plantar warts, or rivets, looks like a firm, tactile, flat formation on the skin of the foot that rises slightly above the level of the skin. This type of wart refers to epithelial tumors, which are benign in nature, and diagnosis, as a rule, does not cause difficulties - the main method is dermatoscopy. The doctor, using a special device, visually determines the nature of the new formation. Warts can appear anywhere on the foot, but usually they form on the balls of the toes, the heel, that is, in places with the greatest pressure. The photo clearly shows what a plantar wart looks like, its appearance is quite specific and usually leaves no doubt about the diagnosis. The formation has an unpleasant dirty brown or yellow color, characteristic thick papules are visible that destroy the papillary patterns.
Since the formation is located on the foot, this can lead to pain and injury to the wart itself. For these reasons, the prick needs to be treated, although there is a small chance that a plantar wart will go away on its own without serious treatment.
Unfortunately, it is still not easy to get rid of a wart, so it is recommended to consult a dermatologist to reduce the risk of infecting other people, as well as to reduce the treatment time of the disease. The use of exclusively folk remedies and independent efforts to get rid of the tumor are undesirable. Plantar warts have a deep root, which is almost impossible to remove on their own, so relapses occur. Folk remedies often severely damage the surrounding tissues, which can lead to an increase in the area of в dhe. В. . Damage and unpleasant consequences in the form of burns and wounds.
Symptoms
If you suspect a neoplasm, not only should you know what a foot wart looks like in the picture, but also remember that the disease has characteristic symptoms:
- palpable itching at the site of formation;
- the size of the warts is from a few millimeters to 2 centimeters;
- unlike corn, a wart brings pain;
- bleeding when injured;
- pain while walking.
If you have similar symptoms, contact your doctor immediately. It is easier to prevent a disease than to face the consequences.
Causes of a plantar wart
A plantar wart is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection of the foot. The main route of transmission is contact, infection occurs through shared facilities or directly from person to person. A favorable environment is warmth and humidity, so it is important to take precautions when visiting a spa, pool, sauna and gym.
The cause of the appearance can also be a weakened immune system, as in the normal state human papillomavirus does not give visible manifestations.
This type of wart can also occur with microtrauma of the epidermis, dry skin, uncomfortable tight clothing, hyperhidrosis. Also, the causes of a foot wart can be diseases that lead to foot deformity - arthritis of the joints, osteoarthritis, flat feet, as well as diseases that lead to a violation of the integrity of the skin of the foot: diabetes mellitus, varicose veins. It should be remembered that frequent stress can indirectly affect the occurrence of this disease.
HPV can be acquired accidentally during normal walking barefoot on an infected surface, the virus can live up to several months without a direct carrier. After entering the body, it may not appear for days or even weeks, so it is not always possible to know the exact time of infection.
Diagnosing
To determine how to treat plantar warts, a dermatologist conducts a series of studies:
- general inspection;
- dermatoscopy;
- PCR diagnostics;
- histological examination.
How to cure plantar warts
When a plantar wart appears, the question arises as to how to treat this neoplasm. When the growths cause excessive discomfort and spread quickly, the best way is to contact a dermatologist as soon as possible, he will choose the most suitable treatment option. There are several ways to solve this problem.
The most radical of them is operative: the wart and its roots are surgically removed. This method is no longer effective, as the roots of the neoplasm are located in the deep layers of the skin. In some cases, it is not possible to remove them completely.
Wart removal can be performed using a laser and electrocoagulation, as well as using cryotherapy.
In addition to removal in medical institutions, plantar warts can be removed with less radical methods, such as ointments, solutions, special patches, as well as folk remedies. These remedies for foot warts have a number of advantages and disadvantages, the main of which is the long treatment time.
Removal of plantar warts
One of the most common ways to remove plantar warts is to remove them in specialized medical institutions. The dermatologist at the meeting should tell you in detail how to get rid of plantar warts and, based on the results of the examination, choose the most appropriate method. Despite the fact that the ridges are difficult to cure, there is no specific specific tool for their removal; all methods that are important in treating other types of warts are used. Removal of plantar warts can be done on an outpatient basis, but your doctor may prescribe remedies to help you remove the growth at home.
Surgical removal of warts
Along with other methods of treatment, surgical intervention is used to remove the warts. The warts are scratched with a special scalpel under local anesthesia. After this procedure, if the plantar wart was of considerable size, sutures are placed under the skin, which are removed within one to two weeks. The wound site is treated with a disinfectant solution and an aseptic bandage is applied. There is usually a small scar at the site of removal.
The difficulty of this method is that the doctor has to remove all the roots during the operation, otherwise the plantar wart will reappear. Therefore, this method is used today only if all other methods of treatment have been ineffective.
Removal with liquid nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen removal involves exposing the neoplasm to extremely low temperatures, this is the most common modern and fastest way to treat a plantar wart.
The method is based on freezing the formation tissue itself. In fact, within the wart cells, under the influence of an extremely low temperature of -196 degrees Celsius, ruptures occur, leading to the death of the wart.
Cryodestruction is performed manually or with equipment. If the wart is large or the procedure is performed on a child, then it becomes necessary to use local anesthesia.
The time of direct exposure to liquid nitrogen is up to 30 seconds. After the first cauterization, the physician should pause to evaluate the effectiveness of the impact and the need for re-authorization.
After freezing, a blister with a colorless or reddish liquid forms at the site of the wart, indicating the onset of the inflammatory process. This is a normal reaction to the cauterization procedure.
Cryosurgery is considered painless, but in the treatment of plantar warts it must be repeated several times to achieve the final effect. After the wart falls, no scars remain.
The advantages of liquid nitrogen removal are:
- freezing eliminates further spread of the disease to the nearest skin;
- lack of special training;
- short duration of the procedure;
- the risks of developing scars or wounds are minimal.
The disadvantages of cryodestruction of plantar warts are:
- the need for a second course with a large lesion area or due to the size of the wart;
- human factor - the professionalism of the doctor who performs this procedure is a guarantee of success. The physician must accurately assess the time and extent of nitrogen exposure to the tissue, otherwise a burn may occur;
- the discomfort caused by the swollen bladder and the need to process it are also considered disadvantages of the method.
In general, the reactions for the treatment of plantar warts with cauterization with liquid nitrogen are positive, as this is the simplest, most effective and affordable method.
Laser removal
Laser removal is considered to be one of the most effective and safest methods. After laser treatment, the wart ceases to be infectious. The procedure itself is painless, a special nozzle is built into the laser, which cools the stroke site. Furthermore, one or more anesthetic injections are given before surgery. The patient usually feels a slight tingling sensation during the procedure. After removal of the neoplasm, no trace remains, as the laser directly burns the diseased tissue. The laser method allows maximum control of the exposure depth, which is individual in each case. Therefore, even with deep tissue lesions, it is possible for the roots to be completely removed, which means preventing wart re-growth.
The operation is performed under sterile conditions, there is no direct contact with the skin or the wart and the duration of the operation is only a few minutes. The positive results of laser wart removal also make this method more attractive.
The main disadvantage of laser wart removal is the high cost, which usually includes doctor consultation, anesthesia and surgery itself. In addition, the wound after removal heals for a long time and requires adherence to the rules of hygiene.
Treatment of plantar warts
Before treating a plantar wart, you need to make sure the diagnosis is correct and then proceed directly with the procedures. In addition to surgery, your doctor may prescribe immunotherapy and topical medications.
The need for immunotherapy, as a rule, is justified, as the disease is caused by a virus, which actively develops in a weakened state of the body. Local immunotherapies directly affect the virus in two ways. In the first case, the drug stimulates the immune system and in the second, an antigen is injected into the body of the wart, which also activates the immune system, so that the wart disappears faster.
Treating a plantar wart requires quite a long time, it is important to remember to strengthen the immune system and maintain hygiene. If removal and treatment are not used, then the wart can go away on its own for more than a year while the person is the source of infection for everyone around. You should carefully consider this unpleasant disease and make sure to contact a dermatologist who will definitely show you how and how to treat a plantar wart.
Treatment of plantar warts depends directly on compliance with all hygiene standards and doctor's prescriptions; daily treatment of the formation is a guarantee of a successful recovery.
Home treatment
Any new formation in the skin should not be ignored, as cancer tension is rising worldwide. Do not ignore the appointment with a specialist, he may prescribe the treatment of a plantar wart at home. In this case, special solutions, ointments and a piece of warts are usually prescribed.
Ointments are one of the mildest methods of treatment, they act on the wart itself, as a result of which it gradually dies and disappears. The following types of ointments are used in treatment:
- antiviral ointment;
- acid-based ointment;
- various ointments based on herbal medicines.
Each type of oil is applied in the direction of the wart several times a day according to the instructions. When treating a plantar wart, it should be pre-soaked in warm water before applying the medicine. It is advisable to apply each ointment overnight so that you do not have to break the formation and wash the ointment.
To get rid of plantar warts at home, you can use a special piece based on salicylic acid. This tool has a low cost and proven effectiveness. The patch is sold in pharmacies without a prescription, the principle of its use is very simple - a wart is closed with a piece of cloth, and a regular medical patch is fixed on top. You need to change the patch at regular intervals. It may take about two weeks to remove a small wart and you should not leave the wart without a lump for a long time. As the treatment continues, the wart area is reduced, after 12 hours it is covered with a crust, which then disappears. After successful treatment, a small pink stain remains on the skin, which should disappear completely over time.
Care should be taken when applying the patch - healthy areas of the skin should be avoided during application, otherwise severe irritation may occur. There are contraindications to using this method of wart removal, so the decision to prescribe the wart should be made by the doctor.
Another way to treat plantar warts at home is hyperthermia. The feet affected by the warts are immersed in the hottest water possible. Such procedures are repeated several times. In some cases, hyperthermia shows a positive effect. The mechanism of the procedure is based on the stimulation of small blood vessels in the legs and the activation of local immunity.
At home, you can use the low temperature treatment in analogy to the removal of warts with liquid nitrogen. To do this, you can use special application pens or sprayers. As with cryosurgery, multiple applications may be required.
Treatment with folk remedies
Despite the fact that modern medicines are much more effective and with their help the process of removing plantar warts is faster, the effectiveness of treatment with folk remedies can not be denied. Traditional medicine has accumulated extensive experience in the fight against warts, and some methods remain effective.
- Celandine juice is one of the most popular ways to remove thorns. You can use the juice of a fresh plant or buy a medicine at a pharmacy that contains, in addition to the juice of celandine, other plant extracts. The fluid is applied once or twice a day to the affected area.
- Acetic acid, along with various additional products, is also used to remove warts. In addition to acid, onions and flour are used. You can drip directly and the acid itself into the affected area, but this method is quite dangerous due to the high risk of severe burns.
- Apple cider vinegar: a swab moistened in a solution (it is important not to use undiluted vinegar) is applied to the affected area of skin, the skin area is pre-treated with an abrasive nail file.
- Garlic is another popular remedy for treating warts. Raw garlic should be rubbed into the formation until it is completely gone, but this method can be used for no more than three weeks.
- Banana peel is applied internally to the affected area of skin, it is believed that it can lengthen the wart.
In order to pinpoint the site of the lesion and not touch the adjacent tissue, you can use a piece of adhesive tape. A hole is made in it according to the size of the neoplasm and the healthy adjacent skin remains intact. This avoids burns and other injuries.
Plantar warts in a child
With age, a person develops immunity to HPV, so children and young people are more susceptible to this infection. Most often, the disease affects children over the age of five. A doctor will help to recognize a plantar wart in a child because in some cases it may resemble an old corn.
Although plantar warts in a child go away on their own, their treatment should not be neglected, it is also worth remembering the possibility of infecting the whole family and those around. A plantar wart in a child almost always causes severe painful discomfort while walking, so it requires immediate treatment and a visit to the doctor.
Since children are sensitive to pain, it is quite difficult to find therapy. For starters, it's worth it to use different ointments - they are affordable, convenient to use and effective. Folk remedies are also widely used, the safety of which can not be doubted.
Effective methods for removing plantar warts in children are liquid nitrogen and laser removal. Removing warts using these methods is one of the most radical methods. They are used in case the solutions and ointments do not have the desired effect.
After treatment, it is important to remember about the prevention of plantar warts in children. This is strengthening the immune system, careful hygiene and wearing the right comfortable shoes. It should be remembered that the risk of infection is particularly high in public places and by another person, so you should make sure that the child does not walk in someone else's shoes or barefoot. Anything that has come into direct contact with the formation should be thoroughly washed at high temperature. All of these actions will help prevent the development of the virus in the future.
risk
If the procedure for removing plantar warts is not performed in time, it can lead to serious consequences, such as:
- the appearance of warts on other areas of the skin;
- skin cancer.
Doctors strongly advise not to self-medicate - cutting, piercing or cauterizing the warts will worsen the situation and lead to the formation of new warts.
Risk group
The risk group is:
- people with hormonal disorders in the body;
- HIV infected.
prevention
For the prevention of plantar warts, patients are recommended:
- strengthening immunity;
- eat more foods rich in vitamins;
- proper foot skin care;
- do not wear tight shoes, shoes made of synthetic materials;
- in public places (locker rooms, showers) do not walk barefoot.