Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Plantar wart

Plantar wart






A plantar wart is a hard lesion or bump that grows on the heels area of your feet. They form a thick layer on the skin called Callus and can cause pain and discomfort. HPV virus causes planter warts and they penetrate the skin through tiny cuts or wounds on the feet. Plantar warts are of no concern as long as they do not cause pain. They are benign (harmless) skin growth on the feet developing due to viral infection. You can get it removed either by medication or by surgical procedure.


Symptoms :










Plantar warts appear as tiny rough growth resembling a lesion or bump on your feet. It is actually accumulation of hardened skin where the wart grows inward. Some people would have black spots on their feet called wart seeds. It is nothing but a blood clot which exists as pinpoints on the feet.


Plantar warts are not always painful. For some people it may cause pain/discomfort while walking. Plantar warts occur as single and also in group in the form of clusters and they differ in size, shape and color. You can visit the clinic if you have pain due to plantar warts or if the lesions change its color or if the warts appear again even if you have removed it.


Causes :


Plantar warts are viral infection caused by human papilloma virus. It spreads from one person to another either by direct or indirect contact. A person having a wart on his hand/feet would touch an object or walk barefooted in his bathroom. When another person uses the same object or gets into the bathroom he can easily contact the virus. However not each person touching the same object will get plantar warts. It depends on his immunity and antibodies secretion. The chances of getting infected warts are more if the immunity of the person is weak. Every person in the community will show different response to the virus.


The virus thriving on plantar warts would remain latent in warm and moist environment. When the situations become favorable it gets into the skin of another person causing infection. There should be suitable point of entry on the skin like cuts or injury or open wound for the virus to gain entry. Even small cracks on the foot or scrapes on the skin is enough for the virus to penetrate the skin.


Who are at risk?


Plantar warts are common to everyone irrespective of age and sex. But people with weakened immunity and people who always walk barefoot or using public toilets and showers often are at high risk of developing plantar warts.


Diagnosis :


Your doctor can identify plantar wart by physical examination of your feet. He would look for dark black colored dots or lesions on the skin indicating Blood Clots. In case of doubt, he would remove a small tissue sample of the wart for testing it on the lab.


Treatment :


Often plantar warts don’t require any treatment and will fade off after some months. In case you have pain or discomfort while walking you can try over the counter medications and home remedies like duct tape over it. Many people are prone to get plantar wart again after it goes away. Your doctor would try giving strong doses of salicylic acid peeling. You need to apply the peeling cream over the planter wart. The chemical is effective in removing the wart over time.


Cryotherapy is effective in treating large sized planter warts. The doctor would apply few drops of liquid nitrogen over the wart carefully using special dropper or cotton swab. The wart would gradually wither off from the skin in few days. But it would form a blister with little pain for few days. This medication is effective in stimulating the immune system to produce antibodies for fighting warts. You have to repeat this process many times until the wart completely goes away. Usually a combination of salicylic acid and cryotherapy is very effective in removing planter warts.


Surgery :


Your doctor would apply chloro-acetic acid on the warts using a wooden toothpick. It would burn off the wart in few days. But it can cause burning pain on the skin surface. Medications are given for stimulating the immune system to fight against warts. Using curettage procedure your doctor would carefully cut and remove the warts using sharp electric needle. He would numb the skin layer with injection since it can cause pain. Laser assisted therapy is effective in treating closed blood clots. The dead cells of the tissue will wither off to form new skin layer. Children and adolescents can take a shot of HPV vaccine to prevent plantar warts.


Home Remedies :


Duct tape is used for covering the warts. You need to leave it aside for a week. After few days you can gently remove the tape and cut off the dead tissue of the wart using pumice stone. You can repeat this several times in a month till you get the best result. Over the counter peeling medicine like salicylic acid can be applied as a patch over the wart after soaking it for half-an-hour. Gradually you can remove the dead cells of the skin layer using pumice stone. But there is no guarantee for the above remedies.


Pictures of Plantar wart :


Images, Pics, Pictures and Photos of Plantar wart


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Tips for Prevention :


You can keep the feet clean and dirt-free. Change the socks daily and use soap water and antiseptic lotion to wash and dry them. Don’t walk barefooted in public places like swimming pool and toilets. Avoid direct finger contact with warts. Never prick it with a needle since it can cause more spreading of virus. Wash your hands thoroughly after treating the planter warts.











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