plantar wart, or spike, feels like a flat, hard formation on the skin of the foot, which rises slightly above the level of the skin. This type of wart refers to tumors of the epithelium, which are benign in nature, and the diagnosis, as a rule, does not cause difficulties - the main method is dermoscopy. The doctor, using a special device, visually determines the nature of the new formation. Warts can occur on any part of the foot, but they usually form on the tips of the toes, on the heels, that is, in the places of greatest pressure. The photo clearly shows what a plantar wart looks like, its appearance is quite specific and usually leaves no doubt about the diagnosis. The formation has an unpleasant dirty brown or yellow color, characteristic coarse papules are visible that destroy the papillary patterns.
As the formation is located on the foot, this can cause pain and injury to the wart itself. For these reasons, thorns need to be treated, although there is a small chance that a plantar wart will go away on its own without serious treatment.
Unfortunately, it is still not easy to get rid of a wart, so it is recommended to consult a dermatologist to reduce the risk of infecting others, as well as shortening the treatment time of the disease. The use of exclusively folk remedies and independent attempts to get rid of the tumor are undesirable. The plantar wart has a deep root, which is almost impossible to remove on its own, so recurrences occur. Folk remedies often severely injure the surrounding tissues, which can lead to an increase in the area of damage and unpleasant consequences in the form of burns and scarring.
Symptoms
If you suspect 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 warts is from a few millimeters to 2 centimeters;
- unlike corns, a wart brings pain;
- bleeding when injured;
- pain when walking.
If you have similar symptoms, contact your doctor immediately. It is easier to prevent a disease than to deal with the consequences.
Causes of a plantar wart
A plantar wart is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in the foot. The main route of transmission is contact, infection occurs through common objects or directly from person to person. A favorable environment is heat and humidity, so it is important to take precautions when visiting a bath, swimming pool, sauna and gym.
The cause of the occurrence can also be a weakened immune system, since in the normal state the human papillomavirus does not give visible manifestations.
This type of wart can also occur with microtraumas of the epidermis, dry skin, wearing tight and uncomfortable shoes, hyperhidrosis. Also, the causes of a wart on the leg can be diseases that lead 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 remembered that frequent stress can indirectly affect the occurrence of this disease.
HPV can be acquired by accident during normal barefoot walking on an infected surface, the virus can live up to several months without a direct carrier. After entering the body, it may not manifest for several days or even weeks, which is why it is not always possible to know the exact moment of infection.
Diagnosis
To determine how to treat plantar warts, a dermatologist conducts a series of studies:
- general inspection;
- dermoscopy;
- PCR diagnostics;
- histological examination.
How to cure plantar warts
When a plantar wart appears, the question arises of how to cure this neoplasm. When the growths cause excessive discomfort and spread quickly, the best way out is to contact a dermatologist as soon as possible, he will select the most suitable treatment option. There are several ways to resolve this issue.
The most radical of them is the operative one: the wart and its roots are surgically removed. This method is not the most effective, as the roots of the neoplasm are located in the deep layers of the skin. In some cases, it is not possible to remove them completely.
Wart removal can be done with laser and electrocoagulation, in addition to cryotherapy.
In addition to removal in medical institutions, plantar warts can be removed with less radical methods such as ointments, solutions, special patches and folk remedies. These means of removing 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 have them removed at specialized medical institutions. The dermatologist at the consultation should tell you in detail how to get rid of plantar warts and, based on the results of the examination, choose the most suitable method. Despite the fact that thorns are difficult to cure, there are no special specific ways to remove them; all relevant methods in treating other types of warts are used. Removal of plantar warts can be done on an outpatient basis, but your doctor may prescribe medication to help you remove the growths at home.
Surgical wart removal
Along with other treatment methods, surgical intervention is used to remove warts. The wart is shaved off with a special scalpel under local anesthesia. After this procedure, if the plantar wart is of considerable size, sutures are made under the skin, which are removed in one to two weeks. The wound site is treated with a disinfectant solution and an aseptic bandage is applied. There is usually a small scar at the removal site.
The difficulty with this method is that the doctor must remove all the roots during the operation, otherwise the plantar wart will reappear. Therefore, this method is used today only if all other treatment methods are ineffective.
Removal with liquid nitrogen
Removal with liquid nitrogen involves exposing the neoplasm to extremely low temperatures, this is the most common modern and quick way to treat a plantar wart.
The method is based on freezing the formation tissue itself. Indeed, inside the wart cells, under the influence of an extremely low temperature of -196 degrees Celsius, ruptures occur, leading to the death of the wart.
Cryodestruction is performed manually or by hardware. If the wart is large or the procedure is performed on a child, local anesthesia is necessary.
The exposure time directly to liquid nitrogen is up to 30 seconds. After the first cautery, the clinician should pause to assess the effectiveness of the impact and the need for recauterization.
After freezing, a blister with a colorless or reddish liquid forms at the site of the wart, which indicates the beginning of the inflammatory process. This is a normal reaction to the cauterization procedure.
Cryosurgery is considered painless, but in the treatment of plantar warts, it must be repeated several times to achieve the final effect. After the wart falls off, no scar remains.
The advantages of liquid nitrogen removal are:
- freezing eliminates the spread of the disease to the nearest skin;
- lack of special training;
- short duration of the procedure;
- the risks of developing scarring or scarring are minimal.
The disadvantages of cryodestruction of plantar warts are:
- the need for a second course with a large area of damage or the size of the wart;
- the human factor - the professionalism of the doctor who performs this procedure is a guarantee of success. The physician must correctly assess the time and degree of nitrogen exposure to the tissues, otherwise a burn may occur;
- the discomfort that a swollen bladder brings and the need to process it are also considered disadvantages of the method.
In general, feedback on treating plantar warts by cauterization with liquid nitrogen is positive, as this is the simplest, most effective, and most affordable method.
laser removal
Laser removal is considered to be one of the most effective and safe methods. After laser treatment, the wart is no longer infectious. The procedure itself is painless, a special nozzle is embedded in the laser, which cools the impact site. In addition, one or more anesthetic injections are given before the operation. The patient usually feels a slight tingling sensation during the procedure. After the neoplasm is removed, no trace remains, as the laser directly burns the diseased tissue. The laser method allows maximum control of the exposure depth, which is individual in each case. Therefore, even with deep tissue damage, it is possible to completely remove the roots, which means preventing the wart from re-growing.
The operation takes place under sterile conditions, there is no direct contact with the skin or wart, and the duration of the operation is only a few minutes. The positive results of laser plantar wart removal also make this method the most attractive.
The main disadvantage of laser plantar wart removal is the high cost, which usually includes medical consultation, anesthesia and the operation itself. In addition, the wound after removal heals for a long time and requires compliance with hygiene rules.
Treatment of plantar warts
Before treating a plantar wart, you need to make sure the diagnosis is accurate and then proceed directly to the procedures. In addition to surgery, your doctor may prescribe immunotherapy and topical medications.
The need for immunotherapy, as a rule, is justified, since the disease is caused by a virus, which actively develops in a weakened state of the body. Topical immunotherapies directly affect 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 wart's body, which also activates the immune system, so that the wart disappears faster.
The treatment of a plantar wart takes a long time, it is important not to forget to strengthen the immune system and maintain hygiene. If removal and treatment are not used, the wart may disappear on its own for more than a year, while the person is a source of infection for everyone around. You should carefully consider this unpleasant disease and be sure to contact a dermatologist who will definitely tell you how and how to treat a plantar wart.
The treatment of a plantar wart directly depends on compliance with all hygiene standards and medical prescriptions; the daily treatment of the formation is a guarantee of a successful recovery.
treatment at home
Any new formations on the skin should not be ignored as the strain of cancer is growing across the world. Do not skip the consultation with a specialist, he can prescribe the treatment of a plantar wart at home. In this case, special solutions, ointments and a patch for warts are usually prescribed.
Ointments are one of the gentlest methods of treatment, they act on the wart itself, as a result of which it gradually dies and disappears. The following types of ointments are used in the treatment:
- antiviral ointment;
- acid-based ointment;
- various ointments based on herbal remedies.
Any type of ointment is applied punctually to the wart several times a day, according to the instructions. When treating a plantar wart, before applying the medicine, it must be previously steamed in warm water. 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.
To get rid of plantar warts at home, you can use a special adhesive based on salicylic acid. This tool has a low cost and proven effectiveness. The patch is sold in pharmacies without a prescription, the principle of its use is very simple - a wart is sealed with a piece of patch, and a regular medical patch is fixed on top. You need to change the patch at regular intervals. It can take about two weeks to remove a small wart, and you shouldn't leave the wart without a patch for too long. As the treatment progresses, the wart area shrinks, after 12 hours it becomes covered with a crust, which then disappears. After successful treatment, a small pinkish spot remains on the skin, which should disappear completely over time.
When applying the patch, care should be taken - when applying, healthy areas of the skin should be avoided, otherwise severe irritation may occur. There are contraindications to using this method of wart removal, so the decision to prescribe the patch must be made by the doctor.
Another way to treat plantar warts at home is hyperthermia. Feet affected by warts are immersed in the hottest water possible. Such procedures are repeated several times. In some cases, hyperthermia shows a positive effect. The mechanism of the procedure is based on the excitation of small blood vessels in the legs and the activation of local immunity.
At home, you can use low-temperature treatment by analogy with the removal of warts with liquid nitrogen. To do this, you can use special pen applicators or sprays. As with cryosurgery, multiple applications may be required.
Treatment with folk remedies
Despite the fact that modern medicines are much more effective and with their help the process of removing plantar warts is faster, the effectiveness of treatment with folk remedies cannot be denied. Traditional medicine has accumulated vast experience in fighting warts, and some methods remain effective.
- Celandine juice is one of the most popular ways to remove thorns. You can use the juice of a fresh plant or buy a drug from a pharmacy that contains, in addition to celandine juice, other herbal extracts. The juice is applied once or twice a day to the affected area.
- Acetic acid, along with a number of additional products, is also used to remove warts. In addition to acid, onions and flour are used. You can directly drip the acid itself onto the affected area, but this method is quite dangerous due to the high risk of severe burns.
- Apple cider vinegar: a cotton swab dipped in a solution (it is important not to use undiluted vinegar) is applied to the affected area of the skin, the skin area is preliminarily treated with an abrasive nail file.
- Garlic is another popular remedy for treating warts. Raw garlic must be rubbed into the formation until it completely disappears, but this method cannot be used for more than three weeks.
- The banana peel is applied with the inside to the affected area of the skin, it is believed that it can stretch the wart.
To dot the injury site and not affect adjacent tissues, a piece of masking tape can be used. A hole is made according to the size of the neoplasm, and the adjacent healthy skin remains intact. This prevents burns and other injuries.
Plantar wart in a child
With age, a person develops immunity to HPV, so children and young people are more susceptible to this infection. Most often, the disease affects children over five years of age. A doctor will help to recognize a plantar wart in a child, because in some cases it can resemble an old corn.
Although plantar warts in a child disappear on their own, their treatment should not be ignored, it is also worth remembering the possibility of infecting the whole family and those around them. A plantar wart in a child almost always causes painful discomfort when walking, so it requires immediate treatment and a visit to the doctor.
As children are sensitive to pain, it is very difficult to find therapy. To begin with, it is worth using various ointments - they are affordable, convenient to use and effective. Folk remedies are also widely used, the safety of which cannot be doubted.
Effective methods to remove plantar warts in children are liquid nitrogen and laser removal. Wart removal using these methods is one of the most radical methods. They are used in case solutions and ointments do not have the desired effect.
After treatment, it is important not to forget about the prevention of plantar warts in children. This is strengthening the immune system, careful hygiene, and wearing comfortable, appropriate footwear. It should be remembered that the risk of infection is especially high in public places and from someone else, so you need to ensure that the child does not walk around in someone else's shoes or barefoot. Anything that has come into direct contact with the formation should be washed thoroughly at a high temperature. All these actions will help prevent the development of the virus in the future.
Danger
If the plantar wart removal procedure is not carried out in time, it can lead to serious consequences such as:
- the appearance of warts on other areas of the skin;
- skin cancer.
Doctors strongly advise not to self-medicate - cutting, puncturing or cauterizing warts will worsen the situation and lead to the formation of new warts.
Group of risk
The risk group is:
- people with hormonal disorders in the body;
- infected by HIV.
Prevention
For the prevention of plantar warts, patients are recommended:
- strengthen immunity;
- eat more foods rich in vitamins;
- properly care for the skin of the feet;
- do not wear tight shoes, shoes made of synthetic materials;
- in public places (changing rooms, showers) do not go barefoot.