Plantar Warts
What is a Plantar Wart?
- A wart is an infection of the skin by human papillomavirus (HPV), which is the most common viral infection of the skin. Plantar warts grow on the plantar surface or the sole of the foot. The HPV infects only the superficial layer of skin, producing a thickened callus-like growth, which can become tender upon pressure.
Causes
- The human papillomavirus (HPV) thrives in warm and moist environments. The plantar warts easily spread from one person to another in moist places where people walk barefoot, such as gym locker rooms and swimming pools. A person’s risk of getting a wart varies. Those with a weakened immune system are more susceptible. But those with healthy immune systems can also develop warts.
Symptoms
- A small, fleshy, rough, grainy growth (lesion) on the bottom of your foot
- Black pinpoint discoloration, which are small, clotted blood vessels
- A lesion that interrupts the normal lines and ridges in the skin of your foot
- Pain or tenderness when walking or standing
What a Podiatrist Can Do for You?
- Debridement of the thickened skin
- Appropriate topical medication and curettage of the warts
- Surgical excision of the warts