Because the formation is located on the foot, it can cause painful feelings and wart injury. For these reasons, the spine needs to be treated, although there is little chance that the plantar wart alone will go away without more serious treatment.
Unfortunately, getting rid of a wart is still not easy, so it is recommended to see a dermatologist to reduce the risk of infecting other people as well as shorten the time to treat the disease. The use of exclusively folk remedies and independent attempts to get rid of the tumor is undesirable. The plantar wart has a deep root that is almost impossible to remove on its own, so relapses occur. Folk remedies often severely damage the surrounding tissues, which can lead to an increase in the area of the lesion and unpleasant consequences in the form of burns and scars.
Symptoms
If you suspect the appearance of a neoplasm, you should not only know what the plantar wart looks like in the photo, but also remember that the disease has characteristic symptoms:
- palpable itching at the site of formation;
- the size of the warts ranges from a few millimeters to 2 centimeters;
- unlike the corns, the wart is painful;
- bleeding if injured;
- pain when walking.
If you experience similar symptoms, see your doctor immediately. It is easier to prevent the disease than to treat the consequences.
Causes of plantar warts
Plantar warts occur when the foot is affected by human papillomavirus (HPV). The main route of transmission is contact, infection through common objects or directly from person to person. The favorable environment is warm and humid, so it is important to take precautions when visiting the spa, pool, sauna and gym.
Impaired immunity may also be a cause of the occurrence, as human papillomavirus does not show visible manifestations in the normal state.
This type of wart can also occur with microtraumas of the epidermis, dry skin, wearing tight, uncomfortable shoes, and hyperhidrosis. Furthermore, warts on the foot can be caused by a disease that leads to deformity of the foot - arthritis of the joints, osteoarthritis, flat feet, as well as diseases that lead to a violation of the integrity of the skin of the foot: diabetes mellitus, varicose veins. It should be recalled that frequent stress can indirectly influence the development of this disease.
HPV can be acquired randomly during normal barefoot walking on an infected surface; the virus can live for up to several months without a direct carrier. It may not appear for several days or even weeks after entering the body, which is why it is not always possible to know the exact time of the infection.
Diagnostics
To determine the treatment of plantar warts, the dermatologist conducts a number of studies:
- general inspection;
- dermatoscopy;
- PCR diagnostics;
- histological examination.
How to cure plantar warts
When a plantar wart appears, the question arises as to how to cure this tumor. When tumors are uncomfortable and spread quickly, the best solution is to see a dermatologist as soon as possible, choosing the most appropriate treatment option. There are several ways to solve this problem.
The most radical of these is operative: the wart and its roots are surgically removed. This method is not the most effective because the roots of the neoplasm are located in the deep layers of the skin. In some cases, they cannot be completely removed.
Wart removal can be performed by laser and electrocautery as well as cryotherapy.
In addition to removal in medical institutions, plantar warts can also be removed by less radical methods such as ointments, solutions, special patches, and folk remedies. These agents for the removal of plantar warts have several advantages and disadvantages, the main one being the long treatment time.
Removal of plantar warts
One of the most common ways to remove plantar warts is to remove them in specialized hospitals. The dermatologist in the discussion should tell you in detail how to get rid of plantar warts and choose the most appropriate method based on the results of the test. Although thorns are difficult to cure, there is no special tool for their removal, all methods suitable for the treatment of other types of warts are used. Plantar warts can be treated on an outpatient basis, but your doctor may prescribe medications to help remove growths at home.
Surgical removal of warts
Surgery is used in conjunction with other treatments to remove warts. The wart is scraped off with a special scalpel under local anesthesia. After this procedure, if the plantar wart was significant, sutures are placed under the skin, which are removed within a week or two. The wound site is treated with a disinfectant solution and an aseptic dressing is used. There is usually a small scar at the removal site.
The difficulty with this method is that during surgery, the doctor must remove all the roots, otherwise the plantar wart will reappear. Therefore, this method is used today only if all other treatment methods have proved ineffective.
Removal with liquid nitrogen
Removal with liquid nitrogen means exposure of the neoplasm to extremely low temperatures; it is the most common modern and fastest method of treating plantar warts.
The method is based on freezing the tissue of formation. In fact, within the cells of the wart, under extremely low temperatures of -196 degrees Celsius, cracks occur, leading to the death of the wart.
Cryodestruction is performed manually or using hardware. If the wart is large or the procedure is performed on a child, local anesthesia, usually novocaine, will be required.
The exposure time to liquid nitrogen is up to 30 seconds. After the first moxibustion, the physician should take a break to evaluate the effectiveness of the effect and the need for repeated moxibustion.
After freezing, a bubble with a colorless or reddish liquid forms at the site of the wart, indicating the beginning of the inflammatory process. This is a normal reaction to the moxibustion process.
Cryodestruction can be considered painless, but must be repeated several times in the treatment of plantar warts to achieve the final effect. Once the wart falls off, no scar remains.
Benefits of removing liquid nitrogen:
- freezing precludes further spread of the disease to the nearest skin;
- lack of special training;
- the short duration of the procedure;
- the risk of scarring or scarring is minimal.
Disadvantages of the cryodestructure of plantar warts:
- the need for a repeated course due to the large area of the lesion or the size of the wart;
- human factor - the professionalism of the doctor performing this procedure is a guarantee of success. The physician should correctly assess the time and extent of contact of the tissues with nitrogen, otherwise burns may develop;
- the discomfort caused by the swollen bladder and the need to treat it are also considered a disadvantage of the method.
In general, the review of the treatment of plantar warts by the moxibustion method with liquid nitrogen is positive, as it is the simplest, most effective, and affordable method.
Laser removal
Laser removal is considered to be one of the most effective and safest techniques. After laser treatment, the wart ceases to be infectious. The procedure itself is painless, with a special nozzle built into the laser that cools the exposure site. In addition, one or more analgesic injections are given before surgery. The patient usually feels a slight tingling during the procedure. After removal of the neoplasm, no trace remains as the laser directly burns the diseased tissue. The laser method allows maximum control of the depth of exposure, which is unique in each case. Therefore, even in the case of deep tissue lesions, complete removal of the roots is possible, which means that wart growth can be prevented.
The surgery is performed under sterile conditions, there is no direct contact with the skin or the wart, the duration of the surgery is only a few minutes. The positive results of laser-assisted plantar wart removal also make this method the most attractive.
The main disadvantage of laser removal of a plantar wart is the high cost, which usually involves a doctor’s consultation, anesthesia, and the surgery itself. In addition, after removal, the wound heals for a long time and requires hygiene.
Herbal wart treatment
Before treating a plantar wart, you should make sure that the diagnosis is accurate and then proceed with the procedures directly. In addition to surgery, your doctor may prescribe immunotherapy and topical medications.
The need for immunotherapy is usually justified because the disease is caused by a virus that actively develops as the body weakens. Topical immunotherapeutic agents directly target the virus in two ways. In the first case, the drug stimulates the immune system, and in the second, an antigen is injected into the body of the wart, which also activates the immune system so that the wart can disappear more quickly.
Treatment of plantar warts takes quite a long time, it is important not to forget to strengthen the immune system and adhere to hygiene. If you don’t apply removal and treatment, the wart can go away on its own for more than a year, while a person is a source of infection for everyone. You should carefully consider this unpleasant disease and be sure to consult a dermatologist who will definitely tell you how and how to treat plantar warts.
The treatment of plantar warts depends directly on compliance with all hygiene standards and medical regulations, and daily treatment of education is a guarantee of successful recovery.
Home treatment
Any new formation of skin cannot be ignored as cancerous tension increases around the world. Do not ignore the discussion with a professional, you may prescribe treatment for warts at home. In this case, special solutions, ointments and vaccines are usually prescribed for the warts.
Ointments are one of the mildest treatments: they affect the wart itself, resulting in it gradually dying and disappearing. The following types of ointments are used during treatment:
- antiviral ointment;
- acid-based ointment;
- various herbal ointments.
Salicylic acid ointments and oxolin ointments are most commonly prescribed. Any type of ointment is scored on the wart several times a day according to the instructions. When treating plantar warts, it should be evaporated in warm water before use. It is advisable to apply any ointment at night so that you do not have to step on the formation and wash off the ointment.
You can use a salicylic acid patch to get rid of plantar warts at home. This product has cheap and proven effectiveness. The plaster is sold without a prescription in pharmacies, the principle of its use is very simple - a wart is glued with a piece of plaster and an ordinary medical plaster is fixed on top. You should change the patch at regular intervals. It may take about two weeks to remove a small wart, but you can’t leave the wart without the patch for a long time. As the treatment progresses, the area of the wart decreases, after 12 hours it is covered with bark, which then disappears. After a successful treatment, a small pink spot remains on the skin, which should disappear completely over time.
Care should be taken when applying the patch - avoid gluing healthy areas of the skin, otherwise severe irritation may occur. There are contraindications to this method of removing the wart, so the doctor should make the decision to prescribe the patch.
Another way to treat plantar warts at home is hyperthermia. The feet affected by the warts are immersed in the hottest possible water. Such procedures are repeated several times. In some cases, hyperthermia has a positive effect. The mechanism of the procedure is based on the stimulation of small blood vessels in the legs and the activation of local immunity.
A low temperature treatment can be used at home, similar to removing warts with liquid nitrogen. You can use special applicator pens or sprays to do this. As with cryodestruction, multiple applications may be required.
Treatment with folk remedies
Despite the fact that modern medicines are much more effective and help speed up the process of removing plantar warts, the effectiveness of folk remedies cannot be denied. Traditional medicine has vast experience in combating warts, and some methods remain effective.
- Celandine juice is one of the most popular methods for removing thorns. You can use fresh plant juice or buy a collection with celandine at the pharmacy, which contains other herbal extracts in addition to celandine juice. The juice is applied once or twice a day to the affected area.
- Acetic acid, along with various supplements, is also used to remove warts. In addition to the acid, onions and flour are used. It can drip the acid itself directly onto the affected area, but this method is quite dangerous due to the high risk of severe burns.
- Apple cider vinegar: apply a swab soaked in a solution (it is important not to use undiluted vinegar) to the affected area of the skin, treat the area of the skin with a pre-abrasive nail file.
- Garlic is another folk remedy for treating warts. The formation should be rubbed with raw garlic until it is completely gone, but this method can be used for up to three weeks.
- The inside of the banana peel is applied to the affected area of the skin, believed to be able to pull out the wart.
In order to pinpoint the location of the lesion and not touch the adjacent tissue, you can use a piece of adhesive patch. A hole is made in it up to the size of the neoplasm and the adjacent healthy skin remains intact. This will prevent burns and other injuries.
Plantar warts in a child
As people age, they develop immunity to HPV, making children and young people more susceptible to this infection. Most often, the disease affects children older than five years. Your doctor will help you recognize your child’s plantar warts, as in some cases it may resemble an old callus.
Although pediatric plantar warts go away on their own, their treatment should not be ignored, it is also worth remembering that we can infect the whole family and the people around them. A child’s plantar wart almost always causes severe painful discomfort when walking, so it requires immediate treatment and a doctor’s visit. Our service includes proven pediatric dermatologists and reviews of them to help you choose a good specialist for your child.
Because children are sensitive to pain, it is difficult to find therapy. First, you need to use a variety of ointments - affordable, easy to use and effective. Folk remedies are also widely used, the safety of which is undoubted.
Effective methods for removing plantar warts are liquid nitrogen and laser removal. Removing warts with these methods is one of the most radical methods. They are used when solutions and ointments do not produce the desired effect.
After recovery, it is important not to forget about the prevention of plantar warts in children. This strengthens the immune system, careful hygiene and the right comfortable shoes. It should be reminded that the risk of infections is particularly high in public places and from another person, so you should make sure that the child does not walk in someone else’s shoes or barefoot. Any object that has been in direct contact with the formation should be washed thoroughly at high temperatures. All of these actions will help prevent the virus from developing in the future.
Danger
Failure to perform the procedure to remove plantar warts can have serious consequences, such as:
- the appearance of warts on other areas of the skin;
- skin cancer.
Doctors strongly advise you not to self-medicate - cutting, stabbing or cauterizing warts will make the situation worse and lead to new warts.
Risk group
The risk group:
- people with hormonal disorders in the body;
- HIV infected.
Prophylaxis
To prevent plantar warts, we recommend that patients:
- strengthen immunity;
- eat more foods rich in vitamins;
- takes proper care of the skin of the feet;
- do not wear tight shoes, shoes made of synthetic materials;
- do not walk barefoot in public places (changing rooms, showers).