Generally, cryotherapy is painful due to cold injury to the skin. If liquid nitrogen is used, its boiling point is minus 196 degrees Centigrade. The degree of pain is dependent on how aggressive the cryotherapy is.
However, pain may be reduced by the use of topical an anaesthetic cream (Emla) before treatment.
Dermatologists have used cryotherapy for many years and it is commonly used to treat a variety of skin conditions such as viral warts, seborrheic keratosis, sebaceous hyperplasia, haemangiomas and lentigo, and pre-malignant lesions including actinic keratosis and Bowen’s disease.
The way cryotherapy works is by freezing and thawing skin cells to cause necrosis. Treated areas are then allowed to heal.
