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Plantar Warts

At US Podiatry group, we are able to treat warts the same day you come in for a consultation with cryotherapy.

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If you notice small bumps around the heel or weight-bearing areas of your feet, you may have developed plantar warts. When the HPV virus enters the skin through an opening, such as a small cut or scrape, plantar warts can form and often cause discomfort.  It may take two to six months after HPV exposure for plantar warts to appear.  Some indicators that you have plantar warts include feeling pain in the soles of the feet when standing or walking and the formation of small fleshy growths, sometimes including a tiny black dot in the center of the bump.

 

To best prevent getting plantar warts, it’s advised to keep your hands and feet clean and wash them regularly. It’s also important to ensure you wear appropriate footwear in public areas such as swimming pools, locker rooms, and communal showers. Because plantar warts are contagious, it’s especially important for those with a weaker immune system to make sure they take the above precautions. If you believe you’ve developed plantar warts and are experiencing severe pain, swelling, redness, or bleeding, it’s advised to seek professional care.

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Symptoms and Causes

What are the symptoms of plantar warts?

Plantar wart symptoms include:

  • Similar in appearance to other warts, but they exist deeper in your skin, like an iceberg.

  • Rough, thick surface that may look like cauliflower.

  • Discoloration (dark pink, yellow, brown, purple or gray).

  • Dotted with brown or black specks (wart seeds). These are dried blood clots.

  • Pain or tenderness.

  • Discomfort.

  • Bleeding.

Plantar warts typically form:

  • On, around or between your toes.

  • On the balls of your feet (forefeet).

  • On your heels.

Sometimes, many plantar warts will grow together in a large cluster called a mosaic wart.

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Are plantar warts contagious?

Plantar warts are contagious. They spread from direct contact with HPV, through either skin-to-skin contact or sharing items such as shoes, socks and towels. If you have a plantar wart, you can infect yourself by touching the plantar wart with another part of your body.

HPV can also spread through infected surfaces, especially if they’re warm or wet. It’s a good idea to wear shoes or flip-flops at the gym, public pool, sauna, steam room or other public places.  

 

Plantar warts aren’t a sexually transmitted infection (STI or STD). HPV causes warts, but there are over 100 types of HPV.

HPV types 1, 2, 3, 4, 27 and 57 cause plantar warts. Skin-to-skin sexual contact doesn’t spread these types of HPV, so they aren’t STDs.

HPV types 6 and 11 cause most cases of genital warts. Skin-to-skin sexual contact spreads these types of HPV, so they’re STDs.

Treatment and Prevention

How do you remove a plantar wart?

Plantar warts often go away on their own after one to two years, after your immune system fights off the virus. However, because plantar warts can spread, cause pain and make you feel self-conscious, your healthcare provider may recommend treatment. Plantar wart treatment options include:

  • Cryotherapy: Your healthcare provider applies extreme cold to freeze and destroy the plantar wart. To create the severe cold, your healthcare provider will use a substance like liquid nitrogen or argon gas.

  • Immunotherapy: Immunotherapy helps your immune system fight HPV. This process involves a topical chemical, such as diphencyprone (DCP). DCP causes a mild allergic reaction that makes the plantar wart go away.

  • Electrocautery: Your healthcare provider uses an electric current to burn your planter warts off.

  • Topical medicine: Your healthcare provider applies a liquid medicine that contains the chemical cantharidin. A blister forms under the plantar wart that cuts off the blood supply. Your healthcare provider will remove the dead plantar wart about a week later.

  • Surgery: If your problem does not respond to the treatments above, surgical removal with a laser may be indicated. This procedure is done at an outpatient surgery center or hospital. This is an outpatient surgery in which you have the surgery done and leave the center or hospital the same day. 

How can I reduce my risk of developing plantar warts?

There are many ways to reduce your risk of developing plantar warts:

  • Avoid touching plantar warts on yourself or another person.

  • Thoroughly wash your hands with warm water and antibacterial soap after touching a plantar wart.

  • Thoroughly clean your feet, toes and the spaces between your toes when you bathe.

  • Dry your feet, toes and the spaces between your toes after swimming or bathing.

  • Don’t share towels, washcloths, shoes, socks, nail clippers or other personal items.

  • Wear clean cotton or wool socks that absorb moisture or socks made out of synthetic materials that wick away moisture.

  • Clean your shoes with disinfecting sprays or wipes.

  • Wear sandals or flip-flops in public locker rooms, pools, saunas, steam rooms or showers.

  • Throw away or thoroughly clean emery boards, pumice stones or exfoliating tools that you use to scrape away dead skin on your plantar warts.

  • Get the HPV vaccine.

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