plantar warts

A Wart can present as a solitary lesion or they can appear in clusters more commonly known as a mosaic wart. Many times they are more painful when squeezed compared to direct pressure applied to them. Warts contain their own blood supply which is represented by the black dots that you may see within them. That is also the reason they bleed so readily when they are scraped.

Below is a drawing of a plantar wart.

Below is a picture of multiple plantar warts, also known as mosaic warts.

There are what seem to be a hundred different treatments for warts which tell you that there is no acceptable treatment. There is also an abundance of folk remedies, the reason being that since warts can spontaneously disappear, the remedies end up getting the credit. There is a very high recurrence rate in the treatment of a wart. The problem with a plantar wart compared to a wart elsewhere on the body, is warts are generally outgrowths, meaning that they grow out from the skin so most of the wart is visible making treatment simple. Unfortunately, a wart on the bottom of the foot is pushed inward from walking on them meaning the majority of the wart is beneath the skin. This is complicated by the fact that many parts of the bottom of the foot contain thick skin further protecting the wart from treatment.

Does a wart need to be treated? One or two solitary lesions that do not hurt can be left alone and watched in the hopes that they may spontaneously disappear. However, should one notice that the warts are beginning to spread treatment is highly recommended; the logic being that if ignored the wart will continue to spread, possibly become painful, and that the more warts one has, the harder it will be to eradicate all of them.Treatment depends on their location and the number of warts present. A Wart over a bony prominence such as the ball of the foot should never be surgically removed because if a scar develops it may be as painful as the original wart. There are a million wart medications on the market, most of which are not strong enough for plantar warts (because the wart is beneath the skin). However, a foot specialist has available stronger medications which in conjunction with regular paring of the wart will eradicate most cases of warts. The upside to this treatment is that it is a reasonably painless experience and there should be no limitation on activity. The downside is that it can sometimes take a long time to eventually get rid of the wart.

For those who have many warts numbering in the dozens if not hundreds, simple acids or surgery will not work due to the large amount of warts that need to be treated.

In these cases cimetidine (Tagamet, used for stomach ulcers) has been shown to be effective in eliminating cutaneous lesions such as warts. The usual dose is 300-400mg twice a day for about eight weeks. The drug may also be used in children in smaller doses. It works by enhancing the body's immune system.

Vitamin A in large oral doses, by prescription only, has also been shown to be effective in eliminating large areas of wart.

Laser surgery is also a popular method for wart removal. Because the laser beam cauterizes the wound as it destroys the wart, healing is usually quicker than conventional excision of a wart. This is usually done in an outpatient setting which of course, adds additional expense and will require anesthesia.

As stated earlier there is a high recurrence rate with warts. If you have warts on other parts of your body, they too have to be treated at the same time as the plantar warts otherwise you will not get rid of the warts on your feet.

It should be mentioned that any wart that seems to keep recurring should be biopsied to make sure it is not something other than a wart. Along those same lines, warts are commonly known as a "disease of adolescence" which should raise a degree of suspicion in older individuals who appear to have warts. These lesions should also be biopsied as they have a higher propensity to become malignant than warts observed in juveniles.

Do you have a home remedy for warts?

Have you tried or heard about a home remedy for removing warts. We sure would like to hear about it.

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