Warts

What are warts?

Warts are skin growths caused by certain strains of the human papillomavirus or HPV. They can appear on your fingers, toes, soles of your feet, genital area, or in places you shave frequently. Warts may increase in size or spread to other areas of your body if left untreated.

Warts commonly found on your feet are called plantar warts. Your risk for developing plantar warts increases if you:

• Often have moist, sweaty feet
• Go barefoot in public showers or swimming areas
• Touch another wart
• Have a weakened immune system (i.e. diabetes)
• Share shoes with someone with a plantar wart

Plantar warts aren’t dangerous, but can be uncomfortable, unsightly, and embarrassing.

What do warts look like?

Warts look like thick, scaly areas of raised skin. They may appear as:

• Small, circular warts
• Clusters of warts
• Rough skin patches
• Flesh-colored, pink, or tan raised spots
• Fleshy, grainy bumps
• Flesh-colored bumps with black dots

Warts look somewhat like calluses, but unlike calluses, warts can be painful when you squeeze them.

What is the treatment for warts?

Sometimes you can get rid of warts using wart freezing kits or other at-home treatments. If plantar warts on your feet persist, the team at the Center for Podiatric Medicine can treat them in-office. They may recommend the following wart removal solutions:

• Blistering warts with Cantharone®
• Burning the wart with topical acids
• Freezing the wart with liquid nitrogen
• Cutting the wart off during minor surgery
• Laser wart removal

The type of wart removal procedure your podiatrist recommends depends on the number of and size of warts, and where they are located. He uses an anesthetic to prevent pain when necessary.

Removing the wart via minimally invasive surgery is usually more effective and requires fewer treatments than topical acid and freezing techniques, but tends to require longer recovery times.

Laser wart removal burns the wart using a laser beam. This procedure works well for large warts or if you have more than one wart in the same area.

Freezing off warts with liquid nitrogen, using topical acids and blistering agents are simple wart removal solutions, but may require more than one treatment to permanently remove a wart.

When you’re ready to get rid of plantar warts once and for all, schedule an appointment with the Center for Podiatric Medicine by phone or online today.