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How to get rid of stuff » Health Problems » How to Get Rid of Plantar Warts
 

How to Get Rid of Plantar Warts

April 7th, 2009 by admin
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How to Get Rid of Plantar Warts

A plantar wart is a small lesion that appears on the sole of the foot and typically resembles a cauliflower, with tiny black petechiae (abnormal, thrombosed capillaries resembling specks) in the center. Pinpoint bleeding may occur when these are scratched, and they may be painful when standing or walking. Plantar warts are often similar to helomata or corns, but can be differentiated by close observation of skin striations. Feet are covered in skin striae, which are akin to fingerprints on the feet. Skin striae go around plantar warts; if the lesion is not a plantar wart, the cells' DNA is not altered and the striations continue across the top layer of the skin. Plantar warts tend to be painful on application of pressure from either side of the lesion rather than direct pressure, unlike helomata, which tend to be painful on direct pressure instead. A plantar wart (also verruca plantaris or verruca) is a wart caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) occurring on the sole or toes of the foot. (HPV infections in other locations are not plantar; see human papilloma virus.) Plantar warts are generally harmless and self-limiting, but should be treated to lessen symptoms (which may become painful), decrease duration and reduce transmission. It is estimated that 7-10% of the US population is infected. Infection typically occurs on moist walking surfaces such as showers, swimming pools or shoes. The virus can survive many months without a host, making it highly contagious.

Treatment of Plantar Warts

As the viral infection gains momentum in your body, the plantar warts grow rapidly on the bottom of your feet. Usually, what you see outside the skin would indicate that the wart under the skin would be at least three times that size. Since this is situated right on the sole of the feet, the plantar warts are extremely painful. As such, most people prefer to by-pass the doctor and use over-the-counter medicines based on the advertisement that see each day on TV and other media. Though the majority of the over-the-counter medicines are quite effective, a lot of care should be taken to ensure that the healthy tissue that surrounds the wart is not destroyed as well. This is very important, lest you'll invite another problem before getting rid of your current one. The safest thing for you to do is ensure that whatever treatment you undergo, it is done under the strict supervision of a doctor.

Keratolytic Chemical or Salicylic Acid Method

The treatment of warts by keratolysis involves the peeling away of dead surface skin cells with trichloroacetic acid or salicylic acid. It's more effective than it sounds. Using salicylic acid—a plantar wart treatment that you can purchase over-the-counter from your local drug store—you can remove a plantar wart in generally about four weeks. The process calls for daily application of acid to the wart, as well as rubbing off the dead skin from the wart. Acid can be applied either as a solution or as a patch, and sometimes you must apply it twice a day.

Immunotherapy Method

Intralesional injection of antigens (mumps, candida or trichophytin antigens USP) is a new wart treatment that may trigger a host immune response to the wart virus, resulting in wart resolution. Distant, non-injected warts may also disappear.

Chemotherapy Method

Topical application of dilute glutaraldehyde (a virucidal chemical, used for cold sterilization of surgical instruments) is an older effective wart treatment. More modern chemotherapy agents, like 5-fluoro-uracil, are also effective topically or injected intralesionally. Retinoids, systemically (e.g., isotretinoin) or topically (tretinoin cream) may be effective. As warts are contagious, precautions should be taken to avoid spreading.

Surgical Methods

  • Cryosurgery sounds like what they did to Ted Williams, and does involve freezing. In this case, doctors use liquid nitrogen to "freeze" your wart. It's a common treatment that works by producing a blister under the wart. It is painful but usually non-scarring. They apply the liquid nitrogen directly onto the plantar wart using a spray-tip or cotton-tip applicator.
  • Electrodesiccation and surgical excision produce scarring. If the wart recurs, the patient has a permanent scar along with the wart.
  • Lasers may be effective, especially the 585nm pulsed dye laser that the most effective treatment of all, and does not leave scars, but is generally a last resort treatment as it is expensive and painful, and multiple laser treatments are required (generally 4-6 treatments repeated once a month until the wart disappears).

Other Methods

  • X-ray is an old method that is seldom recommended due to the long term adverse side effects of irradiation.
  • Watchful waiting may be appropriate since many warts will eventually resolve due to the patient's own immune system. In many cases, the body will attack and kill the wart and verrucæ will turn black and effectively fall off, although it can be two years or longer before this takes place.
    • Additional disadvantages with this method are the significantly increased likelihood of passing on the virus and the possibility that in some individuals, the virus may spread more extensively over the skin surface, further increasing discomfort and making treatment more difficult and requiring it to be more extensive.
  • For large mosaic warts, it can be effective to use several methods at once. First, freeze the warts and then apply acid. After this, cloth medical tape can be placed over the area. Repeating acid and tape application daily will lead to the warts being pulled out in large masses. This will leave a slightly raw layer of skin, but works much faster than other means (typically within a month). Re-occurrence is purportedly low with this intermediate, combination process.
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  1. January 31st, 2012 at 8:29 pm    LUISA Says:

    CAN U HELP ME PLEASE OK

    QUESTION:HOW CAN U TAKE OFF A PLANTER WART 4 IN A HALF

    ANWSER:?

  2. September 27th, 2011 at 7:42 pm    Kendall Says:

    Hi! About eight months ago I got a very painful bump, about the size of a pencil eraser, beside my big toe. I later did research and found out it was a plantarts wart. Not only did I find out that it was a virus, but I read that treatment is usually very painful. I am a major algophobiac so I CAN NOT deal with pain well. I searched over hundreds of treatments and one stuck out among them all. Apple cider vinager. I soaked a cotton ball with it and kept it on my wart for 30 min at the least. Afer a week or so It began to have small black dots which I assumed were the seads. After becomming lazy and tired of the treatment after a few weeks with not enough results, My mom, after observing me cringe after bumping it or touching it, decided that she was going to call the doctors about it…I decided then that I would find a way to get rid of this pesky wart. I began using ACV again, over night sometimes, and once the black spots appeared, I would soak a cotton ball with alcohol and hydrogen peroxide and put that on over night. Within a couple weeks my wart was almost completly gone! I pumiced away the dead skin and now all that it left is a small pink spot (probably a scar) which I am totally okay with because I am no longer in pain when I wear my tennishoes and I don’t have to worry about bumping it anymore because it is GONEEEE! =) I highly suggest you try this route before giving into surgical solutions…Hope this helps! Good luck!

  3. September 21st, 2011 at 7:34 pm    chris Says:

    My family has been plagued with plantar warts in the past so I know how Much of a pain they can be. I have researched many causes of them and also many ways to get rid of the darn things.

  4. September 19th, 2011 at 2:03 am    chris Says:

    Warts and Plantar Warts can be a HUGE pain I know. My cousin was getting married freaking out over the plantar warts that would not go away. Get rid of plantar warts, well it seems like it can take forever but that’s not the case if you hold in there. We got rid of hers quickly. I have also heard duct tape working in some cases.

  5. July 19th, 2011 at 11:26 am    Mike Says:

    I had a plantar wart that started on my heel about 15 years ago. At first it was just a nuisance and I would periodically try over the counter meds. Over the years it got much bigger and I started developing one on the pad of the foot. 2 years ago I decided to get serious about it and went to a podiatrist. He alternated using a liquid that blistered it and injecting a chemotherapy drug in it. I have a high tolerance for pain, but getting shots in my foot was soo painful! This went on for 6 months with no results. I went to see a dermatologist and he told me up front that he could get rid of them, but it would be a long process. He started by freezing. This hurts a bit during the freeze and a lot over the next 48 hours. He also gave me shots of something designed to boost my immune system in that area. This is very painful during the procedure but not at all afterword. This went on for another 6 months but finally and abruptly worked. I’m posting this because I have tried every treatment out there with no success. I think different things work for different people but this finally worked for me. Having those things gone is one of the best things that has ever happened for me. If you have plantar warts and want to get rid of them, I recommend getting serious and be patient.

  6. April 6th, 2011 at 3:36 pm    Rnaga Says:

    I am currently using an OTC drug
    I have been using it for four days o far
    I see no improvement yet- maybe time will tell

  7. March 22nd, 2011 at 2:47 pm    Rachel Says:

    I just turned 12 and I have had planters warts since around december and at first my mom thought it was a callous but it kept spreading and got hard and painful. I tried the medicated discs , didnt work one bit. Then we called the foot doctor and they tried freezing them off did not work. Then they gave me the salyic acid to put on every night didnt work. They are sugesting laser srugery which I dont want at all. So I just read the comment up top and heard about nail polish, just applied some on now hoping it works! My suggestion for anybody who is going through the pain I am with planters warts is call your foot doctor RIGHT away because they spread real fast! Ps: freezing doesnt hurt, I had read on a couple sites that it does but its pain free trust me. :]

  8. March 12th, 2011 at 1:37 pm    Jmat Says:

    Just use mediplast and tape, it is easy and pain free. It can take sometime but sometimes it is gone in 3 weeks. I found it was best to remove the tape in the shower after a few days and then trim the skin and re-apply. I have literally tried everything and that was the only thing that ever really worked. If they are really bad, a dermatologist is probably your only hope though.

  9. February 7th, 2011 at 12:54 pm    CJ Says:

    Make sure you see a doctor right away! I left mine for 10 years, and last year finally tried self treatment. This resulted in spreading it all over my feet and on my finger that guided the pumice stone. Should have went to the dermatologist right away, now I have several months – even years- of treatment ahead. If you read around, you’ll read that they will go away on their own, but after 10 years and gaining a “mosaic”, I suggest you don’t challenge that theory.

  10. January 30th, 2011 at 6:45 pm    Pamela Says:

    I first realized I had a small black dot on my right heel in July, 2010. I was 11 and scared to tell a parent. It began getting larger so I told my mom. She explained that we could try a Dr. Scholls kit with round disks to put on it. I used it religiously for the alloted time span with no result. Then around September, 2010 I realized I was getting one one my big toe on my right foot. We decided it was time to try freezing it. So we purchased another Dr. Schools kit called Freeze Away. This had better results, but was very painful and didn’t get my warts off completely. It just decreased the size. I didn’t know what to do. Around November, 2010 one popped up on my left heel and in December, 2010 4 emerged on my big toe on my right foot, next to the other one. We tried organic apple cinder vinegar, duct tape, banana, and lemons. Nothing was working. We thought I might need surgery to kill these nasty predators. But then, I learned about nail polish. Plantar warts need air to live and by putting a glob of nail polish over then they can’t survive. I left it on for a week, and dug my nail into the side of each one and it just popped out with no pain at all. I love this method and highly recommend it.

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