How You Can Prevent Foot Warts

Warts are a condition that we see commonly in children and teenagers at Southern Maryland Foot & Ankle Care. Warts occur when a virus enters the skin of the foot through small or even invisible cuts. There are two main kinds of warts that appear on the foot:

Foot Warts—these usually appear as raised, fleshy bumps. They can develop on any part of the foot or toes. Although basically harmless, these warts can be very painful. They can also grow up to an inch around and spread to other parts of the foot.

Plantar Warts—these warts tend to be flat and hard. They are usually gray or brown with pinpoints of black in the center and have clear boundaries and a rough surface. Plantar warts most often appear on the soles of the feet and because of the weight bearing that occurs to that part of the foot, they cause a good deal of pain.

Why See the Podiatrist?

Warts can be mistaken for corns or calluses. Corns and calluses, however, have very different causes and require very different treatments from warts. Our board certified foot doctor, Larry Hotchkiss, DPM, will be able to accurately diagnose your condition and prescribe the correct treatment. We advise against over the counter wart treatments because they have been known to harm healthy skin surrounding the wart. A variety of treatments for warts are available to the podiatrist, including prescription ointments, freezing and laser cautery. The podiatrist will take in consideration whether your warts have been resistant to treatment or have reoccurred, as well as your lifestyle and activities in determining the best treatment plan for you.

Preventing Warts

Warts are spread by direct contact with the virus that causes them. This means touching a wart or the skin that comes off a wart or the blood, if the wart bleeds. The virus that causes warts is often found in moist, warm environments. For your best chance at avoiding warts, follow these suggestions:

• Don’t go barefoot in public places, particularly damp ones such as pools, locker rooms, showers, and changing areas.
• Don’t touch warts on your own or another person’s body.
• Change your socks at least daily, more often if your feet tend to sweat an above-average amount
• Wash feet daily and dry completely

If you have questions about warts or any other podiatric issues, contact either our Waldorf or Clinton office for an appointment by calling (301) 868-3899 or (301) 843-9581. We look forward to serving all your foot and ankle needs.