You may have seen or heard of plantar warts. If not, you are in the right place to learn.
Today, we will discuss everything you need to know about plantar warts, including what they are, what they look like, how they are diagnosed, treated, and prevented.
It will help you understand this common wart, its symptoms, avoid its growth and spread, and understand its treatment.
Table of Contents
Everything You Need to Know About Plantar Warts
Here is everything you need to know about plantar warts.
What Are Plantar Warts?
Warts are growths on your skin that are caused by a virus and plantar warts are no exception. Plantar warts, or verrucae warts by their official medical name, are common warts found at the bottom of your feet.
They typically appear on the heels or weight-bearing parts of your feet, even though they have nothing to do with weight and pressure. They are caused by certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) that attach themselves to the bottom of your feet and attack the skin.
These types of HPV are transmitted by direct contact, especially if the feet on your skin have a crack or an opening. HPV is commonly found around swimming pools, saunas, and on the floors of locker rooms, where the environment is moist and warm for it to thrive.
This makes it very easy for people to pick up HPV with their feet and slowly develop plantar warts. Most people will experience plantar warts at least once in their lifetimes.
What Do Plantar Warts Look Like?
Once the plantar wart is fully formed, it looks like a circular flat spot on the bottom of your feet. However, they come in all shapes and sizes. They have a solid border or crust and a middle area that is slightly depressed into the skin. This middle area looks like a fleshy lesion.
The wart may appear yellowish and you may see one or more tiny black spots or blood vessels in the middle area.
Initial symptoms include extreme pain or tenderness when you put pressure on the area of the feet where the plantar wart is. This can typically make it difficult to walk, and you may feel pain with every step you take.
Diagnosis of Plantar Warts
If it looks or feels like you have a plantar wart and you suspect that it is, you should consult your doctor. You should also consult your doctor if the wart is painful or spreading to a different location. They can diagnose plantar warts and even determine a treatment for them.
Often, it can be difficult to tell how deep the wart has grown, and your doctor may recommend a specialist like a dermatologist (skin doctor) or a podiatrist (foot doctor). Doctors can help determine the best combination of treatments and switch your treatment in case the wart returns.
Treatment of Plantar Warts
There are many treatments for plantar warts, including natural and medicinal treatments. Some weak cases of plantar warts may even resolve on their own. However, you should always consult your doctor for treatment.
Plantar wart treatments include:
- Cutting of the wart – curettage
- Cream to burn the wart
- Cream to freeze the wart
- Laser therapy to burn vessels that are feeding the wart
- Essential oils like garlic oil as a natural, alternative treatment
Most cases resolve with the use of creams, while others require a combination of treatments to overcome.
Treatment Duration
Plantar warts are resilient, and you must follow your treatment diligently to ensure complete removal with little chance of recurrence. However, treatment is often lengthy and may take several weeks to remove the plantar wart from your feet completely.
Prevention of Plantar Warts
There are a few ways to prevent plantar warts and avoid spreading.
- Keep your feet covered in warm and moist shared spaces like gyms, swimming pools, and locker rooms.
- An HPV vaccine can help prevent plantar warts but, you must ask and consult your doctor about them.
- If you develop a plantar wart, changing your socks and shoes every day can help prevent its growth, spread, and recurrence.
- If you have plantar warts, you must keep them covered and regularly wash your hands to avoid spreading them to others.
Following these measures will ensure the prevention and spread of plantar warts in your feet and the feet of others.
Conclusion
Plantar warts are a very common problem but they are also treatable. Hence, you shouldn’t worry too much if you develop one. Although, you should seek your doctor’s consultation, ask for treatment, and follow your treatment to a tee.
Of course, prevention is always better than cure, and if you take care of your feet and hygiene, especially in shared, public spaces, you can easily avoid the development of plantar warts in the first place.