Kettering clinic helps boy, 13, get his life back after years of bullying and hiding away due to 'agonising' wart condition

Harry Elliott faced years of bullying, constantly wore gloves to hide the warts and even ended up with severe burns from an unsuccessful treatment.

In a desperate bid to find a cure, his family has spent more than £1,000 on creams, therapies and treatments over the years, but nothing worked.

After countless disappointments and setbacks, it was a course of therapy with a Kettering clinic that finally gave him the relief and confidence he had been craving for so long.

Thanks to a course of treatment using the Swift device, developed by Scottish health tech pioneers, Emblation, Sarah Elliott has shared how her son finally found joy again and is once more a happy-go-lucky youngster.

Sarah, who lives in Northamptonshire, said: “By the time the treatment was over, my son was a completely different child.

"He became the most confident, happy boy you’d ever meet.

"No more hiding his hands, no more worrying about being bullied. He got his life back.”

Harry’s medical ordeal started when he was a primary school and at its peak the condition left him with 32 warts on his hands.

Other children taunted him and he was left with extreme anxiety and went everywhere wearing gloves, even at the height of summer.

Sarah said: “To see your son suffering with extreme social anxiety is heartbreaking. We considered surgery, but we were told it would be too extreme and could cause permanent damage to his hands.

“Over the years, we tried everything from over-the-counter solutions to laser treatments, but nothing worked. When we tried salicylic acid, his hands burned badly.

“He also missed school because his classmates resorted to name calling. It was horrible to watch him suffer, not just physically, but emotionally.

"As a mother, it’s the worst thing to see your child in pain and to be so anxious. He was terrified of starting secondary school.”

That all changed when the family met with Mar-ie Ferdinand, co-owner and director of Next Step Podiatry in Lower Street, Kettering.

Mar-ie’s clinic, jointly led with her business partner and co-director Emma Bell, recently adopted Swift, a cutting-edge treatment that uses pulses of microwave energy to target and eliminate skin lesions, specifically stubborn warts and verrucas.

Harry underwent four treatments over a six-month period. Following his final appointment, all his warts were cleared, giving him smooth, clear hands for the first time in years.

Podiatrist Mar-ie, who studied at Northampton University before setting up Next Step in 2013, said: “I’ve treated many cases with Swift, but this one was particularly personally impactful because of the psychological toll it was taking on him.

“Our hands play a major role in our day-to-day communication and when you have warts on an area that is so visual, it can cause patients’ enormous distress.

“In just a few sessions, we saw remarkable progress, and by the time he returned for his final review, his hands were completely clear. His transformation, both physically and emotionally, was just incredible.”

Swift uses microwave technology to target the HPV virus causing warts and verrucas by delivering targeted bursts of microwave energy directly into the infected tissue, triggering the body’s immune response.

Unlike traditional treatments that can involve cutting, lasering, freezing or applying chemicals to warts, Swift is non-invasive and doesn’t require any dressings or cause any scarring.

Each session lasts just a few seconds so no recovery time is required. Over a few sessions spaced about a month apart, the body naturally clears the infected skin.

Swift was developed by scientists Gary Beale and Eamon McErlean who launched parent company, Emblation, together.

Dr Matt Kidd, director of research and development at Emblation, said: “This story is incredibly moving and serves as motivation for us all to continue researching and developing the technology to provide the best possible solutions for patients.”

Swift has been rolled out by podiatrists across the globe to treat verrucae and common warts with more than 400,000 treatments carried out to date.

The device is also undergoing extensive assessments to establish its efficacy in treating a host of other conditions.