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What are they?
Warts are one of the most
misunderstood foot conditions. Usually, these lesions are non-contagious but
can spread within the involved area of the same individual. In actuality,
warts are encapsulated or walled off growths of viral tissue. Plantar warts
on the feet are frequently painful with squeezing type pressure. In the vast
majority of cases, the growth of a wart is preceded by some sort of skin
puncture, wound defect or breakdown in the normal skins defense barrier that
in all probability, allows an entry site for contamination. A lot of
patients report getting warts after showering in a public place or at the
swimming pool. Keeping the foot moist is one of the ways that the skin
breaks down making us susceptible to warts. Once the wart makes a home in
our skin it can spread to other parts of our foot. Whether we all have
inactive or potential wart viruses circulating in our bodies or gain the
virus through the wound is as of yet unclear.
An interesting and often
confusing distinction must be made between certain calluses and plantar
warts. Skin lines or striations can be seen passing through callus tissue
whereas they will pass around a wart. Painful calluses in the ball of the
foot are the commonly misdiagnose as warts. In addition, plantar warts, upon
close examination, will often demonstrate small black dots which when
trimmed will bleed. These are tiny blood vessels, which become caught in the
growth itself and are absent in regular callus tissue. A final line of
distinction in identifying a wart is in its response to pressure. Squeezing
a wart will usually produce extreme pain as opposed to similar pain from
direct pressure on calluses.
How do you treat them?
Warts that appear on the hands and
fingers are usually more responsive to therapy than are those on the feet.
The professional methods of treatment available for plantar warts include
just about everything from chemical applications, surgery to putting duct
tape over the wart. Because there are so many treatments it tells us that
sometimes the treatment works and sometimes it doesn’t. Some warts respond
quickly and some do not. Each foot specialist seems to have his or her own
favorite treatment methods that prove effective in the majority of cases.
Usually the initial treatment is to try topical medication over a 6-10 week
period. During that time it is important to keep the feet dry. There are
certain medications that are giving to try to stop the feet from sweating.
If topical treatments don’t seem to be working or the warts are starting to
spread then there is always trying to excise the warts.
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