Plantar Warts
Plantar warts are lesions on the skin caused by a virus known as human papilloma Virus (HPV). Feet are of the most common areas warts grow.
Warts can present as itchy raised lesions.They can be painful and spread to other areas of the feet if left untreated. Plantar warts generally grow on high pressure areas of the foot. They can from in clusters (mosaic warts) or as a single wart.
What causes warts?
Warts are contagious and can be transmitted by direct contact with someone who has a wart, or if you share the same shower, shoes, thongs or socks as the person. Stepping barefoot on wet floors or in public places such as swimming pools also increased risk of contracting a wart. Lack of foot hygiene is also a causative factor of warts.
Treatment
- Scrapping the skin of the wart until pinpoint bleeding and applying a high concrete salicylic acid or Uptons paste.
- Cryotherapy- involves freezing the wart with liquid nitrogen to activate the immune system to fight the wart. Blistering may occur.
- Swift Microwave Wart therapy– number 1 wart therapy technology on the market with a success rate of 83%. Swift emits a microwave signal to a predetermined depth to reach the root of the wart causing the wart to release certain proteins into the circulatory system activating an immune response.
Signs and Symptoms
- Cauliflower appearance lesion with black dots
- Callus surrounding borders or overlaying the lesion
- Lesion spreading
- Painful as if you are walking on a pebble
- Pain on squeezing and direct pressure
- Commonly found on heel or plantar metatarsal area of the foot
Risk factors of plantar warts
- Immunocomprised patients
- Injuries to the skin and continued exposure to moisture and sweat
- Direct contact to wart carrier