Plantar Warts

Plantar warts are highly contagious, as they commonly occur when a virus enters your body through an open wound on your foot. It’s best to get plantar warts treated by a professional to prevent the spread of the virus and spare yourself and your family from further complications. Visit Premier Podiatry in Clifton, NJ to receive expert wart treatment and relieve yourself of the discomfort and embarrassment associated with plantar warts.

Caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), plantar warts typically appear on your heels or on the weight-bearing areas of your foot. The pressure on the bottom of your foot often pushes the wart deeper under a thick layer of callused skin. Plantar warts develop on your feet when HPV enters your body through tiny cuts or breaks in the skin of your foot.

Usually not a serious medical concern, plantar warts often disappear on their own. But if you have several or are uncomfortable with their appearance, your New Jersey podiatrist at Premier Podiatry in Passaic County offers effective plantar warts treatment options. Dr. Velimir Petkov explains how to remove plantar warts, how to prevent their reoccurrence and what possible consequences can come from leaving them untreated.

Symptoms of Plantar Warts

Plantar warts may or may not cause you any discomfort, but there are distinct characteristics you find when you have them, including:

• Tiny black pinpoints called wart seeds that represent little clotted blood vessels
• Tenderness or pain when you put pressure on the warts while standing or walking
• A small, rough, grainy area on your heel or at the base of your toes
• A callus or hard, thickened area of skin over a definite spot where the plantar wart has grown inward
• Lesions on the bottom of your feet

If your warts bleed or cause pain, seek plantar warts treatment as soon as possible. It’s especially crucial that you seek treatment from a trained podiatrist like Dr. Petkov to discuss how to remove plantar warts if you have a compromised immune system, diabetes or another condition that contributes to poor sensations in your feet.

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Risk Factors for Plantar Warts

While anyone can develop plantar warts as your body fights the infection from the HPV virus, some individuals are more susceptible. More than 100 varieties of HPV exist, and you may respond differently to each one, depending on how robust or compromised your immune system is. Those most at risk of catching a strain that develops into warts include:

• Teenagers and younger children
• Individuals with weaker immune systems due to other medical conditions
• Anyone who has had plantar warts in the past

HPV thrives in moist, warm environments like swimming pools or locker rooms. Awareness of these conditions helps you avoid future outbreaks that require plantar warts treatment. Since Dr. Petkov also is a pediatric podiatrist, he’s an ideal choice for treating your kids, as he knows how to make them comfortable while talking about risk factors and subsequent treatment procedures.

How to Treat Plantar Warts

After an examination of the affected area, your New Jersey foot specialist may take a small sample to send to the laboratory to confirm the diagnosis. If your warts are small and not causing you any discomfort, your podiatrist may suggest a wait-and-see approach to see if they eventually go away on their own, which does happen. If necessary, effective plantar warts treatment options include:

• Salicylic acid. This prescription strength medication removes the wart one layer at a time. The acid sometimes encourages your immune system to better fight the virus, too. You apply the acid at home on a regular schedule until the plantar wart is gone.
• Trichloroacetic acid. A stronger acid than salicylic acid, this topical acid works well for warts that resist other treatments. The procedure is the same as for salicylic acid.
• Cryotherapy. Your podiatrist applies liquid nitrogen directly to the wart. This method can be uncomfortable, and your doctor often numbs the area first. Your skin reacts to the nitrogen by causing a blister to form around the wart. The blister sloughs off within a week to ten days. It’s normal to need to repeat this method every two to four weeks until the wart completely disappears.
• Immune therapy. Antigens and other medications help boost your immune system to fight the virus.
• Laser treatment. Using concentrated pulses from specialized lasers, your doctor cauterizes the tiny blood vessels that feed the wart and it eventually dies.
• Surgery. This procedure is only used if other methods have been ineffective. Your foot doctor carefully cuts away the wart and burns it and the surrounding tissue with an electric needle. Local anesthesia numbs the area for the procedure done right in Premier Podiatry’s offices.

Preventing Plantar Warts

The best method of plantar warts treatment involves good preventative steps to escape future outbreaks, including:

• Try to avoid walking barefoot around public pools and locker rooms.
• Don’t touch the warts with your bare hands.
• Wash your hands thoroughly if you do come into contact with the wart or the surrounding skin.
• Carefully clean your feet daily.
• Wear clean socks every day.
• Keep toenail clippers and pumice stones separate to avoid cross-contamination with healthy skin.

Your New Jersey podiatrist helps you find the most effective plantar wart treatment for your circumstances. Plantar warts don’t have to cause you discomfort and embarrassment. Contact Premier Podiatry for fast, effective plantar warts treatment for you or your family.

Plantar Warts Q & A

What causes plantar warts?

Plantar warts (foot warts) are a type of visible — and often painful — soft tissue condition. These unsightly foot warts develop when a virus enters your skin, often through a weak point, such as a cut. You can wind up with plantar warts due to walking around barefoot:

• In a gym locker room
• On a dirty surface
• On a pool deck

Because plantar wart viruses thrive in warm, moist environments, it’s important to cover your feet or wear shower shoes any time you’re in a communal area.

What are the symptoms of plantar warts?

Plantar warts are harmless, although they can certainly be uncomfortable. Often mistaken for corns or calluses, foot warts cause thickened skin and bumps in the affected area. The way to tell you have warts is that they’re:

• Raised, flat, and flesh-colored
• Rough along the surface
• Well-defined with boundaries

Sometimes, plantar warts are more gray or brown than fleshy. They often also have a black pinpoint center, which indicates that there’s a vessel inside — a clear sign of warts. These foot warts can even cause sharp or burning pain, especially if they develop on weight-bearing areas, like the balls or heels of your feet.

How are plantar warts treated?

Dr. Petkov generally advises men and women to come in for an evaluation, even if the warts seem mild or you’ve had them in the past and know how to treat them. The issue is that blood flow is so limited in your feet — think gravity and distance from your heart — that infections just take longer to heal. Get treated properly and effectively by coming in to Premier Podiatry for:

• Chemical destruction of lesion
• Cryotherapy
• Minimally invasive excision of skin lesion
• K-Laser

Dr. Petkov also spends time teaching you how to prevent future wart outbreaks. For instance, keeping your feet dry, washing between your toes daily, and putting on clean socks each day can all decrease your risk of another foot wart outbreak.

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