PAINFUL BLISTER

by JACKIE
(WICHITA KS)

ON THE BOTTOM OF MY DAUGHTERS FOOT THERE IS A HARD BLISTER/WART LIKE THING THAT HAS GROWN IN SIZE AND IS VERY VERY PAINFUL FOR HER, SHE WONT EVEN LET ME TOUCH IT, SHE LET ME SOAK IT IN POROXIDE AND IT SEEMED TO SURFACE SOME, SHE CANNOT EVEN PUT PRESSURE ON THE SPOT, PLEASE HELP!!! i HAVE INCLUDDED A PICTURE OF THE SPOT FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO SEE EXACTLY WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND EFFORTS, YOU ARE SO VERY APPRECIATED. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO.

RESPONSE

Hi Jackie,

Unfortunately, I did not receive any pictures which of course would have made this problem a little easier for me to try and solve.
I do not know how old your daughter is nor do I know her activity level (athletic, etc.) but you describe the growth as a "blister/wart" like thing. Well, it could be either one.
The thing here is that generally blisters will not continue to get larger unless of course the underlying cause is not eliminated. So, if your daughter were a tennis player for example and she continued to play tennis and it was the friction of tennis that caused the original blister, then there is the chance the blister could continue to worsen.
I am guessing that is probably not the case, so that leaves us with the possibility of a wart. By the way, a blister or a wart would be the two most common growths that would occur in a child, but you never know, and it could actually be something else.
Anyway, that leaves us with the possibility of a wart. A wart is caused by a virus, will develop spontaneously and can grow in size. Not only can it grow in size but is also can develop satellite growths, meaning additional warts occurring near the original wart and other parts of the body.
The thing to note here is that warts and blisters look nothing a like. Whereas you may have never seen a wart before, I am sure you have seen blisters, so I would imagine you would have called it just a blister if indeed it were a blister.
Now, you mention the growth is very painful for your daughter. Although warts may spontaneously disappear, this can take a while to occur and there is no way of predicting if and when that may happen.
I think by the sheer fact that your daughter is experiencing pain, a visit to foot specialist would be well advised.
If it is indeed a wart, there are various treatments available, some which are more aggressive than others. In general, there are topical medications which will soften the wart and make it easier for the doctor (or yourself) to remove some of it and eventually get rid of it.
Keep in mind, the problem with warts is that although some will spontaneously disappear, many more will continue to growth. Quite simply, the more warts that a patient develops, the harder they are to get rid of.

Marc Mitnick DPM
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