Plantar Warts – Foot and Ankle Centers of North Houston

DESCRIPTION

The common wart is known as verruca vulgaris. They are caused by a viral infection of the skin. This occurs as a result of direct contact with the virus. They do not spread through the blood stream. They occur more commonly in children than adults. When they occur on the bottom of the foot, they are called plantar warts. This name is derived from the location of the foot on which they are found; the bottom of the foot is called the plantar aspect of the foot. A common misconception is that plantar warts have seeds or roots that grow through the skin and can attach to the bone. The wart may appear to have a root or seeds, but these are in fact small clusters of the wart just beneath the top layer of the skin. The wart cannot live in any tissue except the skin. Moist, sweaty feet can predispose to infection by the wart virus. They can be picked up in showers and around swimming pools. They are not highly contagious, but being exposed in just the right situation will lead to the development of the wart. Avoiding contact in the general environment is nearly impossible. If a member of the family has the infection, care should be taken to keep shower and tile floor clean. Children who have plantar warts should not share their shoes with other people. Young girls often share shoes with their friends and this should be discouraged.

DIAGNOSIS

The warts have the appearance of thick, scaly skin. They can occur as small, single warts or can cluster into large areas. These clustered warts are called mosaic warts. They often resemble plantar calluses. A simple way to tell the difference between a wart and a callous is to squeeze the lesion between your fingers in a pinching fashion. If this is painful, it is likely that the lesion is a wart. A callous is generally not painful with this maneuver but is tender with direct pressure by pressing directly on the lesion. Othe lesions on the bottom of the foot that are often confused with plantars warts are porokeratoses and inclusion cysts.

TREATMENT

There are a variety of ways to treat warts. The over-the-counter medications have a difficult time penetrating the thick skin on the bottom of the foot, so they do not work well in this area. Professional treatment consists of burning the wart with topical acids, freezing with liquid nitrogen, laser surgery or cutting them out. All methods have the possibility of the wart coming back. Surgical excision of the wart has the highest success rate with a relatively low rate of recurrence. There is some mild discomfort with this procedure and it takes several weeks for the area to completely heal. Normal activity can generally be resumed in a few days depending on the size and number of warts that have been removed. The risks associated with surgical removal of warts are the possibility of infection, or the formation of a scar, which can be painful when weight is applied while walking.
Laser removal of the wart works by burning the wart with a laser beam. The area must be numbed with an anesthetic prior to the procedure. There is little advantage to removing warts with a laser unless the warts are very large (mosaic warts) or there are a large number to be removed. The risks associated with the use of the laser are the same as for cutting the warts out. These risks include infection and the development of a scar after healing. A new type of laser has been developed to treat several different types of skin lesions called the Pulsed Dye Laser. This new laser has promise in the effective treatment of warts.
Freezing the wart with liquid nitrogen is another form of treatment. This form of treatment when the warts are on the bottom of the foot can be very painful and take several days or weeks to heal.
Topical acids can also be a useful means of treating warts. The advantage to this form of treatment is the fact that they are nearly painless and there is no restriction of activity. The down side to this form of treatment is that it frequently requires several treatments and the failure rate is higher than surgical excision of the wart.

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Warts Specialist – Midtown New York, NY: City Podiatry: Podiatrist

What are warts?

Warts are growths caused by viral skin infections. They’re usually smaller than the head of a thumbtack, but they can sometimes grow larger.

Plantar warts develop on the bottom of your feet or on your toes. Other types of warts can appear on the top of your feet as well.

Can warts be prevented?

Different types of warts are caused by different strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can be spread to other people through skin-to-skin contact or by sharing an environment with someone who has a wart. Plantar warts are often transferred through shared shower facilities because the moisture in those environments helps keep the virus alive longer.

Follow these precautions to help prevent warts from spreading:

• Wash hands and feet frequently
• Don’t pick at warts
• Don’t touch your warts or someone else’s

Even if you don’t have plantar warts, it’s a good idea to wear shower shoes in public pools, gyms, and other shared environments.

What are the symptoms of plantar warts?

You may have plantar warts if you have a small growth on the bottom of your foot with any of the following characteristics:

• Tiny dark spots
• Rough or spongy texture
• Scaly appearance
• Pain when walking or standing

If you’re unsure if your growth is a wart or not, it’s a good idea to have an evaluation by the team at City Podiatry to rule out any conditions that can lead to a severe complication.

Can I treat plantar warts at home?

Over-the-counter medications and freezing sprays are available, but these are much less effective than the treatments your doctor can provide. If you’ve tried over-the-counter treatment without success, it’s not advisable to repeat the treatment, as this can aggravate your discomfort.

You should never attempt to cut a wart off on your own. The caring podiatrists at City Podiatry can provide safe, effective treatments for your warts, many of which work quickly to alleviate your discomfort.

How does a podiatrist treat warts?

The experienced podiatrists at City Podiatry offer a range of options for treating warts. These include:

• Prescription-strength salicylic acid
• Canthacur, a more aggressive topical treatment
• Liquid nitrogen freezing
• Laser removal
• Surgical removal
• Swift® microwave therapy

The Swift system uses noninvasive microwave technology to destroy warts without needles or cutting. Laser treatments, as well as surgical options, are minimally invasive outpatient procedures. For more information, call City Podiatry or schedule an evaluation online today.

How I got rid of my daughter’s wart

Case history

11/17/22

This text was written in the Community, it retains the author’s style and spelling

Yulia Gulyaeva

Author profile

I am 30, I am an IT analyst, I live in the Moscow region. I want to tell you about how my daughter was treated with medication, and not removed, a wart on her foot. This is a common disease, but for the first time I came across the fact that it can be cured with medication, without removal.

How the wart appeared

When my daughter was 4 years old, we went on vacation to Turkey in September. Later, my parents came to the same hotel, and my husband and I left, leaving our daughter with her grandparents. She returned with some strange bump on her right foot.

We guessed that it was a wart much later, at the end of January. During this time, the pimple grew and began to cause discomfort when walking for a long time.

How we were offered to remove a wart with liquid nitrogen

We did not apply to the district children’s polyclinic. I knew that nothing good should be expected from her, and it is unlikely that there will be the most modern equipment for painless wart removal. We decided to immediately go to a paid clinic, one of the most expensive in our city.

The dermatologist, having barely looked at her daughter’s leg, concluded that it was a wart. And it needs to be removed, moreover, with liquid nitrogen. It will cost 2000 R, plus a re-admission fee. We left to think.

At the age of 12, I “survived” the removal of a mole from my back with liquid nitrogen. I remember these feelings well… And I definitely don’t want my daughter to experience this at the age of 4. We decided to leave this plan as a last resort.

How we came to treatment without liquid nitrogen

At home, I read about different ways to remove warts, and came to the conclusion that the most painless and fastest is with a laser. It remains to find a clinic that will agree to such a procedure for a child. When removed with a laser, the area around the wart is pierced with an anesthetic, which is not indicated for children of this age. For a second opinion, they turned to my VHI clinic. My daughter is included in my policy.

There the doctor told us that it was treated with the most common simple and cheap oxolin. But not those with which the nose is smeared, but 3%. It is a little less common than the usual one, and costs a little more. 1 tube cost us about 140 R. Plus three packs of patches. It was necessary to put a little oxolin on the wart twice a day and cover it with a band-aid on top. Throughout the month.

We did not take sick leave. They just explained to the teacher in the garden that you need to make sure that the patch does not come off. My parents were skeptical about this treatment. They have never heard of warts being cured. We reassured them that the treatment is safe, why not try it, and we will always have time to remove the wart if the treatment does not work.

How it all ended

The treatment worked. After about a couple of days, the skin on the foot at the point of contact with oxolin turned purple. For three long weeks, it was as if nothing had happened. Then we began to notice that the wart, as it were, began to dry out, then completely disappeared. The purple spot was washed off in about a week.

Not a trace left on the skin. There was no pain. My daughter said that sometimes it itched. The socks sometimes had a purple stain when the patch slipped off. All this took us 5 weeks.

I respected the doctor in that particular clinic. Our good old removal is not the answer to all questions, even in paid and expensive clinics, doctors cannot offer alternatives. We practically agreed to this painful procedure with the subsequent painful healing of the wound. Our task was to find the least painful way for this procedure, and we found much more than we were looking for. I am extremely satisfied. I came to the conclusion that if the proposed options do not suit you, you need to look until you find something that suits you. Of course, if time permits.

Case history. Here readers talk about their illnesses that have affected their lifestyle or attitude to it

Laser hair removal | Price in Moscow

Plantar warts (thorns) in adults and children can form on the fingers, heels and the supporting part of the foot. Over time, warts become thicker and denser, and if left untreated, their size and area of ​​localization increase. Therefore, over time, plantar warts will cause not only psychological discomfort, but also painful sensations.

In addition, they are located in such a way that when wearing shoes they can be injured, causing not only pain, but also bleeding. Removing the spike will eliminate psychological and physical discomfort, restore beauty and health to the feet.

How do plantar warts differ from calluses and corns?

Plantar warts are caused by the human papillomavirus. On the feet, the spines grow slowly. Initially, only a small yellowish spot appears. However, in the active stage, the virus multiplies, so the spot becomes thicker and denser. Over time, new warts may appear, and as they grow, they can combine with each other, forming huge foci. To distinguish a wart from a callus, you need to pay attention to the following signs:

• wart has one main and several child formations;
• the skin in this area is dense, rough and rough;
• the wart is yellowish or whitish;
• Gradually, the neoplasm increases in size, becomes more dense and convex.

In addition, if you remove the stratum corneum from the wart, you can see dark dots. This is the main sign of the presence of the human papillomavirus, which leads to thrombosis of the capillaries.

Benefits of laser hair removal in the clinic “Miracle Doctor”

Clinic “Miracle Doctor” offers professional removal of plantar warts in Moscow at an affordable price. The advantages of treatment in our clinic include the high qualification and professionalism of doctors, the use of innovative equipment and treatment methods. In addition, you do not have to waste time on the queue – the doctor will take you strictly at the agreed time, which is especially important for busy people.

Contraindications

Removal of a spike using laser and other innovative methods allows you to eliminate neoplasms and restore the beauty of your feet. However, even such methods have a number of contraindications, which include:

• blood clotting disorders;
• malignant neoplasms;
• lesions of the central nervous system;
• serious damage to the heart, lungs and other internal organs;
• diabetes mellitus;
• pregnancy and lactation;
• inflammatory diseases.

Only an experienced doctor can identify individual contraindications. That is why it is so important to visit a specialist before treatment.

Preparing for a plantar wart removal procedure

Spinal removal is ordered by a doctor after examining the foot and taking an anamnesis. In this case, the doctor must examine the neoplasm, choose the optimal method of surgical treatment in order to exclude contraindications. Additionally, additional laboratory tests may be prescribed. These include a complete blood count, sugar check, HIV and hepatitis testing.

Techniques for removing the thorn

A plantar wart is a benign neoplasm that causes psychological and physical discomfort. That is why when education appears, its elimination is required. In this case, the following methods can be used:

1. Laser removal of the spine. The most effective treatment for plantar warts. It consists in layer-by-layer removal, which allows you to perform the procedure as painlessly, quickly and safely as possible. Laser removal is carried out in just one procedure and does not require special rehabilitation, so this method is the most popular solution.
2. Cryodestruction. It consists in cauterization of the wart with liquid nitrogen. Several procedures may be required. A bubble forms at the treatment site, so it will be difficult to walk in shoes for several days.
3. Surgical removal. It consists in removing the wart with a scalpel. The downside is the invasiveness of this method and a long recovery period.
4. Electrocoagulation. It consists in burning the wart with a special tool.

Post-procedure period

When using the laser, the patient can return to normal life immediately after the procedure. However, it is recommended to strictly follow the doctor’s recommendations so that inflammation or other side effects do not occur.

First of all, do not remove the crusts that have formed at the site of the wart. This can lead to infection and bleeding. It is necessary to wait until the crust dries and falls off on its own.

Foot hygiene is also important. The site of wart removal should be thoroughly washed with mild products. In this case, do not use a washcloth, pumice and other abrasive products.