If you recently found a painful, unusual-looking growth on the bottom of your foot, you could be dealing with plantar warts. Plantar warts are grainy and typically small in size. These growths appear on the balls and heels of your feet and may feel uncomfortable when you walk or stand. You may also notice calluses around the plantar warts, which form to prevent the warts from spreading to other areas of your feet. Plantar warts are quite common and, luckily, easy to treat.

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of plantar warts include:

• A small, grainy growth underneath your foot (more serious cases of warts can appear larger)
• A cluster of warts on the sole of your foot
• Calluses around the wart
• Wart seeds, or clotted blood vessels that appear as tiny black spots on the surface of the growth
• Pain or discomfort when walking or standing

Treatment

While seeing a professional for treatment is recommended, some cases of plantar warts may go away on their own. If your warts are especially painful, don’t go away with treatment, or change in shape, size, or color, it’s important you call your local podiatrist for help. Diagnosing plantar warts is typically done by looking at the wart or removing a small section for lab testing. Here are some treatments your podiatrist might try:

• Cryotherapy, or pouring liquid nitrogen over the wart to freeze it
• Burning the wart with topical acids, like salicylic acid
• Laser treatment
• Minor surgery to remove the growth

Prevention

All warts are caused by HPV. Although plantar warts are common, there are steps you can take to lessen the risk of catching or spreading it.

• Wash your feet regularly
• After touching a plantar wart, make sure to wash your hands immediately so you don’t get more growths
• Wear shoes in public pools, locker rooms, and public showers
• Don’t touch someone else’s warts
• Avoid picking at your warts
• Make sure that your nail salon is clean, and tools are disinfected before use
• Keep your feet dry to prevent any growths from spreading, since plantar warts thrive in moist environments

Contact a podiatrist if you suspect you have plantar warts.

You can count on the Foot & Ankle Specialists, PC foot doctors, to care for your feet using a full range of conservative and surgical therapies. Our expert team, including board-certified podiatrists Dr. Scott E. Hughes, Dr. Greg P. Vogt, and Dr. Christine I. Tumele, serves patients of all ages with state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment technologies, including on-site digital x-ray, and ultrasound, diabetic shoes, and digital scanning for custom orthotics. Please contact our office to schedule a consultation. We offer house calls Monday through Thursday.