plantar wart, or spike, looks like a flat, hard-to-the-touch formation on the skin of the foot, rising slightly above skin level. 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 dermatoscopy. The doctor, using a special device, visually determines the nature of the new formation. Warts can appear anywhere on the foot, but they usually form on the tips of the fingers, 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 thick papules are visible, destroying papillary patterns.
Since the formation is located on the foot, this can lead to pain and wart lesions. For these reasons, the thorn should 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 other people, as well as to reduce the time of treatment 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, which is why relapses occur. Folk remedies often seriously injure the surrounding tissues, which can lead to an increase in the area of damage and unpleasant consequences in the form of burns and scars.
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 the warts is from a few millimeters to 2 centimeters;
- unlike corns, a wart brings pain;
- bleeding when injured;
- pain when walking
If you experience 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 of the foot. The main route of transmission is contact, the 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 appearance 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 microtrauma to 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 foot deformity - arthritis of the joints, osteoarthritis, flat foot, 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 by walking barefoot on an infected surface, the virus can live for up to several months without a direct carrier. After entering the body, it may not manifest itself for several days or even weeks, so it is not always possible to know exactly the time of infection.
Diagnosis
To determine how to treat plantar warts, a dermatologist conducts a series 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 neoplasm. When the growths cause excessive discomfort and spread rapidly, the best way out is to contact a dermatologist as soon as possible, he will select the most appropriate treatment option. There are several ways to solve this problem.
The most radical of them is operational: the wart and its roots are surgically removed. This method is not the most effective, since the roots of the neoplasm are 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, as well as cryotherapy.
In addition to removal in medical institutions, plantar warts can be removed using less radical methods, such as ointments, solutions, special patches, and folk remedies. These means of removing plantar warts have a number of advantages and disadvantages, the main of which is the long treatment time.
Plantar Wart Removal
One of the most common ways to remove plantar warts is to remove them in specialized medical institutions. The dermatologist at the appointment should tell you in detail how to get rid of plantar warts and, based on the results of the examination, choose the most appropriate method. Despite the fact that the thorns are difficult to cure, there are no special specific means to remove them, all methods that are relevant in the treatment of other types of warts are used. Plantar wart removal can be done on an outpatient basis, but your doctor may prescribe remedies to help you remove the growths at home.
Surgical removal of warts
Along with other methods of treatment, surgical intervention is used to remove warts. The wart is scraped off with a special scalpel under local anesthesia. After this procedure, if the plantar wart was of considerable size, stitches are placed 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 extraction 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 methods of treatment have been ineffective.
Liquid nitrogen removal
Liquid nitrogen removal involves exposing the neoplasm to extremely low temperatures, this is the most common, modern and fastest way to treat a plantar wart.
The method is based on freezing the training tissue itself. Indeed, inside the cells of the wart, under the influence of an extremely low temperature of -196 degrees Celsius, ruptures occur, leading to the death of the wart.
Cryodestruction is carried out manually or by hardware. If the wart is large or the procedure is performed on a child, then local anesthesia is necessary.
Exposure time directly to liquid nitrogen is up to 30 seconds. After the first cauterization, the doctor should pause to assess the effectiveness of the impact and the need for a new cauterization.
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 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, there are no scars left.
The advantages of liquid nitrogen removal are:
- freezing eliminates the further spread of the disease to the closest skin;
- lack of special training;
- short duration of the procedure;
- the risks of developing scars or scars are minimal.
The disadvantages of cryodestruction of plantar warts are:
- the need for a second course with a large area of damage or because of the size of the wart;
- the human factor - the professionalism of the doctor who performs this procedure is a guarantee of success. The doctor must correctly assess the time and degree of exposure to nitrogen of the tissues, otherwise a burn may occur;
- the inconvenience that a swollen bladder brings and the need to process it are also considered disadvantages of the method.
In general, reviews about the treatment of plantar warts by cauterization with liquid nitrogen are positive, since this is the simplest, most effective and affordable method.
laser removal
Laser removal is considered 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 built into the laser that 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 removal of the neoplasm, no traces remain, since the laser directly burns the diseased tissue. The laser method allows maximum control of the depth of exposure, which is individual in each case. Therefore, even with deep tissue injuries, it is possible to completely remove the roots, which means preventing the wart from growing back.
The operation is carried out in sterile conditions, there is no direct contact with the skin or the 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 a doctor's consultation, anesthesia, and the operation itself. In addition, the wound after removal heals for a long time and requires compliance with hygiene rules.
Plantar wart treatment
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 body of the wart, which also activates the immune system, so that the wart can disappear faster.
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 can disappear on its own for more than a year, while the person is a source of infection for everyone around him. You need to 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.
Treatment of a plantar wart directly depends on compliance with all hygiene standards and medical prescriptions, daily treatment of the formation is a guarantee of successful recovery.
home treatment
Any new formation on the skin should not be ignored, as the strain of cancer is growing all over the world. Do not ignore the appointment with a specialist, he can prescribe treatment of a plantar wart at home. In this case, special solutions, ointments and a wart patch are usually prescribed.
Ointments are one of the most gentle 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 treatment:
- antiviral ointment;
- acid-based ointment;
- various ointments based on herbal remedies.
Any kind of ointment is applied to the wart on time several times a day according to the instructions. When treating a plantar wart, before applying the drug, it must be steamed with warm water in advance. 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 patch 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 patch, and a regular medical patch is fixed on top. You should change the patch at regular intervals. Removing a small wart can take about two weeks and you should not leave the wart without a patch for a long time. As the treatment progresses, the wart area decreases, after 12 hours it becomes covered with a crust, which then disappears. After a successful treatment, a small pinkish spot remains on the skin, which should completely disappear over time.
When applying the patch, care should be taken: when applying, healthy areas of the skin should be avoided, otherwise serious irritation may occur. There are contraindications to the use of this method of wart removal, so the decision to prescribe the patch should be made by the doctor.
Another way to treat plantar warts at home is hyperthermia. Feet affected by warts are immersed in water as hot as 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 liquid nitrogen wart removal. To do this, you can use special pens-applicators or sprays. As with cryosurgery, multiple applications may be required.
Treatment with folk remedies.
Despite the fact that modern drugs 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 are still 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 at 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 various other products, is also used to remove warts. In addition to acid, onions and flour are used. You can directly drip and the acid itself on the affected area, but this method is quite dangerous due to the high risk of serious burns.
- Apple cider vinegar - a swab soaked in a solution (it is important not to use undiluted vinegar) is applied to the affected skin area, the skin area is pre-treated with an abrasive nail file.
- Garlic is another popular remedy for treating warts. Raw garlic should be rubbed over the formation until it completely disappears, but this method can not be used for more than three weeks.
- Banana peel is applied with the inside to the affected area of the skin, it is believed that it can stretch the wart.
In order to punctuate the injury site and not affect the adjacent tissues, you can use a piece of adhesive tape. A hole is made in it depending on 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 older than five years. 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 go away on their own, their treatment should not be ignored, it is also worth remembering the possibility of infecting the whole family and those around you. A plantar wart in a child almost always causes severe painful discomfort when walking, therefore it requires prompt treatment and a visit to a doctor.
Since children are sensitive to pain, it is quite 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 for removing plantar warts in children are liquid nitrogen and laser removal. Wart removal with these methods is one of the most radical methods. They are resorted to in the event that 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 the right and comfortable shoes. It should be remembered that the risk of infection is especially high in public and someone else's places, so you need to make sure that the child does not walk in someone else's shoes or barefoot. Anything that has been in direct contact with the formation should be thoroughly washed at high temperature. All these actions will help prevent the development of the virus in the future.
Danger
If the procedure to remove plantar warts is not carried out on time, this can lead to serious consequences, such as:
- the appearance of warts on other areas of the skin;
- skin cancer.
Doctors strongly advise against self-medication: cutting, drilling or cauterizing warts will make the situation worse and lead to the formation of new warts.
At-risk group
The risk group is:
- people with hormonal disorders in the body;
- HIV infected.
Prevention
For the prevention of plantar warts, patients are recommended to:
- 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 walk barefoot.