Plantar warts are found on the soles of the foot and can make walking and exercise painful. Getting rid of plantar warts for good can be a challenge, but there are treatment options that can help. Call Premier Podiatry clinic today and schedule an appointment with a qualified and experienced podiatrist for expert guidance. Velimir Petkov is one of the best foot doctors in Clifton and Wayne, NJ. He combines cutting-edge treatment with the highest quality care to ensure you find relief from annoying plantar warts. You can look forward to wearing your favorite shoes and resuming your routine activities without suffering more pain and discomfort.
Plantar warts are a type of skin infection on your feet caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). The infection causes the formation of rough bumps, which may be uncomfortable or painful. These warts can show up anywhere on the skin from nose to fingers and toes and everywhere between.
Although it is possible to treat plantar warts at home, it is better to use home remedies. Proper and long-term treatment of warts requires medical assistance.
Plantar Warts – How Do They Form?
Plantar warts are one of the most common skin conditions. They are more than an abnormal growth and are also quite contagious. Plantar warts usually form on the soles of your feet, and they can be unsightly as well as painful.
They are the result of an infection, specifically human papillomavirus (HPV). This virus enters your body through a cut or break in the skin. Then, it forms an ugly, rough bump. As they are caused by a viral infection, warts can easily spread through contact. Anything that comes in contact with a wart – your hand, a towel, a sock, or the floor, can spread it.
Who Can Get Plantar Warts?
Anyone can get plantar warts. However, you may be more likely to get plantar warts if:
- You are a child or teenager
- You have an autoimmune disease
- You have a weakened immune system
- You are 65 years of age or older
- You are white
Most plantar warts are generally harmless and do not pose a serious health concern. They often go away without treatment, especially in children, but they are unsightly. However, if a wart is painful and does not get better, call your healthcare provider.
What Do Plantar Warts Look Like?
Warts grow in the epidermis, the upper skin layer. A typical wart has a raised, rough, or spongy surface, but warts on the feet are flat, especially in the sole. The center of a wart may contain capillaries that supply it with blood. These capillaries appear as dark dots.
What Makes a Foot Wart Worse Than a Wart Somewhere Else?
A wart on your foot is worse than a wart somewhere else due to the pain it causes. Warts remain on the skin until they go away on their own or are removed, but they do not usually present a problem. However, warts on the bottom of the feet, known as plantar warts, give you trouble or result in discomforting symptoms.
Plantar warts are a painful reminder of their presence with every step you take because of their location. They can appear on the soles, heels, toes, and balls of your feet and make you feel as if you are walking with a rock in your shoes, even if you are barefoot.
Plantar warts are common on the parts of the foot that receive the most pressure when you are standing or walking. As you walk or stand, it increases the pressure on the wart and sends it further inward, deep into the skin. All this pressure can flatten the plantar wart, making it look less like a wart and more like a callus.
Sometimes, it becomes difficult to differentiate if it is a wart or a callus. You can give it a squeeze check and if it hurts, it is a plantar wart. It is necessary to identify if it is a callus or a plantar wart to treat it right. You should avoid using abrasive objects like pumice stones, nail filers, or emery boards to remove the thick, rough skin to prevent complications or the spread of infection. If you are suffering from painful or ugly-looking plantar warts, seek medical help.
What Is the Best Way to Get Rid of Plantar Warts?
In most cases, plantar warts do not require any treatment. Just leave them, and they eventually go away on their own, in a year or two, after your immune system fights off the virus. If your plantar warts are painful and spreading to other areas of your feet or make you feel self-conscious, do not waste time in calling your doctor.
Treating Plantar Warts
Over-the-counter wart removal creams and liquids do not work for plantar warts as they are too deep in the skin. You may be able to remove the outer layer, but the seed of the wart is deep in the sole of your foot, and it will come back again after some time. Over-the-counter wart removers can do more harm than good as they contain acids and chemicals that destroy the skin they touch.
Applying too much of these creams and liquids can damage the surrounding area and open your skin to further infection, resulting in the spread of plantar warts. Schedule an appointment with a podiatrist if your plantar warts do not go away instead of trying to remove them at home.
He will recommend the best treatment for getting rid of plantar warts. These treatment options are designed to get rid of the warts as well as stimulate the immune system to identify the virus and prevent warts from reforming. He may also need to trim a tiny portion of the skin to see if it bleeds, which is a clear sign that it is a wart and not a callus.
Plantar wart treatment options include:
Strong Prescription Medication
Prescription medications are a better solution for getting rid of warts as they are effective than over-the-counter products. Your doctor may recommend prescription-strength wart medication with salicylic acid that peels away a plantar wart layer by layer at a time. They also boost your immune system’s ability to fight the virus. You will have to apply the medicine regularly at home with occasional visits to the doctor to ensure complete removal of the wart.
Plantar Wart Freezing
Also known as cryotherapy, plantar wart freezing is an effective wart removal option. Liquid nitrogen is applied to the wart, either with a spray or a cotton swab. It destroys the issues and causes a small blister to form over the spot. In a week or so, the dead skin is gone.
Freezing plantar warts can be more painful than regular warts as they are deeper and harder to reach with the chemical. Your doctor may numb the area before the procedure, and multiple sessions may be needed to remove the entire wart. Cryotherapy may also stimulate your immune system to fight viral warts.
Immunotherapy
Plantar warts are your immune system’s response to an HPV virus. Immunotherapy uses medications or solutions to kick start the immune reaction and fight viral warts. Your doctor may inject your warts with an antigen or apply a chemical solution or topical cream to the warts to get rid of them.
Surgery
When medication, salicylic acid, and other methods don’t work, and plantar wart continue to bother you, your healthcare provider may suggest surgery. There are different types of plantar wart removal surgery, and your doctor will recommend the best one for your case.
- Curettage – The affected area is numbed with a local anesthetic. A sharp surgical knife or scalpel is used to cut around the wart, and a small spoon-like instrument digs it out.
- Electrosurgery – The infected wart tissue is cut out with the help of an electric needle.
- Laser surgery – The tiny blood vessels inside the plantar wart are burned with laser light. The infected tissue dies, and the wart falls off after some time.
How Can You Prevent Warts From Coming Back?
Anyone can get plantar warts, but if you had them once, you are more likely to get them again. The key is to reduce your risk of plantar warts in the future.
Here are some basic hygiene tips to prevent plantar warts from coming back:
- Don’t touch a wart – Warts are contagious, and touching, picking, or scratching them can lead to their spread. Avoid direct contact with someone else’s warts too. If you come in contact with a wart, wash your hands as well as any other body part or surface you touched before you washed up.
- Stay clean and dry – Bacteria thrive in moist and warm places. Follow good foot hygiene by washing your feet and drying them thoroughly afterward. Change your shoes and socks when they feel wet.
- Protect the soles of your feet – HPV enters your body through the cuts and breaks in the bottom of the feet. Protect your feet from abrasions and keep existing cuts safe from infection by wearing shoes, especially in swimming pools, locker rooms, and other public places where people walk barefoot, as infection can spread easily. Wear flip flops or other shoes in such areas. Also, clean your shoes with disinfecting sprays or wipes.
- Don’t share personal items – Avoid sharing towels, washcloths, shoes, socks, nail clippers, and any other personal items to prevent the spread of infection. If you go for a pedicure, make sure your pedicurist does not use the same tools they use on other people.
Children and teenagers visit public places more often and are less likely to practice proper foot hygiene. Keep a check on your feet and your children’s feet to spot and treat plantar warts before they spread. If you notice a wart or something unusual on your feet, call your healthcare provider immediately.
Wart removal can be frustrating, but you can find lasting relief with tried and tested, non-invasive plantar wart treatment options. Velimir Petkov offers the best solutions that help you get rid of these stubborn plantar warts for good. He understands that warts can be unsightly and painful and may spread to other parts of the body if they are not treated right. He comes up with safe and effective wart removal methods to alleviate discomfort as soon as possible.
