What You Need to Know About Plantar Warts

Warts are caused by the HPVs or the Human Papillomaviruses. There are about 100 types of HPV that cause different types of warts, such as genital warts, common warts, flat warts, nail warts, and plantar warts. Plantar warts are rough growths or bumps that form clusters on the heel and balls of the feet. One can get the virus that causes plantar warts if one has cuts or cracks on the skin of the feet and the feet is exposed to places where the HPV virus are often found, such as showers, locker rooms, and swimming pools. But how does one know that the feet already have plantar warts?

It’s a plantar wart!

A picture of plantar wart resembles that of the rough skin on the back of the toad. Sometimes, people with plantar warts think that they only have corns and calluses. This is because plantar warts have rough surfaces similar to corns and calluses. But, unlike corns and calluses, plantar warts have dark points or dots inside the wart. These dots are actually blood vessels. That is, if the plantar warts are cut or sliced, the dots will bleed. Corns and calluses, on the other hand, will not bleed.

Plantar warts are not as contagious are other kinds of warts. And plantar warts rarely lead to life-threatening conditions. But plantar warts can be extremely irritating or excruciatingly painful, especially when the warts have grown big. That is, a person with extensive plantar warts may find it difficult to walk.

Get rid of plantar warts!

The presence of plantar warts has varying effects on the infected person. That is, some people have immune systems that can immediately take care of plantar warts and the HPV that cause them. While other people’s immune systems seem to cope poorly with the presence of plantar warts. If left ignored, these plantar warts can grow as big as an inch or larger and these plantar warts can aggregate to form what is called Mosaic Warts. Thus, there are several plantar wart treatments that one can use.

Cryotherapy is a plantar wart treatment that is carried out by freezing the plantar warts. Due to cold temperatures, the skin tissue, along with plantar warts, is frozen. The viruses that caused the plantar warts are killed. This plantar wart treatment utilizes liquid nitrogen, and the whole process is not as painful as other methods, such as surgical incisions. But this plantar wart treatment may only kill the viruses on the outer skin, not the viruses beneath. Thus, a patient had to have several sessions of cryotherapy to completely remove the plantar warts.

Salicylic acid is another plantar wart treatment. It is an over-the-counter medication that works by inhibiting the growth of the plantar viruses, and by peeling off the infected skin. This plantar wart treatment works best, if, after application, the plantar wart is rubbed with an emery board or pumice stone. Salicylic acid, as a plantar wart treatment, will take almost a month of continuous usage to completely remove the plantar warts.

Other plantar wart treatments include the use of minor surgery, laser surgery, immunotherapy, and other medications. To select the one that will work best, one should first consult the doctor.