What Is a Corn?

Southern Maryland Foot & Ankle in Clinton, Waldor, and California, MD, has many high-quality physicians who can help you manage many issues. For example, if you have a corn that makes life challenging, our team can help you. But what exactly are corns, and how do they affect your health? What triggers them? Well, that’s what we’re here to answer. The following information should help you better understand these painful issues.

What Exactly Are Corns?

Corns are small patches of dead skin that thicken heavily around a central core. Hard corns have a denser and rougher surface, while soft corns have a thinner surface and usually occur between the fourth and fifth toes on your feet. Typically, corns develop on weight-bearing parts of the foot and often get caused by things like plugged sweat ducts. Often, they’re painful and can make walking difficult.

Are corns the same thing as calluses? No, though they’re often confused with each other. What are calluses, then? A callus is a thickening of the outer layer of the skin caused by heavy use. For example, carpenters may develop calluses on their feet due to regularly walking up and down ladders. Similarly, musicians have calluses on their hands where they play their instruments.

How Are They Caused?

They may be caused by improper walking motion or excessive pressure on your feet. Many people get them because they wear ill-fitting shoes that put unnecessary pressure on their feet. If you’re someone who likes wearing high-heel shoes, you’re more likely to develop corns on your feet and experience unnecessary pain.

Can You Prevent Them?

Yes, you can prevent and even treat corns on your feet by taking a few simple steps. First, if you tend to develop corns, get fitted with professionally measured shoes. This step can help minimize your risk by decreasing pressure on your foot. Note: you might need different sizes for each foot because of differences in length and width.

Treatment for corns includes trimming away excess skin, installing support pads in your shoes to take pressure off the corns, taking some medications to decrease their size and surgery. Surgical repairs are rare but can help people with persistent corns.

Take a Load Off Your Feet

If you develop corns regularly on your feet and are tired of them, it’s important to reach out to us at Southern Maryland Foot & Ankle right away to get corn treatment in Clinton, Waldor, and California, MD. Our team can help you manage this problem and ensure that you feel comfortable. Call our Waldorf Office at (301) 843-9581, our Clinton Office at (301) 868-3899, or our California Office at (301) 690-6044 to get started.