What is Cryotherapy?
Cryotherapy is also referred to as cold therapy. It uses cold temperatures to achieve therapeutic effects on the body. In aesthetics, cryotherapy is used to remove skin lesions such as moles, skin tags, cherry angiomas, warts and verrucae. Many years ago, these skin conditions could be removed under the NHS by a GP, however changes in practice now deem the removal of these to be cosmetic rather than medical. Therefore if you would like to remove a non-cancerous skin lesion, you will need to seek and pay for a private service. Many people have resorted to Harley Street for surgical removal of skin lesions, costing hundreds if not thousands of pounds. Not to mention the scars quite commonly left behind by surgical removal of moles!
Cryotherapy is a great alternative to surgery. It is a localised treatment using liquid nitrogen to freeze and kill skin cells in a specific area. This then allows the dead skin cells to shed, resulting in the wart, skin tag or mole reducing in size and eventually falling off.
Who is suitable for Cryotherapy?
This is a very safe treatment with few side effects for both adults and children. It is suitable for the majority of people; however a full medical history will be taken by your nurse prescriber to ensure that it is safe to go ahead. Reasons you may not be able to have cryotherapy include; poorly controlled diabetes or high blood pressure, tendency to form keloid scars, if you are undergoing cancer treatment or investigations or if you are pregnant and/or breastfeeding.
For moles and unidentified lesions it is essential that you see a GP or a dermatologist prior to its removal. It is important to have new moles or changes to existing moles checked to rule out the possibility of skin cancers. Cryotherapy is often a treatment for some skin cancers but will need to be carried out by a dermatologist in this case.
What are the risks of Cryotherapy?
Once a lesion is removed, there will often be no changes to the skin underneath and you would never know there was something there in the first place! However, sometimes it can leave the skin in the area slightly pink or with reduced pigment in darker skin tones. There is a low risk of scarring.
What will happen at my appointment?
You can book an appointment for a consultation online or by phone with Coral Aesthetics. If you have had a mole checked, we ask that you bring a referral letter from your doctor to your appointment. During the consultation a medical history form is completed. This is then reviewed and discussed with your nurse. The procedure is discussed in detail alongside what to expect, how many treatments may be required and the financial cost of treatment. Lastly, you will have the opportunity to ask questions and even go ahead with treatment on the day.
Cryotherapy is a quick treatment that takes between just 10-60 seconds to perform! The procedure is very safe, slightly uncomfortable but not painful and results can take just days to appear. For larger lesions, you made need several sessions of cryotherapy. Overall it is a great cost-effective alternative to surgery with less downtime and scarring.
To summarise:
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- Cryotherapy is a safe and effective treatment to remove skin lesions including: moles, warts, veruccae, skin tags, milia, cherry angioma, sebhorrheic keratosis, age spots and pigmentation
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- Sometimes you may need several sessions to completely remove a lesion
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- There is minimal downtime and scarring with this treatment
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- Treatment takes just seconds!
"Hi! I'm Nurse Coral, an experienced aesthetic nurse who is passionate about providing natural enhancements to help people feel confident and beautiful. My clinics are based in the City of London, Essex & Kent.
You can book in for a consultation with me here, or simply reach out with any queries by emailing info@coralaesthetics.co.uk and I'll get back to you!"
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