How are plantar warts diagnosed. What are the most effective medical treatments for plantar warts. Which home remedies can help remove plantar warts. Why do plantar warts often require multiple treatments to resolve. When should you see a doctor about a plantar wart.

Understanding Plantar Warts: Causes and Characteristics

Plantar warts are a common foot condition caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). These warts develop on the weight-bearing areas of the feet, often causing discomfort and pain when walking. Unlike warts on other parts of the body, plantar warts grow inward due to the pressure of standing and walking, making them particularly challenging to treat.

What distinguishes plantar warts from other skin lesions? Plantar warts typically appear as small, rough growths on the soles of the feet. They may have tiny black dots, which are actually small blood vessels. The surrounding skin often becomes thick and callused, further complicating identification and treatment.

Diagnosing Plantar Warts: Medical Examination Techniques

Accurate diagnosis is crucial for effective treatment of plantar warts. Doctors employ several techniques to identify these lesions:

• Visual examination: A healthcare provider will carefully inspect the affected area, looking for the characteristic appearance of plantar warts.
• Paring the lesion: Using a scalpel, the doctor may gently scrape the top layer of the wart to check for tiny black dots, which are a telltale sign of plantar warts.
• Shave biopsy: In some cases, a small section of the lesion may be removed and sent to a laboratory for analysis to confirm the diagnosis.

How can you differentiate between a plantar wart and a callus? Plantar warts disrupt the normal lines and ridges in the skin of your foot, while calluses don’t. Additionally, pressing on the sides of a plantar wart often causes pain, whereas calluses are typically not painful when compressed from the sides.

Medical Treatments for Stubborn Plantar Warts

While many plantar warts resolve on their own within a year or two, persistent or painful warts may require medical intervention. Healthcare providers offer several treatment options:

1. Prescription-Strength Salicylic Acid

Stronger peeling medicines containing salicylic acid can be prescribed by your doctor. These treatments work by gradually removing layers of the wart and stimulating your immune system to fight the viral infection.

2. Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy involves freezing the wart with liquid nitrogen. This procedure causes a blister to form around the wart, leading to the sloughing off of dead tissue. Multiple treatments may be necessary, typically spaced two to four weeks apart.

3. Immune Therapy

This approach uses medications or solutions to boost your immune system’s response to the wart. Your doctor may inject an antigen into the wart or apply a topical solution to stimulate your body’s natural defenses.

4. Minor Surgery

In cases where other treatments have failed, your doctor may recommend cutting away the wart or destroying it using an electric needle. This procedure, known as electrodesiccation and curettage, is usually reserved for stubborn warts due to the risk of scarring.

5. Laser Treatment

Pulsed-dye laser treatment can be used to cauterize the blood vessels supplying the wart, causing the infected tissue to die and fall off. This method requires multiple treatments and has limited evidence of effectiveness.

Why do plantar warts often require multiple treatments? The HPV virus that causes plantar warts can be deeply embedded in the skin, making it difficult to eradicate completely with a single treatment. Additionally, the virus may spread to surrounding areas, necessitating ongoing treatment to prevent recurrence.

Home Remedies and Over-the-Counter Treatments for Plantar Warts

For those preferring to try self-care approaches before seeking medical treatment, several home remedies and over-the-counter options are available:

1. Nonprescription salicylic acid products: Available as patches or liquids, these treatments gradually peel away the wart tissue.
2. Over-the-counter freezing medications: Products like Compound W Freeze Off and Dr. Scholl’s Freeze Away allow for at-home cryotherapy treatment.
3. Duct tape method: While unproven, some people report success with covering the wart with duct tape, changing it every few days, and gently removing dead tissue between applications.

How long should you try home remedies before seeking professional help? If you’ve been consistently using over-the-counter treatments for 4-6 weeks without improvement, or if the wart is causing significant pain or spreading, it’s time to consult a healthcare provider.

Preventing Plantar Warts: Tips for Reducing Your Risk

While it’s not always possible to prevent plantar warts, certain measures can help reduce your risk of contracting or spreading the virus:

• Keep your feet clean and dry
• Wear sandals or water shoes in public showers, locker rooms, and pool areas
• Avoid walking barefoot in public spaces
• Don’t share towels, socks, or shoes with others
• Change your shoes and socks daily
• Keep your feet moisturized to prevent cracks that could allow the virus to enter

Can plantar warts spread to other parts of the body? While plantar warts typically remain on the feet, it is possible for the virus to spread to other areas through direct contact or by touching a wart and then touching another part of your body. Always wash your hands after touching a wart and avoid picking at it.

When to See a Doctor: Red Flags for Plantar Warts

While many plantar warts can be managed at home, certain situations warrant professional medical attention:

• The wart is causing significant pain or interfering with daily activities
• Home treatments have been ineffective after several weeks of consistent use
• The wart is spreading or multiplying
• You have diabetes or a weakened immune system
• You’re unsure if the lesion is actually a wart
• The wart shows signs of infection (redness, swelling, pus, or fever)

How can you prepare for a doctor’s appointment about plantar warts? Before your visit, make note of when you first noticed the wart, any treatments you’ve tried, and how long you’ve been treating it. This information will help your healthcare provider determine the best course of action for your specific case.

Living with Plantar Warts: Managing Discomfort and Preventing Spread

While undergoing treatment for plantar warts, there are several steps you can take to manage discomfort and prevent the spread of the virus:

1. Use cushioned insoles or pads to relieve pressure on the wart when walking
2. Keep the affected foot clean and dry
3. Avoid going barefoot, especially in public areas
4. Don’t pick at or scratch the wart
5. Wash your hands thoroughly after touching the wart
6. Use separate nail files, pumice stones, or emery boards for the affected foot and discard them after the wart is gone
7. Consider covering the wart with a waterproof bandage during activities like swimming

Is it safe to continue regular activities while treating a plantar wart? In most cases, you can maintain your normal routine while treating a plantar wart. However, if the wart is causing significant pain or is located in an area that endures a lot of pressure during your activities, you may need to modify your routine or use protective padding to reduce discomfort.

Debunking Myths: Common Misconceptions About Plantar Warts

There are several myths surrounding plantar warts that can lead to confusion and ineffective treatment approaches. Let’s address some of these misconceptions:

Myth 1: Plantar warts have roots that grow deep into the foot

Contrary to popular belief, plantar warts do not have roots. What appears to be roots are actually blood vessels that supply the wart. The wart itself grows in the upper layers of skin, though it may appear to be deeper due to the pressure of walking.

Myth 2: Plantar warts are highly contagious

While plantar warts are caused by a virus and can spread, they are not as contagious as many people believe. The virus typically requires direct contact with broken or softened skin to cause infection. This is why walking barefoot in moist environments increases the risk of contracting plantar warts.

Myth 3: Cutting out a plantar wart will cure it

Attempting to cut out a plantar wart at home is not only painful and potentially dangerous, but it’s also ineffective. The virus causing the wart can remain in the surrounding skin, leading to recurrence. Additionally, cutting into the skin increases the risk of infection and scarring.

Myth 4: All bumps on the foot are plantar warts

Not every growth on the sole of the foot is a plantar wart. Calluses, corns, and even certain types of skin cancer can resemble plantar warts. This is why proper diagnosis by a healthcare professional is crucial, especially for persistent or unusual lesions.

Why do these myths persist? Many misconceptions about plantar warts stem from outdated information or folk remedies passed down through generations. It’s important to rely on current medical knowledge and consult healthcare professionals for accurate information and effective treatment strategies.

The Psychological Impact of Plantar Warts: Coping with a Persistent Condition

While plantar warts are a physical condition, they can also have significant psychological effects on those who suffer from them. The persistent nature of plantar warts, combined with the discomfort and potential embarrassment they cause, can lead to stress, anxiety, and even depression in some individuals.

Emotional Challenges

People with plantar warts may experience:

• Embarrassment about the appearance of their feet
• Frustration with the slow or ineffective treatment process
• Anxiety about spreading the virus to others
• Decreased self-esteem, particularly in social situations involving bare feet
• Stress from the ongoing discomfort and treatment regimens

Coping Strategies

If you’re struggling with the emotional impact of plantar warts, consider these coping strategies:

1. Educate yourself about the condition to alleviate fears and misconceptions
2. Join support groups or online forums to connect with others experiencing similar issues
3. Practice stress-reduction techniques like meditation or deep breathing
4. Focus on overall foot health and hygiene to feel more in control
5. Communicate openly with your healthcare provider about your concerns and frustrations

How can healthcare providers address the psychological aspects of plantar warts? Doctors should acknowledge the emotional impact of the condition, provide clear information about treatment expectations, and offer resources for emotional support when necessary. A holistic approach that addresses both the physical and psychological aspects of plantar warts can lead to better overall outcomes for patients.

Future Directions: Emerging Treatments and Research in Plantar Wart Management

As medical science advances, new approaches to treating plantar warts are being developed and studied. These emerging treatments offer hope for more effective and less invasive options in the future:

1. Photodynamic Therapy

This treatment involves applying a photosensitizing agent to the wart and then exposing it to a specific wavelength of light. The combination triggers a reaction that destroys the wart tissue. Early studies show promising results, particularly for resistant warts.

2. Intralesional Immunotherapy

By injecting certain antigens directly into the wart, this treatment aims to stimulate a strong immune response against the HPV virus. Research is ongoing to determine the most effective antigens and optimal treatment protocols.

3. Topical Immunomodulators

Creams containing immunomodulating agents, such as imiquimod, are being studied for their potential to enhance the body’s immune response to the wart virus when applied directly to the affected area.

4. HPV Vaccines

While currently approved HPV vaccines target different strains than those typically causing plantar warts, research is exploring the potential for developing vaccines specifically for cutaneous HPV types.

5. Combination Therapies

Researchers are investigating various combinations of existing treatments to determine if they can provide more effective results than single-modality approaches.

What challenges do researchers face in developing new treatments for plantar warts? One significant challenge is the variability in individual immune responses to the HPV virus. Additionally, the location of plantar warts on weight-bearing areas of the foot complicates treatment delivery and efficacy. Researchers must also consider the balance between treatment effectiveness and potential side effects or scarring.

As research progresses, it’s likely that new treatment options will become available, offering hope for those struggling with persistent plantar warts. However, it’s important to remember that even with advancements, prevention remains a key strategy in managing this common foot condition.

Plantar warts – Diagnosis and treatment

Diagnosis

In most cases, your doctor can diagnose a plantar wart with one or more of these techniques:

• Examining the lesion
• Paring the lesion with a scalpel and checking for signs of dark, pinpoint dots — tiny clotted blood vessels
• Removing a small section of the lesion (shave biopsy) and sending it to a laboratory for analysis

Treatment

Most plantar warts are harmless and go away without treatment, though it may take a year or two. If your warts are painful or spreading, you may want to try treating them with over-the-counter (nonprescription) medications or home remedies. You may need many repeated treatments before the warts go away, and they may return later.

If your self-care approaches haven’t helped, talk with your doctor about these treatments:

• Stronger peeling medicine (salicylic acid). Prescription-strength wart medications with salicylic acid work by removing layers of a wart a little bit at a time. They may also stimulate your immune system’s ability to fight the wart.

  Your doctor will likely suggest you apply the medicine regularly at home, followed by occasional office visits.

• Freezing medicine (cryotherapy). Cryotherapy done at a doctor’s office involves applying liquid nitrogen to the wart, either with a spray or a cotton swab. This method can be painful, so your doctor may numb the area first.

  The chemical causes a blister to form around your wart, and the dead tissue sloughs off within a week or so. Cryotherapy may also stimulate your immune system to fight viral warts. You may need to return to the doctor’s office for repeat treatments every two to four weeks until the wart disappears.

  Some studies suggest that cryotherapy combined with salicylic acid treatment is more effective than just cryotherapy, but further study is needed.

Surgical or other procedures

If salicylic acid and freezing medicine don’t work, your doctor may recommend one or more of the following treatments:

• Other acids. Your doctor shaves the surface of the wart and applies trichloroacetic acid with a wooden toothpick. You’ll need to return to the doctor’s office for repeat treatments every week or so. Side effects include burning and stinging. Between visits, you may be asked to apply salicylic acid to the wart.
• Immune therapy. This method uses medications or solutions to stimulate your immune system to fight viral warts. Your doctor may inject your warts with a foreign substance (antigen) or apply a solution or cream to the warts.
• Minor surgery. Your doctor cuts away the wart or destroys it by using an electric needle (electrodesiccation and curettage). This procedure can be painful, so your doctor will numb your skin first. Because surgery has a risk of scarring, this method usually isn’t used to treat plantar warts unless other treatments have failed.
• Laser treatment. Pulsed-dye laser treatment burns closed (cauterizes) tiny blood vessels. The infected tissue eventually dies, and the wart falls off. This method requires repeat treatments every three to four weeks. The evidence for the effectiveness of this method is limited, and it can cause pain and potentially scarring.
• Vaccine. HPV vaccine has been used with success to treat warts even though this vaccine is not specifically targeted toward the wart virus that causes the majority of plantar warts.

Lifestyle and home remedies

Many people have removed warts with these self-care tips:

• Peeling medicine (salicylic acid). Nonprescription wart removal products are available as a patch or liquid. Usually, you’re 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. Then after the skin has dried, you apply the solution or patch. Patches are usually changed every 24 to 48 hours. Liquid applications are generally used daily. You may need repeated applications on a regular basis over several weeks to months to see results.
• Freezing medicine (cryotherapy). Nonprescription medicines that freeze the wart include Compound W Freeze Off and Dr. Scholl’s Freeze Away. The Food and Drug Administration cautions that some wart removers are flammable and shouldn’t be used around fire, flame, heat sources (such as curling irons) and lit cigarettes.
• Duct tape. Using duct tape to remove warts is a harmless but unproven approach. To try it, cover the wart with silver duct tape, changing it every few days. Between applications, soak the wart and gently remove dead tissue with a pumice stone or emery board. Then leave the wart open to the air to dry for a few hours before covering it with tape again.

Preparing for your appointment

You’ll likely start by seeing your primary care doctor. He or she may refer you to a specialist in disorders of the skin (dermatologist) or feet (podiatrist). The following tips can help you prepare for your appointment.

What you can do

Bring a list of all medications you take regularly — including over-the-counter (nonprescription) medications and dietary supplements — and the daily dosage of each.

You may also want to list questions for your doctor, such as:

• If I have a plantar wart, can I start with at-home care?
• If I proceed with home treatment, under what conditions should I call you?
• If the first treatment doesn’t work, what will we try next?
• If the lesion isn’t a plantar wart, what tests do you need to do?
• How long will it take to get results?
• How can I prevent warts?

What to expect from your doctor

Your doctor may ask you questions such as:

• When did the lesion first appear?
• Has it changed in size or appearance?
• Is your condition painful?
• Have you had warts before?
• Do you have diabetes or poor sensation in your feet?
• Do you have any condition or take any medication that has weakened your ability to fight disease (immune response)?
• Have you tried any home remedies? If so, how long have you used them and have they helped?
• Do you use a swimming pool or locker room — places that can harbor wart-causing viruses?

What you can do in the meantime

If you’re sure you have a plantar wart, you may try over-the-counter remedies or alternative medicine approaches. But talk with your doctor before trying self-care treatments if you have:

• Diabetes
• Poor sensation in your feet
• Weakened immunity

If pressure on the wart causes pain, try wearing well-cushioned shoes, such as athletic shoes that evenly support the sole and relieve some of the pressure. Avoid wearing uncomfortable shoes.

April 02, 2020

Show references

1. Goldstein BG, et al. Cutaneous warts. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed March 2, 2017.
2. Gibson LE (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. March 14, 2017.
3. Some wart removers are flammable. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm381429.htm?source=govdelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery. Accessed March 2, 2017.
4. Landis MN, et al. Recalcitrant plantar warts treated with recombinant quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 2012;67:e73.
5. Habif TP. Plantar warts. In: Clinical Dermatology: A Color Guide to Diagnosis and Therapy. 6th ed. Edinburgh, U.K.; New York, N.Y.: Elsevier; 2016. https://www.clinicalkey.com. Accessed March 2, 2017.
6. Kwok CS, et al. Topical treatments for cutaneous warts. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001781.pub3/abstract. Accessed March 2, 2017.
7. Warts. American Academy of Dermatology. http://www.aad.org/dermatology-a-to-z/diseases-and-treatments/u—w/warts. Accessed March 2, 2017.

Plantar Warts and Palmar Warts: Treatments and Causes

Plantar warts and palmar warts are common, especially in children. These warts are named for where they appear on the body. Palmar warts occur on the hands, and plantar warts on the bottom of the foot.

Virtually everyone will have a wart (or several) someplace at some time in their lives.

What Are Plantar Warts and Palmar Warts?

Plantar warts and palmar warts are noncancerous skin growths, caused by a viral infection in the top layer of the skin. The culprit is a strain of virus called human papillomavirus or HPV. Many strains of the virus exist, and those that cause common warts on the hands and feet are not the same strains of HPV that cause genital warts.

Some people mistakenly think plantar warts or palmar warts are malignant. In fact, they are not harmful. Eventually, in about two years, most warts go away without treatment. Warts can, however, cause irritation or minor pain, depending on their location. 

What Do Plantar Warts and Palmar Warts Look Like?

On average plantar warts and palmar warts are small, about the size of a pencil eraser. But some warts grow bigger. Sometimes plantar warts can grow in clusters; those are called mosaic warts.

Sometimes corns or calluses are mistaken for a palmar or plantar wart. In some warts, little black dots appear, leading people to call them “seed” warts. Actually the black dots are little blood vessels that have grown up into the wart. Warts don’t really have “seeds.”

Plantar warts usually don’t stick up above the skin as much as warts on the hand, partly because of the pressure of walking and its flattening effect.

How Do You Get a Plantar Wart or Palmar Wart?

Warts are spread from person to person. The transmission can be indirect. For instance, a child with a wart on their hand may touch a playground surface that is then touched by another child and the wart spreads. Or a person with a plantar wart uses a shower without wearing shower shoes and another person then uses it and develops a wart. The risk of getting a hand or foot wart from another person is small.

A person’s risk of getting a wart varies. Those with a weakened immune system are more susceptible. But those with healthy immune systems can also develop warts.

What Are Treatments for Plantar Warts and Palmar Warts?

Plantar warts and palmar warts will often eventually go away without treatment. If they bother you, however, you can treat common skin warts in a variety of ways.

• Duct tape is one home remedy. Put a small strip over the wart and leave it on for six days. Then, remove the tape, soak the wart in water, and then gently debride it with a pumice stone or emory board. Repeat the process many times until the wart is gone. This may take a couple of months. Don’t expect miracles with this type of treatment since it probably does not work any better than a placebo.
• Over-the-counter wart treatments include a medication that is applied topically (gel, ointment, lotion) and usually includes salicylic acid which works by peeling the wart. Another option is a freezing spray that kills the tissue. These remedies work about 50% of the time.
• Doctor’s treatments are generally more effective. They include freezing the wart off with liquid nitrogen, removing the wart with laser or surgery, or applying or injecting medicines to strengthen the immune system so it can clear your body of the virus.

Treatment, however, is not fast and easy. Home treatment for hand warts, for instance, can take a few weeks up to a few months. Foot warts are challenging to treat because most of the wart lies below the skin surface.

Even if a treatment is successful, the wart can reappear.

If a wart is not bothersome, doctors say it can be left alone. Given time, the wart may disappear on its own, thanks to the immune system.

The Best Ways to Get Rid of Plantar Warts for Good

Skip the home remedies for wart removal. Proper treatment of plantar warts requires the expertise of your healthcare provider.

Posted
by The Iowa Clinic on Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Nose, fingers, toes and everywhere in between, warts can show up anywhere on your skin. They are one of the most common skin conditions. They’re also quite contagious.

Warts are more than an abnormal growth. They’re the result of an infection, specifically a virus more often associated with cervical cancer than a bump on the skin: human papillomavirus (HPV).

HPV enters your body through a cut or break in your skin. Then, it forms that ugly, rough bump. Since warts are caused by a viral infection, they are easily spread through contact. Anything that has had contact with a wart — your hand, a towel, a sock, the floor — can spread it.

And when warts show up on your feet, they can be as painful as they are unsightly.

What makes a wart on your foot worse than a wart somewhere else?

Pain.

Warts don’t usually present problems. They are on your skin until they go away on their own or by removal. Warts on the bottom of your feet, known as plantar warts, are the most likely type to give you any other trouble or symptoms.

Because of their location — the soles, heels, toes and balls of your feet — plantar warts send you a painful reminder of their presence with every single step. It feels like you’re walking with a rock in your shoe. Even if you’re barefoot.

Plantar warts are most common on the parts of the foot that receive the most pressure when you’re standing or walking. Since those are two things you can’t avoid, additional standing and walking increase the pressure on the wart and send it further inward, deep into your skin.

All that pressure also flattens the plantar wart. It ends up looking less like a wart and more like a callus. If you can’t tell the difference by looking at it, give it the squeeze test. A plantar wart is painful when squeezed; a callus is not.

It’s an important test. Many people rub calluses with abrasive objects like pumice stones, nail files and emery boards to remove the thick, rough skin. And that is not recommended for removal of plantar warts.

Painful plantar warts? Get help. 

Self-care of plantar warts can make things worse. Put your feet in the hands of experts.

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Then what’s the best treatment for plantar warts?

Best case scenario, no treatment is necessary. Just leave it alone. Like other warts, most plantar warts eventually go away on their own. It might just take a year or two.

If your plantar warts are painful or spreading to other areas of your feet, waiting is not an option. You need immediate relief.

Many people buy a topical wart remover from the pharmacy, thinking it’s a cure for all kinds of warts. But over-the-counter wart removal creams and liquids are ineffective. Plantar warts 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.

Over-the counter wart removers can actually do more harm than good. They contain acids and chemicals that destroy the skin they touch. You can easily apply too much, damage the surrounding area and open your skin up to further infection, causing plantar warts to spread.

Instead of trying to remove plantar warts at home, see your primary care provider.

Usually, a foot examination is all that’s needed to diagnose plantar warts. Sometimes, your provider will need to trim a tiny portion of the skin to see if it bleeds — a clear signal that it’s a wart and not a callus.

From there, they can recommend the best treatment from a variety of removal options. All of them are designed to get rid of the wart as well as stimulate the immune system to identify the virus and prevent warts from reforming.

Prescription-Strength Wart Medication

Wart removal medicines available over-the-counter work less than half the time. Stronger medications available by prescription only are a better solution. They work the same as the widely available options, peeling away a plantar wart layer by layer. You can apply a prescription-strength medication to your plantar warts at home and follow up with your provider to make sure the wart is entirely removed.

Plantar Wart Freezing

Freezing a wart using cryotherapy is an effective wart removal option. Liquid nitrogen is applied to the plantar wart with a spray or cotton swab. This destroys the tissue and causes a small blister to form over the spot. In a week or so, the dead skin will be gone.

It’s more painful to freeze off plantar warts than regular warts. They are deeper and harder to reach with the chemical. Multiple treatments spaced two to four weeks apart may be needed to remove the entire wart.

Immunotherapy for Warts

Plantar warts are your immune system’s response to an HPV infection. Immunotherapy uses medications or solutions to kickstart an immune reaction to fight off plantar warts. When other treatments don’t work, your provider can inject a substance into the wart or apply a topical solution to stimulate your immune system to aid in treatment.

Plantar Wart Removal Surgery

If every other treatment fails and you’re still troubled by painful plantar warts, surgery is needed. With surgery, there’s always a chance for scarring, which is why it’s a last resort for removing plantar warts.

There are many different types of wart removal surgery. Your provider will choose the best option for your case.

• Electrosurgery – Using an electric needle, your provider cuts out the infected wart tissue.
• Curettage – The plantar wart is dug out with a small spoon-like instrument.
• Laser surgery – Laser treatments burn the tiny blood vessels inside the plantar wart. Eventually, the infected tissue dies and the wart falls off. There is less potential for scarring than other surgeries.

How do you prevent warts from coming back?

Anyone can get plantar warts. But once you’ve had them, you’re more likely to get them again. You may not be able to prevent a recurrence entirely, but you can reduce your risk by following a few basic hygiene tips:

• Don’t touch a wart! This is how they spread. Don’t pick, scratch or touch them at all. Avoid direct contact with someone else’s warts too. If you do come in contact with a wart, wash your hands thoroughly along with any other body part or surface you touched before you washed up.
• Stay clean and dry. Moisture invites bacteria. Follow good foot hygiene by washing your feet regularly and drying them thoroughly after. Change your shoes and your socks when they feel wet.
• Protect the soles of your feet. HPV invades through cuts and breaks in the bottom of your feet. Wear shoes to protect your feet from abrasions or to keep existing cuts safe from infection. HPV spreads more easily at swimming pools, locker rooms and other public places people regularly walk barefoot. Wear flip flops or other shoes in these areas.

Children and teenagers frequent these public places more often and are less likely to practice proper foot hygiene. Check your own feet and your children’s regularly to spot plantar warts early before they spread and contact your provider as soon as you have a concern.

How to Get Rid of and Avoid Painful Foot Warts

That thick, raised patch of hardened skin on the ball of your foot or your heel may look a lot like a callus, but if it’s tender or painful when you touch it or put pressure on it, it’s probably a wart.

Similar to warts that appear elsewhere on your body, warts that grow on your feet are caused by the human papillomavirus virus (HPV), a highly contagious infection that spreads easily. While they tend to grow slowly, foot warts can become quite painful, particularly if the pressure of standing or walking causes them to sink inward.

Find out how you can get rid of painful foot warts — also known as plantar warts — and give yourself future protection from the virus that causes them.

Plantar wart basics

You may cringe at the thought of having a wart on your foot, but these small, benign growths aren’t as repulsive as they’re made out to be — they’re simply contagious and bothersome.

Although they can grow anywhere on your feet, plantar warts usually emerge along the base of your toes or on the weight-bearing ball or heel of your sole. Because they’re under constant pressure, foot warts tend to be much flatter than the common warts that appear on fingers and hands.

When a plantar wart grows inward or sinks deep into your skin, a thick, callused layer may form over it and hide the growth itself; instead of seeing an obvious wart, you may only see a callus over a well-defined spot that feels tender under your body weight.

Unobscured plantar warts look like hard, thick patches of skin with obvious dark specks. Known as “wart seeds,” these black pinpoints are actually the clotted ends of small capillaries, and they’re one of the distinguishing traits between warts and calluses, which don’t contain blood vessels.

Plantar wart removal

If your immune system is fairly adept at fighting off the strain of HPV that caused your plantar wart, it may simply disappear on its own over time. If you’re like most people, however, your foot wart will probably persist and continue to grow.

Left untreated, the average plantar wart tends to grow bigger, grow further inward, or give rise to a mosaic of warts across the surface of your foot. Plantar warts feel most tender or painful under pressure when they’re growing inward.

If your wart has been around for a while, causes pain or discomfort, or has increased in size or spread, we can help. Here at Jersey Foot & Ankle Institute, we offer a full scope of treatment solutions for stubborn or painful plantar warts, including:

Salicylic acid

Prescription-strength salicylic acid removes plantar warts over time, layer by layer. Before you apply salicylic acid to your wart, you must soak the area for 10-15 minutes and gently file away the dead, warty skin with a clean emery board (which you should discard after one use).

Although your treatment plan depends on the nature of your wart, most people apply salicylic acid once or twice a day for three months; continuing the treatment for a week after the wart disappears can help prevent recurrence.

Cryotherapy

This in-office wart removal treatment uses liquid nitrogen to effectively freeze the growth right off the surface of your skin. After numbing the area with a local anesthetic, Dr. Dharia paints or sprays your wart with the extremely cold chemical agent, causing the area to blister and peel.

When the dead tissue sloughs off about a week later, it takes the wart with it. Because plantar warts can be stubborn, however, you may need multiple cryotherapy treatments to make the wart disappear completely.

Minor surgery

If your wart is especially deep, persistent, or painful, Dr. Dharia may use electrosurgery to destroy your wart with an electric needle, curettage to scrape it away, or a combination of both techniques. Surgical wart removal is a simple in-office procedure done with a local anesthetic.

Plantar wart prevention

The strain of HPV that causes plantar warts isn’t actually as contagious as the strains that cause common warts or genital warts, but it does tend to thrive in warm, moist environments.

To avoid contracting the virus that causes plantar warts when you’re at the pool, the gym, or any other place where you may take off your shoes, make sure you wear flip-flops or sandals around the pool deck or in the shower or locker room.

Besides avoiding direct contact with another person’s warts, you should also refrain from sharing nail clippers, pumice stones, and other personal hygiene items that you use on your feet. If you have a wart, you can prevent its spread by keeping it clean and covered. Don’t scratch or pick at it, and any time you do happen to touch it, wash your hands carefully.

If you’re ready to make your wart disappear, we can help. Call our Hillsborough Township, New Jersey, office today at(908) 874-7592, or request an appointment with Dr. Dharia using our online scheduling feature. You can also send Dr. Dharia and the team a message here on our website.

Warts and Plantar Warts | Michigan Medicine

Condition Overview

Is this topic for you?

This topic has information about warts on any part of the body except the genitals. For information about warts on the genitals, see the topic Genital Warts.

What are warts, and what causes them?

A wart is a skin growth caused by some types of the virus called the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV infects the top layer of skin, usually entering the body in an area of broken skin. The virus causes the top layer of skin to grow rapidly, forming a wart. Most warts go away on their own within months or years.

Warts can grow anywhere on the body, and 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.

How are warts spread?

Warts are easily spread by direct contact with a human papillomavirus. You can infect yourself again by touching the wart and then touching another part of your body. You can infect another person by sharing towels, razors, or other personal items. After you’ve had contact with HPV, it can take many months of slow growth beneath the skin before you notice a wart.

It is unlikely that you will get a wart every time you come in contact with HPV. Some people are more likely to get warts than others.

What are the symptoms?

Warts come in a wide range of shapes and sizes. A wart may be a bump with a rough surface, or it may be flat and smooth. Tiny blood vessels grow into the core of the wart to supply it with blood. In both common and plantar warts, these blood vessels may look like dark dots in the wart’s center.

Warts are usually painless. But a wart that grows in a spot where you put pressure, such as on a finger or on the bottom of the foot, can be painful.

How are warts diagnosed?

A doctor usually can tell if a skin growth is a wart just by looking at it. Your doctor may take a sample of the wart and look at it under a microscope (a skin biopsy). This may be done if it isn’t clear that the growth is a wart. It may also be done if a skin growth is darker than the skin surrounding it, is an irregular patch on the skin, bleeds, or is large and fast-growing.

How are they treated?

Most warts don’t need treatment. But if you have warts that are painful or spreading, or if you are bothered by the way they look, your treatment choices include:

• Using a home treatment such as salicylic acid or duct tape. You can get these without a prescription.
• Putting a stronger medicine on the wart, or getting a shot of medicine in it.
• Freezing the wart (cryotherapy).
• Removing the wart with surgery (electrosurgery, curettage, laser surgery).

Wart treatment doesn’t always work. Even after a wart shrinks or goes away, warts may come back or spread to other parts of the body. This is because most treatments destroy the wart but don’t kill the virus that causes the wart.

Cause

A wart develops when a human papillomavirus (HPV) infects the outer layer of skin and causes the skin cells to grow rapidly. The virus can then spread from an existing wart to other areas of the body, causing more warts. Various types of this virus thrive in warm, damp environments such as showers, locker room floors, and swimming pool areas.

You are most likely to develop a wart where you have broken skin, such as a cut, a hangnail, a closely bitten nail, or a scrape. Plantar warts are common in swimmers whose feet are not only damp and softened but are also scratched and broken by rough pool surfaces. Common warts are often seen among those who handle meat, chicken, and fish.

How are warts spread?

Warts are easily spread by direct contact with a human papillomavirus. You can reinfect yourself by touching the wart and then touching another part of your body. You can infect others by sharing towels, razors, or other personal items. After exposure to a human papillomavirus, it can take many months of slow growth beneath the skin before you notice a wart.

It is unlikely that you will develop a wart every time you are exposed to a human papillomavirus. Some people are more likely to develop warts than others.

Can common warts on hands or fingers be spread to the genitals and cause genital warts?

It depends. There are many types of HPV, and the types that cause common warts are usually different from those that cause plantar warts and genital warts. If the wart on a person’s hand is caused by a type of HPV that can also cause genital warts, then there is a chance that skin contact could cause genital warts.

But common warts don’t cause the type of genital warts that lead to high-risk cancers.

Symptoms

Warts occur in a variety of shapes and sizes. A wart may appear as a bump with a rough surface, or it may be flat and smooth. Tiny blood vessels (capillaries) grow into the core of the wart to supply it with blood. In both common and plantar warts, these capillaries may appear as dark dots (seeds) in the wart’s center.

• Common warts usually appear singly or in groups on the hands, although they may grow on any part of the body. They usually are rough, gray-brown, dome-shaped growths.
• Plantar warts can develop on any part of the foot. As the callus and wart get larger, walking can become painful, much like walking with a pebble in your shoe. When pressure from standing or walking pushes a plantar wart beneath the skin’s surface, a layer of thick, tough skin similar to a callus develops over it. Sometimes dark specks are visible beneath the surface of the wart.
• Flat warts are usually found on the face, arms, or legs. They are small (usually smaller than the eraser on the end of a pencil). There are usually several in one area. They have flat tops and can be pink, light brown, or light yellow. Flat warts are often spread by shaving.
• Filiform warts, a kind of flat wart, can grow around the mouth, nose, and beard area. The surface of this type of wart has many flesh-colored, finger-shaped growths.
• Periungual warts are found under and around the toenails and fingernails. They appear as rough, irregular bumps.

Warts cover the lines and creases in the skin—this is one way to tell a wart from other skin conditions, such as skin tags or moles.

What Happens

Human papillomaviruses can live on healthy skin without causing infection. But when a human papillomavirus enters the body through small breaks in the skin, it can infect the skin cells beneath the surface, causing a wart to grow.

• A wart can take many months to grow before it becomes visible.
• Warts, particularly newer ones, are easily spread. They can spread to other parts of the body or to other people.
• Plantar warts can be pushed beneath the skin’s surface by pressure from standing and walking. A thickening of the skin slowly forms over most of the wart and looks and feels like a callus.
• Periungual warts can affect nail growth.
• It may be hard to get rid of warts after they develop. But they generally go away on their own within months or years.
• Just before warts disappear on their own, they may turn black.

What Increases Your Risk

Risk factors for warts include:

• Having an impaired immune system.
• Your age. Warts occur most often in children and young adults. As you get older, you may find that you get fewer warts or that your warts go away.
• Walking barefoot on moist surfaces, as in public showers and locker rooms and around swimming pool areas.
• Sharing towels, razors, and other personal items with a person who has warts.
• Biting your nails or cuticles.
• Wearing closed or tight shoes that cause sweaty feet.

When To Call

See your doctor if:

• You aren’t sure if a skin growth is a wart. If you are older than age 60 and have never had warts, consider seeing your family doctor or other health professional to check for skin cancer.
• Nonprescription home treatment isn’t successful after 2 to 3 months.
• Warts are growing or spreading rapidly despite treatment.
• Signs of bacterial infection develop, including:
  • Increased pain, swelling, redness, tenderness, or heat.
  • Red streaks extending from the area.
  • Discharge of pus.
  • Fever.
• A plantar wart becomes too painful to walk on.
• You have diabetes or peripheral arterial disease and you need treatment for a wart on a leg or foot.
• You have warts on your genitals or around the anus. For more information, see the topic Genital Warts.

Watchful waiting

Watchful waiting is a period of time during which you and your doctor observe your symptoms or condition without using medical treatment. It is often appropriate treatment for warts, because they generally go away on their own within months or years. But you may want to consider treating a wart to prevent it from spreading to other parts of your body or to other people. You can try a nonprescription wart treatment for 2 to 3 months before deciding to see a doctor.

Who to see

Warts can be diagnosed and treated by most health professionals, including:

Exams and Tests

Warts are usually diagnosed based only on their appearance.

In rare cases, more testing is done. If the diagnosis of a skin condition is unclear or if you are at high risk for having skin cancer, your doctor may take a sample of the growth and examine it (a skin biopsy). A biopsy is usually done if a skin growth is darker than the skin surrounding it, appears as an irregular patch on the skin, bleeds, or is large and growing rapidly.

Proper diagnosis of plantar warts is important. Some wart treatments can cause scarring.

Treatment Overview

Not all warts need to be treated. They generally go away on their own within months or years. This may be because, with time, your immune system is able to destroy the human papillomavirus that causes warts.

You may decide to treat a wart if it is:

• Painful.
• Embarrassing.
• Easily irritated.
• Growing or spreading to other parts of your body or to other people.

The goal of wart treatment is to destroy or remove the wart without creating scar tissue, which can be more painful than the wart itself. How a wart is treated depends on the type of wart, its location, and its symptoms. Also important is your willingness to follow a course of treatment that can last for weeks or months.

Wart treatment isn’t always successful. Even after a wart shrinks or disappears, warts may return or spread to other parts of the body. This is because most treatments only destroy the wart and don’t kill the virus that causes the wart.

Treating the warts yourself

Many people don’t treat warts unless they are unsightly or painful. You can treat warts yourself with:

If your child has a wart, treatment probably isn’t needed. That’s because warts often go away on their own. But if the wart is on your child’s face or genitals or is painful or spreading, your child should see a doctor for treatment. Otherwise, it is usually safe to treat a wart at home with duct tape or salicylic acid. If the wart doesn’t start to improve within 2 weeks, see your doctor.

For more information, see Home Treatment.

If you have diabetes or peripheral arterial disease, talk to your doctor before you try home treatment for warts.

Getting treatment from your doctor

Your doctor can treat warts with:

• Cryotherapy. For more information, see Other Treatment.
• Medicines, such as retinoid cream, cantharidin, or imiquimod.
• Surgery, such as electrosurgery and curettage and laser surgery.
• Chemical peels with glycolic acid, tretinoin, or a stronger formula of salicylic acid.

What to think about

It’s important to distinguish a plantar wart from a callus before choosing a treatment. Wart treatment applied to a callus may be painful or create scar tissue.

Plantar warts are often hard to treat because they lie beneath the skin. A doctor may need to pare the skin over a wart to help the medicine penetrate the wart.

Before treating your warts, think about:

• The potential for scarring. Scarring is the most important thing to think about when choosing a wart treatment. Scarring from treatment may be permanent and can be as painful as the wart itself. The bottom of the foot is especially sensitive, a consideration in the case of plantar warts. And scarring changes the way your skin looks. Treatments that are less likely to leave a scar include salicylic acid, cryotherapy, and laser surgery.
• The cost. Home treatment is often as effective as treatment by a doctor. And it costs less. But home treatment may take longer. Less expensive home treatments include tape occlusion (duct tape) and nonprescription salicylic acid.
• Your ability to tolerate pain. Quicker but more painful methods include some topical medicines (such as cantharidin) and cryotherapy.
• Your risk of infection. Treatment can sometimes cause infection. If you have an impaired immune system or a condition such as diabetes or peripheral arterial disease, discuss your increased risk of infection with your doctor. You may need to take special precautions.
• Your history of recurrent warts. If you have a history of warts that come back, you may want to talk with your doctor about more aggressive treatment methods.
• The location and number of warts. Large areas covered by warts may be better treated with salicylic acid than with more painful, potentially scarring methods.
• Your age. Painful treatments, such as cryotherapy, may not be appropriate for young children. If you are older than age 60 and have never had warts, you may want to see a doctor to check any skin growths for skin cancer.
• The time needed for treatment. Topical (putting medicine on the wart) treatment is often slower than surgical treatment. Some treatment methods, such as immunotherapy applied by a health professional, require repeated office visits. In such cases, the expense and inconvenience may outweigh the benefits of treatment.

Prevention

The main way to prevent warts is to avoid contact with the human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes warts. If you are exposed to this virus, you may or may not get warts, depending on how susceptible you are to the virus.

Tips on avoiding the human papillomavirus

• Avoid touching warts on yourself or others.
• Don’t share razors, towels, socks, or shoes with another person. Someone with no visible warts can still be carrying the virus.
• Avoid walking barefoot on warm, moist surfaces where the wart virus may be alive. Wear shower shoes when using public showers, locker rooms, or pool areas.
• Keep your feet dry. If your feet sweat heavily, wear socks that absorb moisture or wick it away from the skin.
• Avoid irritating the soles of your feet. Warts grow more easily if your skin has been injured or broken in some way.

Tips on preventing warts from spreading

• Keep warts covered with a bandage or athletic tape.
• Don’t bite your nails or cuticles, as this may spread warts from one finger to another.

Self-Care

Home treatment is often the first treatment used for warts. When done properly, home treatment is usually less painful than surgical treatment.

Home treatment includes:

• Salicylic acid, which is currently considered the most desirable wart treatment, based on its effectiveness and safety. The treatment takes 2 to 3 months. Salicylic acid formulas include Compound W and Occlusal. Ask your doctor about how to use salicylic acid.
• Tape occlusion (duct tape), in which you use duct tape to cover the wart for a period of time. This treatment takes 1 to 2 months.
• Over-the-counter cryotherapy. There are home cryotherapy kits that you can buy without a prescription, such as Dr. Scholl’s Freeze Away. These treatments may be safe for warts on the hands or feet but not for genital warts. Follow all instructions carefully.

If you are uncertain that a skin growth is a wart, or if you have diabetes, peripheral arterial disease, or other major illnesses that may affect your treatment, it is best to see a health professional.

Reducing plantar wart pain

You can reduce plantar wart pain by:

• Wearing comfortable shoes and socks. Avoid high heels or shoes that increase pressure on your foot.
• Padding the wart with doughnut-shaped felt or a moleskin patch that can be purchased at drugstores. Place the pad around the plantar wart so that it relieves pressure on the wart. Also, consider placing pads or cushions in your shoes to make walking more comfortable.
• Using nonprescription medicines, such as aspirin, ibuprofen (such as Advil), or acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) to help relieve pain. Do not give aspirin to anyone younger than 20, because of the risk of Reye syndrome, a serious but rare illness. Be safe with medicines. Read and follow all instructions on the label.

What to think about

Salicylic acid treatments are often effective. They aren’t very painful, aren’t very expensive, and usually don’t cause scarring. Salicylic acid is a good treatment for children because it isn’t very painful. For treatment to be successful, salicylic acid must be applied on a regular basis, usually for a number of months.

Folk remedies, such as rubbing a wart with a bean, may have an effect on a wart. But such treatment may simply coincide with the natural disappearance of a wart.

Never cut or burn off a wart yourself.

Medicines

If you decide to treat your warts, both nonprescription and prescription medicines are available.

Nonprescription medicines

Nonprescription medicines include:

• Salicylic acid, which softens the skin layers that form a wart so that they can be rubbed off. Salicylic acid formulas include Compound W and Occlusal.

Prescription medicines

Medicines that your doctor may use or prescribe for you include:

• Retinoid cream (Avita, Retin-A). It disrupts the wart’s skin cell growth.
• Cantharidin (Cantharone, Cantharone Plus). This medicine causes the skin under the wart to blister, lifting the wart off the skin. This medicine is applied to the wart at your doctor’s office.
• Immunotherapy medicines, which help your body’s immune system fight viruses, including the human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes warts. These medicines may include imiquimod, contact sensitizers, and interferon.
• Bleomycin injection, which destroys the skin containing the wart. But bleomycin isn’t often used, because it is painful during and after the injection.

What to think about

Other medicines used for warts include 5-fluorouracil, which is more often used on genital warts, and cimetidine. Cimetidine can be taken by mouth (orally) or as an injection.

As with any medicine, talk to your doctor before using a wart medicine if you are or may be pregnant. Some wart medicines may cause birth defects.

Surgery

Surgery is an option if home treatment and treatment at your doctor’s office have failed. Surgery for warts is usually quick and effective. No single surgical method is more effective than another in removing warts. Generally, doctors start with the surgical method that is least likely to cause scarring.

Surgery choices

The most common types of surgical treatment for wart removal include:

• Electrosurgery and curettage. Electrosurgery is burning the wart with an electrical current. Curettage is cutting off the wart with a sharp knife or a small, spoon-shaped tool. The two procedures are often used together.
• Laser surgery. Laser surgery burns off the wart with an intense beam of light.

What to think about

A wart may return after surgery, because surgery removes the wart but doesn’t destroy the virus that causes the wart.

The type of surgery used to remove warts depends on the warts’ type, location, and size. Curettage, electrosurgery, and laser surgery are more likely than cryotherapy to leave scars, so they are usually reserved for hard-to-remove or recurring warts. If you have a large area of warts, curettage may not be an effective treatment.

Some surgical treatments may be too painful for some children.

Other Treatment

Cryotherapy, which uses a very cold liquid to freeze a wart, is the most commonly used procedure that doesn’t involve medicine to treat warts. This procedure poses little risk of scarring but can be painful.

Credits

Current as of:
July 2, 2020

Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
Patrice Burgess MD – Family Medicine
Adam Husney MD – Family Medicine
Martin J. Gabica MD – Family Medicine

WHAT THE WART? | Dynamic Foot and Ankle Center

Warts. The condition that is actually as unsightly as its name. While the pesky little growths can appear menacing, they are a benign (noncancerous) problem. Warts can appear on pretty much any part of the body, but it’s no surprise that we treat the ones that occur on feet–specifically plantar warts. These growths can pop up on the sole, heel, or ball of the foot, and are generally easily identifiable. Their rough and spongy appearance makes them stick out, and most are gray, brown, or yellow with dark pinpoints (which are typically tiny capillaries that supply blood to the wart). We know, sounds scary! The good news is, most plantar warts aren’t a very serious health concern, and can go away without treatment with self-care. However, you may need to have them removed by a doctor.

How do plantar warts come about?

Plantar warts can occur when the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) invades the body through the bottom of the feet, typically through cuts or breaks on the skin. This easily contractible virus can live on contaminated surfaces, such as tile floors of public lockers rooms, showers, and swimming pools. In some cases, the plantar warts can be transmitted to the feet from other areas of the body. This is called remote location seeding.

What are the symptoms of plantar warts?

In addition to their rough and spongy appearance, there are a few other characteristics to look out for:

• The growths can appear fleshy and rough.
• Thickened skin (otherwise known as a callus on the foot) over the wart if it has grown inward.
• Pain or tenderness when standing or walking.

Why me?

There are a few risk factors associated with plantar warts, ranging from not-so serious to bigger problem.

• Repeated HPV exposure, like walking barefoot in public locker rooms and common public areas. It makes sense then, that children and teens are susceptible to warts.
• Having a weakened immune system (this can be due to a variety of conditions, from illnesses to immune-suppressing drugs).

When first diagnosed, individuals often feel a “lump” on the bottom of the foot when standing, similar to having a stone in a shoe. 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.

What are the prevention/treatment options?

While these plantar warts are certainly pests, there are a number of ways to get rid of them–from self care to in-office methods.

• As with most conditions, hygiene is key. Always wash your hands if you touch a wart, as they can spread through self-inoculation.

• Keep your feet clean and dry. This is a general rule, since viruses and fungi love wet surfaces.
• Don’t walk barefoot in places you might pick the virus up–bring a pair of sandals along!
• Although tempting, don’t pick or scratch the warts! This will only make it worse.

Treatment

• Salicylic acid has been used for a long time to treat warts. Over the counter products exist, but you may been a prescription-strength wart medication. This solution works by removing layers of the warts over time, and may stimulate your body’s natural immune system response. This medicine should be applied regularly.
• Cryotherapy is done at your doctor’s office. It essentially involved “freezing the wart to death.” Liquid nitrogen is applied to the wart, either with spray or swab. This product can also be found over the counter, but the desired cold temperature needed to effectively kill of warts is only found in a professional’s office. The chemical (liquid nitrogen) will cause a blister to form around the wart, and the dead tissue will eventually fall off. Note: it may take a few cryotherapy sessions to fully get rid of the warts.
• Immune therapy medication/solutions can be applied into the wart. This causes a foreign body reaction and may stimulate your body to fight off the wart.
• Minor surgery is usually not needed, but if treatment isn’t working–it can be a good and effective option.
• Laser therapy can help to burn off tiny blood vessels until the wart falls off.

If you think you might have plantar warts, or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to give our office a call and schedule an appointment. We will work with you to find the most effective treatment option–and help you say goodbye to warts!

How to get rid of warts

Ugly and annoying, warts never seem to go away fast enough. Treating them may help speed their departure.

Warts are generally harmless and often disappear on their own over time, but they’re unsightly, and some, like those found on the soles of the feet, can make walking and exercise painful. Wart removal can be a challenge, but fortunately, the most effective treatments are the least invasive.

What are warts anyway?

Warts occur when skin cells grow faster than normal because they are infected with the human papillomavirus (HPV). Among the 150 strains of HPV, about 10 cause cutaneous (skin) warts, including common, plantar, and flat warts (see “Common types of skin warts,” below). Certain other strains cause anal warts and genital warts. Some sexually transmitted types of HPV are implicated in cervical and other genital cancers, but the strains that cause skin warts have rarely been linked to cancer.

All of us come into contact with HPV repeatedly — when we shake hands or touch a doorknob, for example — but only some of us develop warts, and that’s hard to explain. Children and people with immune system abnormalities are particularly vulnerable. For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, so are people in certain occupations, such as meat, fish, and poultry handlers. But the most likely explanation is that some people are simply more prone to warts than others.

Skin warts aren’t highly contagious. They can spread from person to person by direct contact, mainly through breaks in the skin. Theoretically, you can also pick up warts from surfaces such as locker room floors or showers, but there’s no way to know how often this occurs. Warts on one part of the body can be spread to other areas, so it’s important to wash your hands and anything that touches your warts, such as nail files or pumice stones.

A wart virus infection is different from a bacterial infection such as strep throat, which can be caught, treated, and eradicated because it progresses in a distinct, reliable pattern. The ways of warts are much less predictable. According to dermatologist Dr. Suzanne Olbricht, “The wart virus resides in the upper layer of the skin, and who knows where or when you picked it up? The virus could have been there for years. Then it makes a wart for reasons we don’t understand. And when the wart goes away, you can still find the virus in the epidermis.”

Treating warts

Studies indicate that about half of warts go away on their own within a year, and two-thirds within two years, so “watchful waiting” is definitely an option for new warts. But some experts recommend immediate treatment to reduce the amount of virus shed into nearby tissue and possibly lower the risk of recurrence. If you prefer not to wait it out, you have several treatment options:

1. Salicylic acid. This is the main ingredient in aspirin, and it should usually be your first choice. According to one study, salicylic acid is the only topical treatment (treatment applied directly to the skin) that clearly outperforms a placebo. (The study, in the August 2011 issue of the British Journal of Dermatology, combined and reanalyzed data from a number of previous studies.) Salicylic acid costs little, has minimal side effects, and comes in various over-the-counter preparations, including liquids, gels, and patches. Concentrations range from 17% to 40% (stronger concentrations should be used only for warts on thicker skin). To treat a wart, soak it for 10 to 15 minutes (you can do this in the shower or bath), file away the dead warty skin with an emery board or pumice stone, and apply the salicylic acid. Do this once or twice a day for 12 weeks. Warts in thick skin, like the bottom of the foot, may respond best to a patch that stays in place for several days. Continuing treatment for a week or two after the wart goes away may help prevent recurrence.
2. Freezing. In this treatment, also called cryotherapy, a clinician swabs or sprays liquid nitrogen onto the wart and a small surrounding area. The extreme cold (which may be as low as –321 F) burns the skin, causing pain, redness, and usually a blister. Getting rid of the wart this way usually takes three or four treatments, one every two to three weeks; any more than that probably won’t help. After the skin has healed, apply salicylic acid to encourage more skin to peel off. Some individual trials have found salicylic acid and cryotherapy to be equally effective, with cure rates of 50% to 70%, but there is some evidence that cryotherapy is particularly effective for hand warts.
3. Duct tape. Although findings have been mixed, anecdotal evidence suggests that this low-risk, low-tech approach may be worth a try. In one study comparing duct tape with cryotherapy, subjects wore duct tape patches over their warts for six days. Then they removed the patches, soaked and filed the warts, left them uncovered overnight, and reapplied the tape in the morning, leaving them in place for another six days. They followed this regimen for two months or until the wart disappeared. In this study, duct tape was about 45% more effective than cryotherapy. Two other studies found no benefit, but those studies used clear duct tape rather than the standard silver type, which is stickier and has a different kind of adhesive. Given this limited evidence, if you plan to try duct tape, it makes sense to use the silver kind. Why duct tape works isn’t clear — it may deprive the wart of oxygen, or perhaps dead skin and viral particles are removed along with the tape. Some people apply salicylic acid before covering the wart with duct tape.
4. Other agents. Warts that don’t respond to standard therapies may be treated with prescription drugs. The topical immunotherapy drug imiquimod (Aldara), a standard therapy for genital warts, can also be used to treat skin warts. Imiquimod is thought to work by causing an allergic response and irritation at the site of the wart. In an approach called intralesional immunotherapy, the wart is injected with a skin-test antigen (such as for mumps or Candida) in people who have demonstrated an immune response to the antigen. Other agents that may be used to treat recalcitrant warts are the chemotherapy drugs fluorouracil (5-FU), applied as a cream, and bleomycin, which is injected into the wart. All these treatments have side effects, and the evidence for their effectiveness is limited.
5. Zapping and cutting. The technical name for this treatment is electrodesiccation (or cautery) and curettage. Using local anesthesia, the clinician dries the wart with an electric needle and scrapes it away with a scoop-like instrument called a curette. This usually causes scarring (so does removing the wart with a scalpel, another option). It’s usually reserved for warts that don’t respond to other treatments and should generally be avoided on the soles of the feet.

When to see your clinician

Some skin cancers resemble warts at first. If you have a wart that doesn’t change much in size, color, or shape, you probably don’t need to see a clinician. But if you’re in your 50s and develop new warts, consult a dermatologist. Be suspicious of any wart that bleeds or grows quickly.

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Warts on the foot why do they occur and how to treat

Warts on the feet are common. Approximately 30% of patients come to a dermatologist with this problem.

And only a few know what to do with these growths.

These warts look like a rounded knot of skin that rises slightly above the skin. But sometimes they look different. We will talk about the varieties later.

Mostly warts on the foot appear on the heel. Less often – in other parts.While we are walking, our weight presses on the soles and then neoplasms grow not outward, but inside the leg. From above, they are protected by a dense and hard layer of leather.

Are warts on the feet dangerous?

These growths are incomparable with cancers and usually do not threaten health. They disappear even without treatment.

Of course, they do not disappear in one day or in a week. In most cases, warts stay on the feet for at least 14 days, and only then the immune system eliminates the cause of their appearance.

Unfortunately, sometimes you cannot do without the help of a doctor. Make an appointment with a dermatologist if:

• Growths hurt, bleed or change
• New warts appear
• Neoplasms interfere with daily life
• Immunity weakened due to drugs or diseases

In such situations, the growths rarely disappear on their own, and medical or surgical treatment is necessary.

Why?

To answer, it is important to understand how neoplasms arise.

Causes of the appearance of warts on the feet

Plantar warts grow due to human papillomavirus or HPV. Scientists know over 100 types of this virus.

It has different effects on humans. Most types are harmless – in the worst-case scenario, they cause warts to grow.

But there are also dangerous types of HPV. In rare cases, they provoke the development of genital cancer.

Causes of the appearance of warts on the feet – HPV type 1, 2, 4, 27 and 57.The virus enters the skin. Usually through minor cuts, scrapes, and other damage.

Under the influence of the virus, skin cells mutate and turn into neoplasms.

This does not happen overnight. The incubation period of HPV can last up to six months, and even then it affects the skin in different ways. Depends on immunity. Some family members will grow warts quickly after infection, while others will never develop.

Fortunately, plantar growths are not very contagious, but at the same time they remain a threat even without direct contact.The virus survives in warm and humid environments. That is, on the floor next to the pool or in shared changing rooms. So doctors recommend wearing slippers or other shoes in these rooms.

Plantar warts are especially common in humans:

• Children and adolescents
• With a weak immune system
• Reinfected HPV

They also appear due to:

• Wearing tight and uncomfortable shoes
• Using someone else’s socks or tights
• Heavy sweating on the feet

Outward signs of infection are not always the same – several varieties are known.

What do warts on the foot look like

Not all soles are identical. Therefore, sometimes patients confuse warts with other growths and this interferes with effective treatment.

Fortunately, the signs of viral warts on the foot are easy to remember:

• Small, hard formations, usually at the base of the toes or on the heel
• Dark spots on the skin – superficial blood vessels overflowing with blood
• Rough, hardened skin around a visible patch, from which the wart grows deep into the leg

Other symptoms are also characteristic of these formations.For example, they cause pain and irritation when walking, which often causes gait changes. This is how the body fights the unpleasant sensations of warts. Sometimes patients themselves do not notice these changes.

It is recommended to remove such build-ups.

Why you need to get rid of warts

Up to 90% of new growths on the soles do not affect health and life. A few growths just appeared. And after a couple of months they disappeared. Sometimes people do not have time to visit a doctor, and the warts already disappear, without medication and therapy.And no problems with discomfort.

Unfortunately, not everyone is so lucky.

The remaining 10% of growths can make life extremely difficult – sometimes they cause severe pain when walking and limit mobility.

How to get rid of a wart on the foot ?

The first step is to see a dermatologist. The doctor makes the diagnosis easily.

Treatment is prescribed if education:

• Constantly growing
• Causes the appearance of other neoplasms
• It hurts badly
• Interferes with normal walking

Usually patients like to fight warts with medications and avoid surgery.

Ask a dermatologist about topical plantar growths. There are many such drugs. They gradually destroy the cells of the neoplasms. But they do not give a 100% guarantee.

Medicinal methods act on warts very slowly and sometimes it takes months to remove the growths. Even worse, the growths may return.

Yes, this does not always happen, but such cases are not uncommon. Therefore, for effective treatment of viral warts on the foot, we recommend using one of the operative methods.

There are many therapy options.

How to eliminate warts on the foot and prevent their appearance

Let’s start with an attack on neoplasms.

Doctors remove warts on the foot with operations:

• Laser Coagulation

The doctor burns out the altered skin cells with a powerful beam of light and at the same time bakes the adjacent vessels. The procedure is bloodless and painless. Sometimes it is impossible to remove the entire build-up in one session and you need to visit the doctor several times to completely cleanse the skin.Then the wound on the skin heals for at least a couple of weeks.

• Cryodestruction

The dermatologist freezes the wart tissue with liquid nitrogen. The growth freezes completely. Gradually, the tissues die off, and only a wound remains – after two weeks it goes away. This method has few complications. However, the procedure is prohibited for women during pregnancy and for people with diabetes.

• Surgical excision

The doctor uses local anesthesia and excises the wart with a scalpel.Together with the wart, it also removes a small layer of healthy skin – this is how the complete elimination of the neoplasm is guaranteed. A wound remains. Stitches are applied to it, and after treatment there is always a scar. Due to cosmetic drawbacks, this method is not very popular.

• Immunotherapy

The doctor prescribes drugs to strengthen the immune system – they help the body fight the virus and the growths on the skin disappear. Sometimes doctors give injections into the wart.Or they treat it with a special cream.

• Electrocoagulation

The operation is similar to excision, but is performed not with a scalpel, but with the help of a special device that generates a high-frequency electric current. In fact, the build-up is burned out with electricity. A wound remains. It will crust over and take only a few weeks to heal.

Remember – warts appear due to the human papillomavirus and therefore they will continue to multiply until HPV is defeated.

Pay more attention to prevention.

To reduce the risk of contamination:

• Do not touch the warts or be sure to wash your hands after touching
• Do not go barefoot near swimming pools or changing rooms
• Inspect and wash the soles of your feet every day
• Do not scratch neoplasms
• Do not use one pumice stone for healthy skin and for warts
• Treat scratches and other damage in a timely manner
• Lead a healthy lifestyle
• Wear comfortable, loose-fitting shoes

These simple tips will help protect your body from frequent exposure to HPV.Occasionally, the virus will still sneak in, but in such situations, you need to rely on immunity. As you remember, in most cases the growths do not appear. And if they do, they do not cause discomfort. It is extremely difficult to find a healthy person who regularly suffers from painful and uncomfortable growths on the feet.

Unfortunately, sometimes you cannot do without treatment.

Therefore, it is useful to read about the nearest clinics and find out the cost of removing plantar warts.

Price for treatment of neoplasms on the foot

It is difficult to immediately answer how much it costs to remove warts.

The cost of the operation depends on many factors:

• Procedure type
• Location
• The size of the neoplasm
• Doctor’s experience
• Complications

These are just general points. Sometimes, in addition to paying for the operation, you need to buy a remedy for warts on the foot.

Much depends on the choice of the clinic. Some people choose to have neoplasms removed in beauty salons because of the low cost, but this is not always beneficial.

Remember – if the build-up is not completely eliminated, an additional procedure will be required. It is much easier to immediately remove the wart, albeit at a higher price, than to run to the beautician every day.

Looking for a reliable medical center?

We recommend visiting the Lazersvit clinic.

Our doctors remove warts on the foot with a laser at an affordable price and in a short time.

Advantages of the operation:

A small neoplasm is removed by doctors in just two minutes, and sometimes even faster.Large formations take longer. Sometimes up to 10 minutes.

A ray of light not only destroys the wart, but also disinfects the wound.

• Painlessness

Local anesthesia is done before removal. After which the patient feels nothing.

Heating of the skin bakes the vessels, and the likelihood of bleeding is excluded.

Even after the operation, scars and scars do not remain, although in this matter a lot depends on the patients themselves.With proper care, the skin is restored. Violators of the recommendations of a dermatologist can pay with ugly scars. However, they are not noticeable on the foot.

The Lazersvit clinic employs doctors with 17 years of experience and more. They have accumulated vast experience in identifying dangerous neoplasms, since they managed to examine over 100,000 patients.

Dermatologists remove various formations:

• Moles
• Papillomas
• Condylomas
• Atheromas
• Corns
• Lipomas
• Fats

Even tattoos and spider veins can be easily disposed of here.

Come to Lazersvit and clean the soles of painful warts without pain or bleeding.

Plantar wart removal in Moscow

Plantar warts are masses on the soles that are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). The most common localization of plantar warts is the toes, pads of the soles (metatarsal area) and heels.

What makes plantar warts different from others?

Distinctive features of plantar warts:

• the ability to grow deep into the skin as a result of pressure on the sole during walking, the presence of a higher density due to the maximum keratinization of the skin of the soles;
• large size – plantar warts can reach 2 cm in diameter;
• Soreness when walking and lateral pressure;
• long treatment due to localization and size.

What do plantar warts look like?

Plantar warts are flat, thickened, yellowish, rounded structures that disrupt the structure of the skin pattern of the sole (skin lines). In some cases, “black spots” appear on the surface of plantar warts – this is the result of thrombosed skin capillaries.

How to distinguish a plantar wart from a core callus of the sole?

In the presence of calluses, the skin pattern is preserved, there are no “black spots”, pain occurs with perpendicular pressure on the focus, and not with lateral pressure.In doubtful cases, the doctor can use dermatoscopy – a method of visualizing skin structures at 10–20 times magnification in epiluminescent light using a dermatoscope apparatus. Warts have a characteristic dermatoscopic picture and differ from the picture of corn core.

Predisposing factors for plantar warts:

• foot hyperhidrosis – high humidity;
• long-term wearing of rubber and sports shoes;
• narrow and high-heeled shoes;
• deformity of the foot and toes with flat feet, arthritis, arthrosis.

How do plantar warts appear?

HPV infection with the ingress and penetration of soles into the skin occurs through microtrauma and abrasions, minor abrasions when walking barefoot on sand, earth, in baths, swimming pools, fitness clubs, as well as when using someone else’s slippers, slippers, foot towels, bed linen. A direct route of transmission of the virus is also possible – through direct contact with the patient’s skin.

About a third of cases of plantar warts are capable of self-resolution within 100-120 days or more, but during this time there is a potential danger of infection of family members, there is discomfort and pain when walking, the appearance of multiple plantar warts.Therefore, treatment is necessary to improve the patient’s quality of life and reduce the risk of infecting others.

The main treatment for plantar warts is removal. In some cases (with multiple difficult to treat warts, the presence of immunodeficiency), a specialist may offer immunotropic therapy in the form of taking injections or tablets that help the body fight HPV. Removal of warts in such cases is performed against the background of general treatment.

What are the possible methods for removing plantar warts?

Removal of plantar warts is possible in several ways:

• Cryodestruction – destruction of the wart with cooling agents. Most often, liquid nitrogen is used, the temperature of which is -196 ° C. When exposed to cold, freezing and subsequent thawing of the wart occurs, the formation of a bladder filled with serous fluid or blood. The bladder shrinks after a few days into a necrotic crust, which is subsequently rejected along with the wart.Successful removal of a plantar wart is not always possible in one session, sometimes it is necessary to repeat the procedure 1-2 times. Cryodestruction does not require anesthesia, the exposure time to cold is from 15 to 60 seconds. For cryodestruction, a stick with a cotton swab moistened with liquid nitrogen (“reed”) or a cryodestructor, an apparatus in which nitrogen is supplied to the focus through a conductor in the form of a tube, can be used. The area of ​​exposure to cold and the time of cryodestruction is determined individually, depending on the size and depth of germination of the wart, the thickness of the epidermis.This method does not allow the patient to get rid of the plantar wart in one session. Contraindication – cold allergy.
• Laser wart removal. Performed in 1 session using pulsed dye lasers. Removal is non-contact, effective, can be carried out with and without anesthesia. After laser treatment of the focus, a dense crust is preserved – a scab, which is rejected after 5-14 days. Contraindications to laser removal are cancer, decompensation of cardiac activity and diabetes mellitus, pregnancy and lactation, epilepsy.
• Radio wave removal and diathermocoagulation of warts. Technically, the methods are similar: they are performed after anesthesia with local anesthetics for 10–40 minutes (depending on the number of warts). In the first case, the Surgitron apparatus is used, which generates electromagnetic oscillations of a certain frequency, in the second, an apparatus that generates high-frequency currents. A contraindication for these methods is the presence in the body of any metals – pacemakers and metal implants, as well as certain cardiac arrhythmias.After removal of plantar warts with these methods, wound care with antiseptic agents is required. The healing process takes 2-4 weeks.
• Surgical removal of a wart. It is performed after local anesthesia with solutions of novocaine, lidocaine, ultracaine, etc. The plantar wart is excised with a scalpel or scraped out with a sharp Volkman spoon – a special surgical instrument. After removing warts in this way, the patient needs dressings with the use of external antiseptics and wound-healing ointments.
• Chemical destruction of plantar warts. Destruction is possible, but it is performed repeatedly, the resolution of warts passes after a certain time – sometimes 2 months or more. To remove warts, products are used that contain salicylic acid, lactic acid, trichloroacetic acid, nitric acid in certain concentrations, as well as alkali solutions. Before each application of external agents, a hot soap and soda bath is required and mechanical removal of the destroyed upper part of the epidermis with a pumice stone or a foot file.
• Local removal. Removal of plantar warts using local immunotropic agents 5% ointment with fluorouracil and ointment with imiquimod is possible, but inferior in the quality of treatment and the speed of achieving the effect of hardware removal techniques.
• With bleomycin. The introduction of bleomycin into the lesions is used extremely rarely, usually when other methods of removing plantar warts are ineffective.

What prophylaxis methods are recommended for patients with plantar warts?

To prevent the appearance of plantar warts, patients are advised to:

• Observe hygiene of the skin of the feet.To do this, you need to wash your feet daily with soap, use individual towels and washcloths, shoes, change socks daily, wash and change the towels for your feet in a timely manner.
• Attend public places (baths, saunas, swimming pools, fitness clubs) in appropriate shoes.
• Have customized pedicure tools.
• Choose comfortable shoes, sports shoes and rubber shoes only for their intended purpose.

To prevent the appearance of plantar warts, in case of trauma, it is necessary to treat these places of the skin of the soles with antiseptics in a timely manner: a solution of chlorhexidine, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, promptly treat cracks in the soles and eliminate hyperhidrosis of the feet.

This article is posted solely for informational purposes only for educational purposes and is not scientific material
or professional medical advice. See your doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

Removal of the wart. Types of warts and methods of removal.

Wart is a benign neoplasm caused by human papillomavirus infection. The infection is transmitted through contact with the patient or with the patient’s things, common items.Reduced immunity and stress increase the risk of warts.

Main types of warts

• Common warts
  Appear, as a rule, on any part of the body, have a rounded shape and a rough surface, grayish tint.
• Plantar warts
  They form on the soles of the feet and are a common cause of pain and discomfort while walking. Warts are similar to calluses, but are composed of bundles of filiform papillae surrounded by horny layers.
• Juvenile or flat warts
  Juvenile warts usually grow on the hands, face, or thighs.Mostly subtle, pink, brown or slightly yellow.
• Filiform warts
  Filiform warts can appear anywhere on the skin. They differ in their small size and shape, similar to an elongated thread.

There is also a type of wart that forms mainly in the area of ​​the nails, making it difficult for them to grow and causing constant pain to its wearer.

Indications for wart removal

A doctor can prescribe an operation if the wart hurts or bleeds, has significantly increased in size, changes its shape and shade.Great discomfort in some cases can also be the reason for the removal of the wart.

A weighty argument in favor of the operation is the prevention of the formation of new warts in the existing area.

Operations to remove warts

Today, wart removal is a quick and effective procedure. The most common types of wart surgery:

Surgical operation (excision)
Performed under local anesthesia.The wart is excised with a scalpel, stitches are applied, and they are removed after a week. It is important to note that there is a risk of new warts appearing during excision, as the virus that causes them remains in the body. Currently, this method is used extremely rarely, since it is traumatic enough and does not guarantee the absence of relapses.

Laser surgery
Laser surgery uses an intense beam of light (laser) to burn and destroy the wart tissue.The procedure is performed under general or local anesthesia, depending on the number of warts to be removed. It should be noted that laser surgery is not a guarantee that the wart will not reappear – an intense beam of light affects the warts.

Electrocoagulation
A procedure in which a high frequency current is passed through the wart, which destroys its tissue. The dead tissue is removed with a scalpel or a special spoon-shaped instrument.

Cryotherapy
In cryotherapy, the wart and the adjacent skin area are frozen with liquid nitrogen.After that, the wart is removed without obvious signs of interference. But if the wart is large and spreads to the subcutaneous tissue, then this method is ineffective.

The choice of a method for removing a wart remains solely with the attending physician and depends on the type of wart, its location and size. It should be borne in mind that regardless of the decision to apply a particular procedure, the patient will need to undergo a medication course to normalize immunity. Otherwise, the warts may reappear.

Viral warts – SPB GBUZ “Dermatovenerologic dispensary No. 4”

Viral wart is a predominantly benign neoplasm of the skin that looks like a nodule or papilla. It is caused by various viruses of human papillomatosis.

Distinguish between common warts, flat, senile and genital warts. Warts begin to appear 2.5 months after infection.

Common (vulgar) warts look like dense dry limited painless keratinized eminences with an uneven fleecy surface (resulting from a strong growth according to

superficial layers of the epithelium and the underlying papillary layer of the skin), ranging in size from a pinhead to a pea.They can coalesce to form large plaques. Warts are most often located on the hands, less often on the face. A kind of warts – appear in places of pressure of shoes, especially in those who sweat a lot. Plantar warts, very dense, keratinous, gray-dirty color, are very sore, which prevents walking.

Flat or juvenile warts, usually occur in children and young people. They look like rounded or irregularly shaped flat nodules that are located on the back of the hands, as well as on the skin of the face.Irritation of the skin contributes to the appearance of flat warts (occur during scratches, cuts, etc.)

Senile warts develop in the elderly and are not associated with a viral infection. These are plaques of gray, brown or black color, covered with loose, saturated with sebum, horny masses. Are located on the face, neck, trunk.

Genital warts look like tiny pink nodules, which merge to look like cockscombs or cauliflower.They are soft to the touch, get wet, crack, and can produce a stench. More often develop on the genitals, in the groin and intergluteal folds with unclean skin.

Since warts may resemble some other skin neoplasms, which sometimes have an unfavorable course, when a wart appears, a consultation with a dermatologist is necessary, which you can get at KVD No. 4 of the Primorsky District. The doctor will choose the method for removing the wart:

Danilov Sergey Sergeevich

90,000 Causes of warts and how to remove them

Wart (papilloma) is a benign neoplasm that appears on the skin due to the entry of the papilloma virus into the body.Contagious and transmitted by contact. In addition to their non-aesthetics and discomfort, warts can lead to complications. As an example – malignancy of a neoplasm due to the influence of external factors.

The presence of warts is a serious reason to think about the state of health. Typically, the virus infects people with weakened immunity, as well as those who are exposed to constant stress and overwork.

How to recognize a wart?

Wart is a formation on the skin that differs in color from the skin.They are often formed in groups, and the place of localization can be very diverse: palms, face, soles of the feet, etc. To the touch, the formation can be both rough and smooth and flat.

The types of formations depend on the type of papilloma of the virus and their localization:

• Common (vulgar) – a common, painless, hemispheric lumpy nodule that rises above the surface of the skin. They differ in pronounced borders, the color varies from pink to grayish-white. Most often located on the hands, but can also be found on other parts of the body.
• Plantar – painful dense formations in the form of a flat plaque, their size can reach up to 4 cm.The color is yellowish or dark gray.
• Flat (youthful) – usually formed in adolescence, are flat irregular plaques, slightly protruding above the surface of the skin. They appear on the hands, face, knees and the back of the hand, in places of scratches and injuries, their surface quickly coarsens. If it occurs under the nails, they cause noticeable discomfort.
• Filiform (acrochords) – elongated cylindrical formations, initially similar to cones. They gradually increase and take on a threadlike shape. Elastic and soft to the touch, the color ranges from flesh to yellowish. They appear more often in the elderly.
• Butcher’s warts are typical for people who are constantly in contact with raw meat. Elbows and hands are usually affected, and the virus enters through small lesions on the skin. They are painless convex formations, color from white to light brown.
• Genital warts (anogenital warts) are benign growths similar to cauliflower. Soft to the touch, pinkish color. Formed on the genital mucosa, sometimes on the tongue and the inside of the cheeks. They grow into groups very quickly.
• Senile (seborrheic keratosis) – growth of the stratum corneum, the only type that does not arise from the papilloma virus. Formations are formed in several stages. Yellow-brown spots appear at the same level with the surface of the skin.Then nodules form, which turn into brown hemispheres with an uneven surface and covered with scales. Gradually, the warts become covered with the cornea and coarse.

Causes of papillomas

The appearance of warts is associated with the ingestion of the papilloma virus. You can get infected in such cases:

• direct contact with an infected person – kissing, shaking hands or touching;
• use of common household items – towels, combs, handrails, exercise equipment, etc.etc .;
• Wearing someone else’s shoes and walking barefoot in the pool causes the appearance of plantar formations;
• during sexual intercourse;
• when epilating or shaving;

90,025 babies can get airway masses from the mother during childbirth.

The source of infection is both a sick person and a carrier without obvious manifestations of the disease. For the virus to enter the body, a small damage to the human skin is enough – cracks, cuts or abrasions.Warts grow in people with weakened immunity, in healthy people, the virus is neutralized and eliminated from the body completely within six months or a year.

Human papillomavirus and warts

The human body is prone to the appearance of papillomas, while the latent period of infection can vary from two weeks to six months. During this period, you can become infected with several types of the virus at the same time. Exposure to the environment, interference from outside factors and a decrease in immunity activate the papilloma virus.It increases intensively and manifests itself on the surface of the skin. The factors provoking its appearance include:

• taking hormonal drugs;

90 025 frequent stress and overwork;

90,025 physical exhaustion;

• vitamin deficiency;
• gestation period;
• the presence of severe genetic diseases;
• menopause period.

When the virus is activated, the warts appear instantly and grow rapidly due to the accelerated growth of the upper layers.The appearance of new warts will not keep you waiting, so they should be treated without delay. Delay in treatment leads to complications. An active effect on formations in the form of friction, pressure can lead to malignancy – the acquisition of malignancy of the formation.

The disappearance of warts does not mean complete recovery, they can appear again after a certain period of time. Together with the treatment of warts, it is necessary to raise your immunity and take measures to get rid of viral particles.Inflammation or trauma of the wart is an indicator for its removal. And any changes in the condition of the formations (too dark color, the appearance of inclusions and an increase in size) is a serious reason to visit a doctor.

How to get rid of papilloma?

Treatment and removal of warts in Tula is carried out by specialists dermatologist and oncologist (in case of malignancy), urologist or venereologist (with the appearance of genital formations, warts in the intimate area). The therapy used assumes only an integrated approach with the appointment of vitamin-mineral, sedative and immunity-enhancing drugs.One removal does not serve as an indicator of recovery; after a while, the formations may appear again.

The following factors may become a mandatory reason for visiting a doctor:

• neoplasms are localized in the intimate area;
• uneven color, constant itching and bleeding in warts;
• soreness or trauma on the formations;
• a sharp increase in the number;
• vague boundaries in the neoplasm.

Note that treating warts at home can be bad. Folk remedies not only do not contribute to recovery, but also lead to a deterioration in the general condition. For example, skin inflammation or malignancy. All home procedures should be carried out only as prescribed by a doctor with medicines from a pharmacy.

Methods for removing papilloma

In clinics, several methods of eliminating warts are actively practiced.The attending physician will help you choose the appropriate technique and the number of procedures. With a large number of large growths, one visit is not enough, single small warts are removed in one visit.

Laser treatment

Laser wart removal in Tula is one of the fastest and most painless methods. The laser beam acts on the affected area pointwise, heating the cells of the wart and evaporating their liquid. Drying of the build-up takes a few seconds, the capillaries are clogged, and bleeding does not occur.For procedures on the face, a soft grinding laser is used, which excludes the appearance of a scar.

This method is suitable for all areas of the body where the cosmetic issue comes first. Growths less than 1 mm and an area of ​​up to 1 cm are removed in one procedure; for large formations, several procedures are required. One procedure takes 3-5 minutes, and the recovery period is less than a week.

The following points may be a contraindication to the method:

• purulent inflammation in the area of ​​neoplasms;
• weak immunity;
• malignant changes in the wart.

After the procedure for the removal of papillomas with a laser in Tula, in a couple of hours, redness appears around the wart, swelling and pain. This is due to the body’s reaction to cell death, all symptoms will pass by themselves after 1-3 days. A dry crust remains on the treated area that does not require additional maintenance. After 5-7 days, it will peel off on its own.

Surgical removal

The operation is performed by a dermatological surgeon, the papilloma is excised with a scalpel along with the root and a cosmetic suture is applied.The entire procedure is performed under local anesthesia. After the operation, careful care of the suture is required; its healing time reaches two weeks.

This method removes warts of any size. It is also used when there is a suspicion of malignancy of the formation, with constant injury or inflammation of the wart.

Contraindications:

• the presence of infectious diseases;
• severe pathologies of the heart, kidneys, liver;
• poor blood clotting.

For proper maintenance it is necessary to treat the joint with hydrogen peroxide. The remaining liquid is removed with a sterile napkin, then treated with brilliant green or fucorcin. If necessary, the seam is covered with a sterile gauze napkin and secured with a plaster.

Cryodestruction

Implies destruction of papilloma with liquid nitrogen. It is applied to the wart with an applicator and the formations are frozen at a temperature of minus 196 degrees. Under the influence of nitrogen, the water in the formations turns into ice, its crystals grow and destroy the cell walls.The procedure time depends on the size of the papilloma: for small ones, 5 seconds are enough, processing for large ones can take up to 30 seconds.

The method is suitable for filiform and plantar warts, with frequent trauma to formations, the appearance of children. Do not use with a strong decrease in immunity and in the face area.

After 15-20 minutes, a bubble with a transparent or reddish liquid forms on the treated area. The appearance of edema, pain and redness is considered a normal reaction, it goes away after 2-3 days.The bubble does not smear and does not open, for 3-5 days it will burst itself. During this time, new young skin forms under it.

Electrocoagulation

Removal by electric current. The area of ​​the wart is excised with an electric knife or a loop to healthy tissue. The heated instrument seals the blood vessels, which completely eliminates bleeding. The duration of the procedure takes 5-10 minutes, the method is suitable for removing formations up to 1 cm. Since the depth of tissue destruction is equal to the diameter of the formation, and after removing large elements, a notch will remain on the skin.

Contraindications:

• the period of pregnancy and lactation;
• poor blood clotting;
• the presence of inflammation in the wart area;
• individual intolerance to anesthetics and electrical procedures;
• Tendency to form keloid scars.

A crust forms at the site of removal, it must not be wetted or removed. Treatment is carried out twice a day with a 5% solution of potassium permanganate or Baneocin powder.After 7-9 days, the crust will go away by itself.

90,000 causes of occurrence, under what diseases occur, diagnostics and methods of treatment

IMPORTANT!

The information in this section cannot be used for self-diagnosis and self-medication. In case of pain or other exacerbation of the disease, diagnostic tests should be prescribed only by the attending physician. For a diagnosis and correct treatment, you should contact your doctor.

Warts are benign skin growths caused by human papillomaviruses. They are single or multiple medium-sized convex seals on the skin or mucous membranes, sometimes accompanied by painful sensations when pressed.

The transmission of the papilloma virus occurs through household contact or sexually.

The presence of favorable factors (damage to the skin or mucous membranes, decreased immunity) contributes to the penetration of the virus into the body and its activation.

One of the types of papillomas includes anogenital warts (localized in the genitals and anus), which are accompanied by itching, soreness and bleeding during bowel movements, intercourse or urination.

Varieties of warts

1. Vulgar (common) warts are multiple and painless, most often localized on the back of the hands.
2. Plantar warts are dense, often painful, round plaques that develop on the skin of the soles of the feet.
3. Mosaic warts – foci of thickening of the skin, localized in the forefoot, covered with deep cracks.
4. Cystic warts – formations in the form of soft nodules with cracks on the surface, when opened, a white-yellow curdled content is released; localized on the inside of the foot.
5. Flat warts are small multiple protrusions localized on the back of the hands, forearms, on the face and mucous membranes.
6. Filiform warts are thin outgrowths localized around the mouth, nose and eyes.
7. “Butcher’s warts” are warty growths that resemble cauliflower in shape and are localized on the back of the hands and on the fingers of people who have professional contact with meat.
8. Focal epithelial hyperplasia is a benign focal tumor of the mouth, represented by light growths of the mucous membrane of the oral cavity, gums, palate, cheeks and tongue.
9. Epidermodysplasia verruciformis is a hereditary disease, manifested by multiple age spots and flat warts, which tend to merge and spread over the surface of the back of the hands, forearms, legs, and less often the face.
10. Anogenital (venereal) warts – papules or nodules localized in the area of ​​the inner layer of the foreskin, the external opening of the urethra, in the perineum and anal region.

Each pigmented lesion on the skin should be examined for differential diagnosis with melanoma (skin cancer).

Which doctors should I contact?

The choice of a specialist for the diagnosis and treatment of neoplasms depends on the location of the warts. If warts appear on the skin, you should consult a dermatologist. If the warts are localized in the perineal region, then women need to consult a doctor
a gynecologist, and for men – a doctor
urologist.Consultation with a proctologist will be required if there are warts in the anal area. All patients are recommended to consult an immunologist and an infectious disease doctor.

Diagnostics

1. Determination of human papillomavirus in scraping of epithelial cells of the urogenital tract, oropharynx, rectum.

Treatment

The choice of the method of treatment and the removal of warts is carried out by a doctor in a medical institution.

Depending on the type of warts, the doctor may prescribe the following treatments or a combination of them:

Physical methods for removing warts

– electrocoagulation – a procedure aimed at cauterization of soft tissues with subsequent removal of the neoplasm;

– cryodestruction – freezing of a neoplasm using liquid nitrogen, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide;

– laser destruction – removal of soft tissue neoplasms with a laser with a certain wavelength;

– radiosurgical destruction – removal of soft tissue neoplasms by a single irradiation of the pathological focus with a high dose of ionizing radiation.

Chemical methods for removing warts

Various preparations based on zinc, copper nitrate trihydrate, acetic, oxalic, lactic acids, etc., are prescribed by a doctor according to indications.

Immunomodulators – more often used for local treatment of anogenital warts.

Immunostimulating therapy is not prescribed if a malignant process is suspected!

What to do on your own?

If warts appear, you should see a specialist to identify the cause, determine the type of virus and start treatment.

Since the human papillomavirus can provoke the development of oncological diseases, the doctor may recommend vaccination against HPV with vaccines registered in the Russian Federation.

IMPORTANT!

The information in this section cannot be used for self-diagnosis and self-medication. In case of pain or other exacerbation of the disease, diagnostic tests should be prescribed only by the attending physician. For a diagnosis and correct treatment, you should contact your doctor.

Information checked by expert

Lishova Ekaterina Alexandrovna

Higher medical education, work experience – 19 years

Removal of neoplasms with nitrogen

Removal of warts and other neoplasms with nitrogen.

Warts are skin growths, usually benign, caused by the human papillomavirus. Regardless of the localization, there is always a desire to get rid of them. Such a gentle method of treatment is especially often used – it is to remove warts with liquid nitrogen, which is most optimal for any of their types.

Liquid nitrogen is a transparent liquid, odorless and colorless with a boiling point of -196 degrees. Removal of warts with nitrogen is based on cryodestruction of biological tissues, that is, their destruction by local rapid exposure to low temperatures arising from the evaporation of liquid nitrogen.

How is the procedure going:

The doctor immerses a wooden stick with a wound cotton swab in a vessel with liquid nitrogen and touches the wart with slight pressure.

The exposure time is usually 5 to 30 seconds. It all depends on the size of the education. For example, large plantar warts require a longer exposure time for the freezing process to affect all layers of the skin. This is necessary in order to definitely induce cryodestruction of cells to remove the papilloma.

After the first “moxibustion” there is usually a short pause.This time is necessary in order to understand how effective the impact was. Usually, the skin turns white after the first cauterization of the wart with liquid nitrogen. After a pause, you can roughly determine how deeply and widely the nitrogen affected the skin. The doctor usually knows if the wart needs to be cauterized again.

Plantar warts are distinguished by the ability to recur (in 30%) at the site of removal, on another part of the same foot, or on the other leg.

Stages of evolution of a wart after cryodestruction

After exposure to liquid nitrogen:

• the wart becomes pale as a result of spasm of small vessels, then becomes white and high density;
• a ring also appears around it in white, which is a signal to stop freezing;
• treatment is accompanied by mild short-term soreness, burning sensation and tingling sensation;
• the severity of these phenomena depends on the location and number of elements;
• 1 minute after freezing, tissue edema and redness occur at the site of exposure, which can persist from 10 minutes to 6 hours;
• within 6-24 hours a bubble forms from the upper epidermal layers, in which fluid accumulates;
• in the future, a dense crust is formed from the necrotic (dead) tissue, which is rejected on its own after 10-12 days, and a pink spot remains in its place;

Complete restoration of skin structures in this place lasts for 3-6 months, sometimes up to 1 year.

Benefits of liquid nitrogen wart removal in BeautyVU.

– Efficiency, short duration and simplicity of the procedure.
– No need for special training.
– Good cosmetic result with minimal risk of rough scars formation.
– No bleeding during procedures.
– Affordable cost of treatment.

In addition to removing moles, papillomas, warts and other neoplasms using liquid nitrogen, BeautyVU, has another effective method of removal – radio wave, using the Surgitron radio wave apparatus.

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