Cryotherapy is the use of liquid nitrogen at very low temperature (-196 degrees Celcius) to treat various conditions on the skin. This is a very common treatment in any Dermatology clinic and is used daily for treatment of viral warts, age spots, pre-cancers such as actinic keratosis, or even early skin cancers affecting the top part of the skin.
It can be painful especially when used over sensitive areas such as the face, hands, feet or genitalia. Most adults are able to tolerate cryotherapy with no issues. For children, we will usually apply numbing cream before their cryotherapy treatment; this makes it manageable for a large majority of the children we see.
