Plantar Wart Specialist

What are plantar warts?

Plantar warts are growths that appear on weight-bearing areas of your feet, such as your heels. The pressure can also cause plantar warts to grow under a hard, thick layer of skin, called a callus.

Most plantar warts go away on their own eventually, but you can try self-care treatments or visit Advanced Foot & Ankle Center to have the warts removed.

What causes plantar warts?

The HPV virus causes plantar warts. It enters your body through small cuts or breaks in the skin on the bottom of your feet. There are more than 100 kinds of HPV, but only a few types cause warts on your feet. 

The HPV types that cause plantar warts are not highly contagious, so it’s not easily transmitted from one person to another. HPV thrives in warm, damp environments, so you are at risk of contracting HPV when you walk barefoot in locker rooms or around swimming pools.

How do I prevent plantar warts?

If you have warts, you can prevent getting additional warts by avoiding contact with them. If you do touch a wart, wash your hands. Never pick or scratch at warts.

Because HPV causes plantar warts and HPV thrives in warm, damp environments, you need to keep your feet clean and dry. Change your socks daily. If your feet become sweaty or wet throughout the day, dry them off and put on new socks and shoes.

Wear sandals in locker rooms, public showers, and around swimming pools.

You can also prevent plantar warts by not sharing pumice stones, nail clippers, or emery boards with anyone else. If you have a wart, don’t use the same pumice stone on your wart area as you use on your healthy skin.

How are plantar warts treated?

Most plantar warts resolve on their own after a year or two. If you have discomfort or your warts spread, you can treat them with over-the-counter medication designed to remove layers of a wart a little at a time.

If the do-it-yourself wart removal strategies haven’t helped, Advanced Foot & Ankle Center can recommend treatment, such as:

• Prescription-strength wart medications with salicylic acid
• Cryotherapy to freeze the wart with liquid nitrogen
• Trichloroacetic acid applied directly to the wart with a toothpick
• Immune therapy to strengthen the immune system to fight warts
• Surgical removal 
• Laser removal

Some patients have successfully treated warts with the HPV vaccine, even though it is not specifically targeted toward the strain of HPV that causes most plantar warts. 

Call the Advanced Foot & Ankle Center nearest you or schedule an appointment online today for plantar warts removal.