Plantar Warts

Treatment Overview

Not all warts need to be treated. They generally go away on their own within months or years. This may be because, with time, your immune system is able to destroy the human papillomavirus that causes warts.

You may decide to treat a wart if it is:

• Painful.
• Embarrassing.
• Easily irritated.
• Growing or spreading to other parts of your body or to other people.

The goal of wart treatment is to destroy or remove the wart without creating scar tissue, which can be more painful than the wart itself. How a wart is treated depends on the type of wart, its location, and its symptoms. Also important is your willingness to follow a weeks- or months-long course of treatment.

SOURCE:

Healthwise

Plantar Warts 

Warts are a result of the most common viral infection of the skin.  Plantar warts grow on the plantar surface, or the sole, of the foot. They can be found anywhere in this area but tend to produce symptoms in areas of pressure and friction. The virus that causes warts, the human papillomavirus, infects only the superficial layer of skin, producing a thickened callus-like growth that, if located in an areas subjected to pressure, can become quite tender.

Although warts characteristically resolve spontaneously, it may become necessary to treat warts that negatively affect an individual's ability to walk. The incubation period (the period of time between infection and the production of the visible skin lesion) is unknown but has been estimated to vary from months to years. Historical evidence is of little benefit in attempting to determine how one's wart was acquired. There are at least 120 different types of human papillomavirus (HPV), and only certain types are responsible for skin warts. Certain virus types tend to infect specific anatomical areas, like the plantar surface of the foot.  Warts are ubiquitous infections, with least one-half of adults infected during their lifetime. The current prevalence of plantar warts in adults is unknown, but it is a fraction of the estimated 7%-10% of adults with all types of wart infections.

• Plantar warts are seen in all age groups, but they are most common among children 12-16 years of age and rare in the elderly.
• Risk factors for the development of plantar warts include
• Use of public showers
• Skin trauma
• Weakened immune system because of certain medications used or illness.
• For more information regarding plantar warts or to schedule an appointment please call our office @ (302) 623-4250!!!!!