What is a Plantar Wart?
A wart is a small, rough growth on the skin that develops when the skin in the affected area get infected by a virus. A plantar wart specifically occurs when the virus infects the skin of the foot, most commonly showing up on the balls and heels of the feet as they are the areas that take the most pressure. As a result, this pressure may cause the plantar warts to grown inward under a callus, which are thickened layers of skin.
There are 2 types of plantar warts:
1) Solitary Wart: a single wart that often increases in size and has the potential to multiple and form additional warts around the original one.
2) Mosaic Warts: cluster of a few small warts localized in one area of the foot. They require more treatment and take somewhat longer to heal when compared a solitary wart.
What are the Causes of Plantar Warts?
Plantar warts arise when one has direct contact with the human papilloma virus (HPV), which infects the skin with which it came into contact with. The HPV virus can infects the skin by entering via tiny cuts and breaks on the bottom of the feet. For this reason, plantar warts are more common among people who use public shower and pools more often as they have a higher chance of getting into direct contact with the infecting virus.
Although hearing that the HPV infects your skin might sound like a serious health concern, HPV is not by any means a life-threatening infection. However, it can cause pain and discomfort with each step you take. With that being said, Dr. Syamak Yamini located in Porter Ranch, Encino, and Los Angeles CA can accurately diagnose and treat plantar warts in a timely manner.
What are the Symptoms of Plantar Warts?
The common sign and symptoms of plantar warts include:
How are Plantar Warts Treated?
The first step is proper diagnosis of the plantar wart. Dr. Syamak Yamini located in Porter Ranch, Encino, and Los Angeles CA will perform a comprehensive physical examine of your feet and look for the various signs and symptoms of plantar wart. Dr. Yamini may also perform a biopsy to confirm the presence of HPV in the skin.
Plantar warts may resolve on their own with time. However, this can be slow and cause you pain and discomfort along the way. This is why goal of Dr. Syamak Yamini's treatment is to completely remove the wart in a much faster manner. Depending on the serverty of the infection, Dr. Syamak Yamini located in Porter Ranch, Encino, and Los Angeles utilizes the latest topical/oral treatments, freezing therapy, and acid treatments to treat plantar warts.
Since plantar warts so very common among the general public, many use home remedies to self-treat plantar warts. While some of the home remedies may provide temporarily relief of symptoms, they have not been proven to directly treat the warts and some may be dangerous, with unwanted side effects.
How can Plantar Warts be Prevented?
