What Do Plantar Warts Look Like?
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What Are Plantar Warts?
Plantar warts are basically small growths that tend to appear mostly on the heels or any of the other weight-bearing regions of the feet. The pressure exerted on these regions can lead to cause plantar warts to grow on the inward side, beneath the hard, thick layer of skin, or the callus. Plantar warts are said to be caused due to HPV. This virus generally enters the body through any kind of tiny cut, break, or any of the other weak spots that are present on the bottom of the feet. Many a times, the plantar warts cannot be termed serious, and they tend to go away on their own without the need of any treatment procedure. An individual can try certain home remedies or self-care, but if the condition worsens, they can then check with a doctor on how to remove the warts completely.
Symptoms: What Do They Look Like?
Many a times, the individual is able to self-diagnose the existence of plantar warts, but in case there is any doubt, they can consult a doctor. The doctor will be able to easily identify the existence of plantar warts without carrying out any lab tests or procedures. Plantar warts are known to be a common type of warts, which are symptomatic due to their location. Having a plantar wart would feel a lot like a stone present in one’s shoe. Similar to callouses, plantar warts are known to be flat, having a thick, tough skin, and, due to this reason, it would make it difficult to confuse these plantar warts with a callus. One of the best ways to differentiate between a callus and a plantar wart is that when the wart is squeezed, it feels very painful. The plantar warts would also have certain black dots or wart seeds on the surface.
Below are a few symptoms that may be experienced by the individual when they come across plantar warts:
- Plantar warts are known to be tiny, fleshy, small kinds of lesions or grainy growths, which occur mostly on the bottom of the feet. This can be usually on the base of the toes and the forefront of the heel region.
- The occurrence of a lesion, which tends to interrupt the normal lines as well as the ridges in the skin present on the foot.
- A hard, thickened skin known as a callus, which is over a well-defined spot present on the skin. It is where a wart would grow inward.
- While walking or standing, the individual would experience tenderness or pain.
- There would be an occurrence of black pinpoints, which are also known as wart seeds. But in this case, they are small and clotted forms of blood vessels.
Plantar warts can become extremely painful, and one of the first symptoms an individual would notice is pain or tenderness, as mentioned earlier, when they put pressure on the foot while standing or walking. Once the wart has formed, the individual would see a circular, flat spot present on the skin, wherein there would be a depressed area in the middle of the wart. This wart would look yellowish in color with a crust, or it can also have a black spot in the middle. Underneath the skin, the wart would become calloused with finger-like roots, which tend to root down and grow.
Plantar warts are known to be highly contagious and can spread from one person to another very easily. There are two ways in which spreading can occur, the first one being skin to skin contact. Examples of this include hugs and handshakes. The second main way of spreading would be by having the skin to come into contact with a surface that has been contaminated, such as a blanket or doorknob. Since the plantar warts are quite infectious lesions, they tend to spread just by scratching or when there is contact with the skin shed from another wart present on the body. Warts are also known to bleed, which is another way of spreading this condition from one person to another.
Natural Treatment
In certain cases, plantar warts have a tendency to spontaneously go away on their own after a short time without any need for treatment. The immune system is also known to be helpful here in carrying out the job of fighting against the wart so that they can be healed in a matter of a few months. Hence, one of the natural treatments can be to simply do nothing and allow the warts to heal on their own. But, at the same time, the individual should be sure to maintain a healthy lifestyle and incorporate good, healthy food in their diet so that it will actually encourage the immune system to carry out its job faster. Certain other natural, alternative treatment options are:
- Zinc: This is also available in the form of a pill, which can be taken orally, or there is also a zinc ointment, which one can apply directly to the affected region. There are innumerable benefits of zinc, including fighting against the virus that has led to the plantar warts.
- Boosting immune system health: Battling warts can become a difficult task at times, but one can win this battle by making the right dietary choices, which would include food items that are major immune boosters. There are also a variety of antiviral herbs which one can go in for to maintain the good health of the immune system.
- Silver nitrate: This is available in the form of an ointment as well as a solution which can be applied on the wart.
Below are a few of the conventional methods to get the plantar warts treated in case they do not go away on their own:
- Liquid nitrogen, which can be used to freeze the wart
- Use of laser therapy, which is known to burn off the blood vessels that feed the plantar warts
- Salicylic acid cream, which is a form of topical cream that can also burn off the wart
- Medicine that can be applied directly on the wart. You can check with a doctor on any specific medicine to be used.
- Curettage, which is a process that involves cutting off the wart.
The two most common treatments are salicylic acid and liquid nitrogen, but both of these would also need multiple treatments to be carried out for several weeks in order to get rid of the plantar warts. Salicylic acid is also available over the counter, hence, it can be used at home. Be sure to follow all the directions mentioned on the medicine’s packaging, and also expect to apply this medicine for a period of at least ten to twelve weeks until the warts heal completely. If the plantar wart is deep and tends to recur again and again, you may need to go to the doctor. The doctor would then carry out a proper physical examination of the plantar wart and provide a combination of treatments, such as salicylic acid and cryotherapy, for better, more effective results in the healing of the wart.