cap
• the next evening, carefully peel off or remove the dried gel, before repeating the above steps
• once a week, gently rub the wart, verruca, callus or corn with the emery board provided (or a pumice stone if you prefer) before reapplying the gel

Make sure that you don’t share this emery board or pumice stone with anyone else, otherwise you’ll risk spreading the infection.

How long does it take Bazuka Gel to work?

Bazuka Gel should start to get rid of the infection straight away, but it can take a while for the verruca or wart to go. The length of treatment time often varies from person to person, depending on the size and resistance of their verruca or wart.

Most of the time the wart, verruca, corn or callus should have disappeared within 12 weeks. If it still remains after 12 weeks of treatment, contact a clinician for advice.

What should I do if I make a mistake when using Bazuka Gel?

If you accidentally get Bazuka Gel onto normal, healthy skin then you should wipe it off with a tissue straight away or wash it off if needed. If you get Bazuka Gel in your eyes or mouth then make sure you carefully rinse it out with cold water before seeking medical advice.

Don’t worry if you sometimes forget to use Bazuka Gel, just carry on as normal when you remember.