Plantar Warts

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Plantar Warts

Painful Blemishes on Your Sole

If it feels like you have a pebble in your shoe every time you step down and put weight on your foot, you may have plantar warts. Check your shoe. If, instead of a pebble, you find an ugly growth on the sole of your foot, look it over. Is the growth hard and flat? Does it hurt when you try to move it from side to side? Can you see tiny, pinpoint dots of blood in it?

If yes, then it's most likely a plantar wart, not a callus, says Suzanne M. Levine, D.P.M., clinical assistant podiatrist at Cornell Medical Center in New York City.

A plantar wart is just like any other wart, except that it's found on your sole. (Plantar is the medical term for the bottom surface of the foot.) The red dots are the ends of capillaries that are trapped in the wart, she explains. The wart is a noncancerous growth caused by the human papillomavirus, or wart virus. It's contagious and can be spread from person to person.

The wart virus thrives in moist places, and people typically pick up plantar warts by walking barefoot at swimming pools and health clubs or in locker rooms or public showers, says D'Anne Kleinsmith, M.D., a staff dermatologist at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. You're also more susceptible if your feet sweat more than average or if your immunity is low, she says.

Plantar warts can be small, or large enough to cover the entire heel or ball of your foot. The larger they are, the more painful they get, says Dr. Levine.

ACT QUICKLY

Women doctors say that plantar warts sometimes disappear on their own. But don't count on it. Other times, they linger for years if not treated.

Take a footbath. Dunk your feet in a basinful of water mixed with a special drying preparation, such as Domeboro, which comes in little packets or tablets. "This is a solution of aluminum salts that dries out and toughens the skin," says Dr. Kleinsmith. "Mix it into the water and soak your feet in it for about 15 minutes."

When To See A Doctor Although some plantar warts will disappear on their own or with home treatments, many stubbornly remain. See a doctor if: * You don't see an improvement within a month or two. * Your warts are getting thicker or more painful, or they're spreading.

Keep your feet dry. "Eliminating moisture is key to drying out a foot wart," says Dr. Levine. Use towels to dry off your feet after showering (and then launder those towels separately so that you don't spread the virus to others). Then apply foot powders containing cornstarch or talc to dry your skin, she recommends.

Hoof it to the drugstore. Dr. Levine suggests trying an over-the-counter wart medicine like Compound W, Duofilm, Duoplant, Occlusal and Dr. Scholl's preparations, available at drugstores. Many of the products contain salicylic acid, which dries out warts. The acid will eat away the wart. "The problem is, they can eat away at good skin, too," she adds. "To reduce the chance of irritating healthy skin, read the directions and follow them carefully."

Stick with it. Over-the-counter wart medicines work if you are religious about using them, but they can require six to eight weeks of treatment, says Karen K. Deasey, M.D., chief of dermatology at Bryn Mawr Hospital in Pennsylvania. So be patient. (The larger or deeper the wart is, the less effective these home remedies will be, says Dr. Levine.)

Patch them up. Some wart preparations come in little patches, usually containing salicylic acid. "You stick the patch on overnight. In the morning, you take it off and use an emery board to file down the wart and make it as thin as possible, so that the medicine will soak in better. The next night, you apply a new patch," explains Dr. Kleinsmith.

"These medicated patches come in boxes of 24, and I usually tell my patients that they may have to go through two boxes until the wart goes away," says Dr. Deasey.

Polish off a wart. Some preparations come in a nail-polish base that you paint onto the wart. "Every couple of days, you peel off the polish, and a little bit of the wart comes off with it," explains Dr. Deasey.

Put your warts in film. A few heavy-duty wart preparations, such as Viranol gel and Duofilm, come in the form of a plastic film, which you stick right onto the wart, says Dr. Deasey. "Most of these don't require covering, because when they dry, they form their own covers. They won't stick to your socks or shoes."

Cushion the blow. Callus pads can help take the pressure off a painful wart, says Dr. Deasey.

Adopt a hands-off policy. Try to avoid touching or fiddling with your plantar wart, because you may spread the wart to your fingers, says Dr. Deasey. "You may need to use your hands to apply treatment, but be sure to wash them thoroughly immediately afterward, so that the wart virus won't spread."