| Salicylic acid | Available over the counter, inexpensive | Requires time to achieve response | Daily application of a 15 to 20 percent salicylic acid preparation | $5 to $7 |
| Cryotherapy | Easy | Scarring, painful | Average of three or four treatments in the office | Approximate cost for initial visit plus cryotherapy to one wart is $250; three follow-up visits for cryotherapy to one wart are $360; total is $610 |
| Pulsed dye laser therapy | Fewer treatments | Scarring, painful | Average of one to three treatments in the office | Approximate cost for initial visit with laser treatment plus two follow-up treatments is $360 |
| Imiquimod (Aldara) | At-home use; pregnancy category B | Erythema, pruritus, erosions, bacterial infections | Three times a week at home for nongenital warts | $177 for 12-packet box of 5 percent imiquimod |
| Bleomycin (Blenoxane) | Typically only one treatment needed | Pain during and after treatment, pigment changes, Raynaud’s phenomenon, expected necrotic eschar, scarring, nail damage, pregnancy category D | Intralesional injection of 0.3 mL (0.15 units) every three to fourweeks in the office† | Approximate cost for initial visit plus injection and possible follow-up injection is $495 15-unit vial is $304 (brand) or $192 to $309 (generic) |
| Retinoids | At-home use | Local irritation, pregnancy category C, systemic side effects | 0.05 percent tretinoin cream (Retin-A), three months oral at home | $48 to $54 for 45-g tube of topical tretinoin $447 for 30-day supply of acitretin (Soriatane) 25-mg tablets |
| Intralesional immunotherapy | Only need to treat one wart | Rare influenza-like symptoms | Inject every three to four weeks for an average of three treatments in the office | Approximately $190 for initial visit with injection of Candida and two follow-up injections |