See What Plantar Warts Look Like on Your Feet (2024)

FAQs

What do plantar warts on feet look like? ›

Plantar wart signs and symptoms include: A small, rough growth on the bottom of your foot, usually at the base of the toes or on the ball or heel. On brown and Black skin, the growth may be lighter than unaffected skin. Hard, thickened skin (callus) over a spot on the skin, where a wart has grown inward.

Sometimes, plantar warts can grow in clusters; those are called mosaic warts. Sometimes, corns or calluses are mistaken for a palmar or plantar wart.

Pulling out a plantar wart yourself is extremely painful, and it's unlikely that you'll get all of it. This means it's more likely to grow back. Pulling out plantar warts with tweezers can also possibly injure healthy skin tissue and lead to a serious infection.

Plantar warts resemble thick, calloused skin, often with black dots on the surface. Because plantar warts tend to develop on the soles, they are often flat, and a person can push them inward as they walk.

If left untreated, plantar warts can grow up to 1 inch in circumference and may spread into clusters called mosaic warts. In severe cases, they can cause a change in gait or posture that results in leg or back pain–our job is to make sure that doesn't happen.

Many people have removed warts with these self-care tips: Peeling medicine (salicylic acid). Nonprescription wart removal products are sold as a patch, gel or liquid. You'll likely be instructed to wash the site, soak it in warm water, and gently remove the top layer of softened skin with a pumice stone or emery board.

No, plantar warts aren't a sexually transmitted infection (STI or STD). HPV causes warts, but there are over 100 types of HPV. HPV types 1, 2, 3, 4, 27 and 57 cause plantar warts. Skin-to-skin sexual contact doesn't spread these types of HPV, so they aren't STDs.

For this reason, someone with a case of plantar warts might consider washing their bed sheets thoroughly and letting them properly dry to help prevent the spread of the HPV. In addition, the individual might consider protecting the infected area of their feet by wrapping it in a bandage.

Seborrheic Keratosis

They are characterized as brown, black, or yellow growths that grow singly or in groups and are flat or slightly elevated. Often they are mistaken for warts. Generally, no treatment is required unless the growth becomes irritated from chafing against clothing.

Below the surface of the skin, the virus will infect the skin cells, leading to the creation of a wart at the surface. This is why when one removes or pulls a wart out, it typically leaves a large hole in the skin. They can be rather deep depending on how severe the skin infection is.

What happens if you pick at a plantar wart? ›

Picking, scratching, or even just touching your warts could cause them to spread to your hands, or to other parts of your body that you touch afterward. Avoid touching your warts as much as possible.

While vinegar can be used to kill some types of bacteria, warts are caused by a virus and there is currently no scientific research to suggest apple cider vinegar is an effective wart removal treatment.

Salicylic acid and liquid nitrogen are the most common treatments. Both require multiple treatments over several weeks to get rid of the wart or warts. Salicylic acid is available over the counter. You can use it at home.

Signs & Symptoms

Plantar warts may occur singly or in clusters. They appear as thick, rough, callus-like thickenings on the soles of the feet. In addition, plantar warts often have what appear as multiple small black “dots” at the surface, which are actually tiny blood vessels.

Cryotherapy uses liquid nitrogen to freeze and destroy a wart. Research has shown cryotherapy effectively removes warts in 50–70% of cases after 3–4 treatments. Cryotherapy may remove warts more quickly than salicylic acid.

There are different kinds. For example, common warts grow most often on the hands, but they can grow anywhere. Plantar warts grow on the soles of the feet. Most warts go away on their own within months or years.

The Difference Between Warts and Calluses

The skin of your foot has many lines, similar to the palm of your hand. When you have a callus, the lines of your skin will continue to appear throughout the growth. Warts, on the other hand, do not have skin lines and will look like separate growths from the rest of your skin.

A plantar wart will appear to have gone away if the area feels smooth, there are visible lines of the skin crossing the treated area, there are no black dots, and the skin area may appear lighter. A plantar wart is a harmless skin growth that develops on the bottom of the feet and may cause pain when walking.

One theory is that the tape deprives the skin cells of oxygen. By “suffocating” the wart, the duct tape makes it more likely that the skin cells will die. The process of applying and removing the duct tape may also remove additional skin cells, which can make the wart less bulky and noticeable.