Warts

Plantar warts, also known as plantar verrucae, are lesions that occur on the bottom of the foot. These types of lesions can occur all over the body however are only known as plantar warts when on the bottom of the foot. They can occur on their own or in clusters and if the hard skin on the outside of the wart grows too thick over the lesion without treatment they can be extremely painful. However in other cases, particularly when occurring on non weight bearing parts of the foot can be painless.

Who can get plantar warts?

Plantar warts can affect people of all ages. They are particularly common in children, adolescents, those who have a weakened immune system and people who have a previous history of warts.

Why do they occur?

Warts are caused by a common virus called the human papillomavirus. Not everyone that has the virus will result in these lesions developing as each person reacts differently to the presence of the virus. It can be transmitted through indirect contact such as sharing public showers in swimming pools or at the gym, where people are barefoot. It is also common in children that have warts for them to transmit them to other family members.

How is it treated?

The treatment of plantar warts at Wagga Podiatry Plus is individualised for each client depending on the size and location of the wart and also on the pain tolerance of the client. Initially treatment involves reducing any pain the lesion is causing by offloading the area and removing any overlying hard skin. After this the podiatrist has a number of options in terms of removing the wart. The body’s immune system is good at removing wart however as it camouflages with healthy cells well, it is not good at recognising its presence within the skin. Therefore treatment involves stimulating the immune response to recognise and remove the wart.

Our team of expert podiatrists have a number of treatments available to best suit pain tolerance and severity of each wart. Different treatment options include application of salicylic acid, silver nitrate, potassium peroxide or dry needling the wart. This range of treatment options ensure that they are able to remove stubborn warts that have failed previous treatment options.