Plantar wart: causes and treatment at home

A plantar wart is a benign growth that develops on the foot, sole, or other parts of the lower extremities. The disease affects people of any age, children, women, men and even pregnant women. The pathological condition has a slow progression and significantly complicates the patient’s quality of life. To eliminate growths on the surface of the skin, various medications are used in the form of ointments and patches, as well as folk remedies. If it is necessary to quickly get rid of a tumor in a hospital setting, hardware technologies are used that eliminate the problem in a few sessions.

Warts - what are they?

Neoplasms of a benign nature of viral etiology that develop on the epithelial and mucous membrane are called warts.
Most often they occur in young people or children, but there are exceptions; they can also appear in older people. All warts clinically have the form of a papule, which in turn is an elevated formation on the skin. Under a microscope it resembles broccoli. It grows deep in the layers of the skin and has enhanced nutrition.

There are the following types of warts:

• vulgar or ordinary type,
• flat type, characteristic of adolescence and childhood,
• plantar warts,
• warts of old age,
• and pointed type (condylomas).

The treatment process affects all types differently, that is, some of them can be quickly treated, and some are eliminated by surgery or laser therapy.

Causes of the disease

The causes of neoplasms on the legs are not fully understood, but it is noted that most often the causative agent of the pathology is the human papillomavirus. It penetrates the body and leads to pathological changes in tissues. Due to the thinness of the skin in the foot area, this area of ​​the body undergoes changes most often.

Infection with the virus occurs from a sick person to a healthy person through contact and household contact. For a long time it remains in the body in a latent form and under certain circumstances is activated. Factors that provoke the development of a viral pathogen in children and adults include the following:

• regular hypothermia of the body;
• frequent stress and nervous tension;
• excessive physical activity on a regular basis;
• weakening of the body’s immune forces due to a lack of vitamins and minerals;
• frequent foot injuries and the presence of small scratches or cracks;
• violation of tissue regeneration;
• Constantly wearing uncomfortable and ill-fitting shoes.

Weakened immunity is the main reason for the development of plantar warts in pregnant women and children.

One of the common reasons is neglect of the rules of personal hygiene, as a result of which pathogenic microorganisms develop on the surface of the skin, causing the appearance of a growth.

Main symptoms

After the human papillomavirus has been introduced into the body, it can remain in an incubation period for up to six months, during which time the person does not feel any changes. The influence of several factors leads to the gradual growth of the tumor. It is at this moment that the first symptoms of pathology appear:

• the affected areas look like small bumps with discolored skin;
• the skin around the tumor may turn red;
• in some cases, swelling is observed at the site of the growth;
• if the tumor has a long root, there is pain when pressing and while walking;
• when growths appear between the fingers, kissing warts form, which are constantly in contact with each other, which leads to injury;
• internal and subcutaneous types of pathology rarely provoke pain and usually have a flat shape.

The localization of growths is different. They can appear on the big toe or little toe, on the foot and between the toes. The intensity of the pain syndrome largely depends on the location of the formation. Children have a hard time enduring the pathology, because due to excessive activity they subject the growth to regular injury.

The most painful are genital warts, which most often form in the area of ​​the external genitalia, but often appear on the legs. They are small in size and pointed in shape, are constantly injured and bleed.

What factors cause warts?

Warts are a contagious infection, that is, the virus is transmitted through direct contact or through the use of other people's bath items. The use of foot hygiene products or someone else's shoes are the main causes of plantar warts. Plus, there must be predisposing reasons for its development, such as microcracks or scratches of the skin.

Plantar papillomatosis does not have a specific localization; it can appear anywhere, but most often it prefers thickened areas. Papillomas can be single or multiple.

What does a wart on the sole of the foot look like?

A wart on the sole looks like a dense formation of varying sizes in the center with a very pronounced affected area, reminiscent of a callus that has grown into the skin. Painful symptoms most often appear when pressing on the wart and can vary in intensity.

Symptoms of a wart:

• At the site of wart formation, the skin becomes rough and rough;
• When walking, a person may feel sharp pain;
• The stratum corneum increases at the site of the wart;
• The presence of black dots in the center, sometimes itching;
• When the skin is damaged, blood appears at the site of wart formation.

The first signs of a wart may appear as follows:

• The appearance of thickening of the skin, which most often itches and hurts when pressed;
• The skin becomes yellow or brown;
• In the center of the wart, a rod consisting of dead cells appears.

Very often, in the absence of timely treatment, a specific odor appears in the area of ​​​​the skin lesion, which cannot be eliminated by simply washing the feet.

Photo of what plantar warts look like:

What are the symptoms of papillomatosis or warts?

Depending on the type, warts are located in different places on the human body and clinically manifest differently. The ordinary type affects the skin of the fingers and the palm of the hand, which is typical for adolescence. Filiform warts love the skin of the neck, face and armpits. The flat type is common among young people and appears as groups on the facial skin that look and feel hard and smooth.

When the first symptoms appear, a serious question arises: “how to get rid of plantar warts?” After all, in people suffering from excessive sweating, they grow very quickly and can reach up to 2 cm in size. And this kind of scale completely interferes with normal walking.

Plantar warts, treatment

There are a number of successfully applied actions that show exactly how to remove a plantar wart in a hospital or at home.

There are several ways to get rid of warts:

• plantar warts treatment with drugs,
• surgical removal of warts,
• laser removal,
• cryocoagulation,
• treatment of plantar warts with folk remedies.

Reduced immunity or chronic somatic diseases (diabetes mellitus, cancer, pernicious anemia, post-operative conditions) are a field for the development of warts. In these situations, urgent removal of plantar warts is appropriate, otherwise it is fraught with complications. The rehabilitation period, that is, skin restoration in such patients, is very slow, so you need to use the most optimal method with a quick healing effect - laser removal.

Treatment with salicylic acid and iodine

There are many reliable recipes for eliminating growths at home. A bottle of salicylic acid is easy to purchase at any pharmacy. The product has a drying property, disinfects well and relieves inflammation.

To remove a plantar wart, a 5-10% solution of the substance is used. Before the procedure, it is advisable to steam your feet in a bath with the addition of soda or laundry soap. Hot water softens the stratum corneum and opens the pores for better penetration of the medicine.

1. It is better to carry out the treatment before bedtime.
2. Dry your feet with a towel and apply acid to the entire surface of the wart, without touching healthy skin.
3. Cover the top with a bandage folded in several layers and secure the bandage.
4. In the morning, remove, wash your foot and apply cream.
5. Treatment must be repeated daily until the defect disappears. Sometimes this takes 1-2 months.

You can use the Salipod patch. It contains sulfur and salicylic acid. Thanks to this, it provides an antiseptic effect and is successfully used to eliminate various skin formations.

Cryodestruction method (cryotherapy)

In fact, this method for getting rid of plantar viral warts is very effective in terms of complete cure and 100% elimination of re-infection. Liquid nitrogen freezes the wart and completely destroys it. Watery blisters appear around it, and the wart itself dies. Within a week, the dead layer is rejected, and a slight inflammation appears in its place, which slowly disappears. If the pain is unbearable, you can apply anesthetics.

Prevention

In order to avoid the occurrence of diseases such as warts on the soles of the feet, simple preventive measures should be followed:

• Regularly saturate the body with beneficial vitamins and microelements that will strengthen the immune system to fight viral damage;
• Eliminate corns and calluses on the soles of the feet in a timely manner;
• If damage to the skin occurs on the sole, the scratches should be treated with an antibacterial agent;
• Avoid walking barefoot in public areas;
• Have individual personal hygiene items;
• Maintain proper foot hygiene; in case of increased sweating, use special preparations to improve the functioning of the sweat glands.

Following simple prevention methods can prevent the development of an unpleasant disease on the soles of the feet.

Is there a cure for plantar warts?

Cantharidin is a drug for the topical treatment of warts. In parallel, using it with salicylic acid - the result is ideal. The pathological neoplasm is smeared with a cotton swab, then the wart dies off. The doctor removes the area, cauterizing it and treating it with antibiotics. After 7 days, complete recovery will occur. There is one caveat - a scar remains.

Imiquimod is another medication that comes in the form of an ointment or cream. The product is based on an antiviral drug that acts on the papilloma virus.

How to treat plantar warts with folk remedies?

There are several ways to eliminate plantar warts, the traditional treatment is as follows:

• raw garlic – rub the wart with raw garlic for a month until it disappears completely,
• great celandine - we make lotions from the freshly squeezed juice 2-3 times a day, repeat the procedure for 3 weeks, during which time the wart disappears,
• chalk - we take regular chalk, crumble it and put it on the wart, tying it with a tight bandage, we carry out the procedure for a month, the result is excellent,
• ginger root and smoldering wormwood leaves - the product has a similar composition to antiviral drugs, so the effect is colossal, within a week the warts were gone.

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Propolis and cornflower seeds

1. Small painful formations can be treated with propolis. You need to measure out a pea-sized piece of raw material, chew it and attach it to the papilloma. Cover with adhesive tape and do not remove the application for several days. Clean the skin with pumice, wash and apply a new portion of propolis. After 4-5 procedures, the growth disappears.
2. Traditional medicine suggests removing tumors with cornflower seeds. A large spoonful of seeds should be crushed into powder, the affected area should be sprinkled with medicine, covered with gauze and bandaged. The product should be applied to steamed skin and not removed for 12 hours. The course of therapy is 2-3 weeks.
3. Good results can be achieved by mixing cornflower seed powder with the same amount of butter or melted lard. The resulting ointment should be used for compresses on warts once a day before bedtime.