The Human Papilloma Virus is responsible for the growth of warts on your skin. Over 100 strains of the HPV virus exist, but only a few are responsible for warts. Other areas of the body and skin, such as hands or faces, are more susceptible to warts. Hands, face, or genitals. Verruca warts or Plantar warts are the official names for warts that appear on your sole.

You'll find them often on your heels, or in other areas that bear weight.

Our Advanced Foot Surgery Centre doctors can provide you with a diagnosis and treatment plan if your plantar warts cause pain or discomfort.

Causes and Risk Factors

HPV is an extremely slow-growing virus. It can be transmitted through direct or indirect contact. You could catch it from someone else who is infected (e.g. Skin-to-skin contact, or sharing shoes, socks, or floor surfaces with an infected person are all possible. Not everyone who comes into contact with the virus develops warts. This is because each person's immunity responds differently to viral strains.

This virus is spread by warm, humid environments. It can be picked up in public pools and showers.

This virus causes the top layer to grow quickly and create a raised, fleshy lesion on your bottom feet.

A plantar wart can occur in anyone. There are still a few factors that increase the risk of a plantar wart.

  • Children & teenagers. Children & teens are more susceptible to them due to the increased exposure in public places, e.g. They are still developing immunity against viruses in school pools.
  • Immune system weakening
  • Do not walk barefoot on communal surfaces Especially in areas where the virus thrives, e.g. Showers & locker rooms.
  • Injuries, cuts, or skin infections in your feet that act as a portal for the virus
  • Direct contact with a person with warts

Symptoms

Plantar warts come in all sizes and shapes. It is a virus infection and tiny blood vessels develop at the core. These vessels are what supply the wart with nutrients and blood. They often appear as dark spots at the center of the wart. Plantar warts can cause pain, especially if they are on the weight-bearing part of your foot. It is the pressure of your body weight on the wart that causes it to be uncomfortable.

Here are some common symptoms that you might experience if you've got a plantar genital wart:

  • Small, rough, grainy lesions that grow on the soles of the feet (normally on the toes or ball of the shoe).
  • The border of the fleshy lesion is solid.
  • Black spots on the lesion.
  • It can have a hard, yellowish skin that is overlying.
  • When squeezing the outside edges of the lesion, there is pain.
  • If the pain is on a foot area that bears weight, it can be felt when walking.
  • The normal patterns and lines of skin on your feet are disrupted by a lesion.
  • Multiple lesions may occur in the same location.

Diagnosis

You can diagnose yourself if you have any of the above symptoms. You can use the Squeeze Test to determine if you have corn.

Squeeze Test Press the area on either side and if it causes pain, then you are more likely to have a corn.

We recommend that you visit one of our podiatrists to ensure an accurate diagnosis. The treatment is different for a wart than for a corn. If your podiatrist cannot tell by just looking at the growth, they may take a small sample to confirm.

Treatment

Plantar warts can be painful and require treatment. Some warts disappear after a few treatments, while long-standing warts may take months to resolve.

Podiatrists can be of assistance in many ways.

  • Use Swift Therapy a medical microwave technology that is highly effective at removing warts.
  • Remove the outer hard layer of wart tissue by debridement.
  • Mild acids can be used to remove warts.
  • The wart can be frozen using cryotherapy
  • Complete plantar wart removal under local anesthesia with minor surgery

Swift Therapy

SWIFT uses medical-grade microwave technology to treat warts and verrucae.

We can deliver a microwave signal focused on the skin to ensure that only the warts are treated. The wart tissue is heated quickly to 42-45oC. The sudden rise in temperature may cause discomfort. However, SWIFT treatments work so quickly that discomfort lasts only a few moments. After the correct dosage is delivered, you will not feel any pain and can leave without dressings. SWIFT is suitable for most people. They do not need to remove the warts with a sharp instrument.

This technology is the most effective treatment on the market, with a success rate between 75-83%.

In-clinic Chemical Treatments

Two main chemicals are used to treat warts in Perth.

1. Silver Nitrate

  • A chemical application that is gentle
  • The podiatrist will debride the wart tissue in order to expose the blood supply, and then apply silver nitrate on top of it.
  • Debridement of the skin and application of chemicals cause tissue damage in an attempt to activate the immune system.
  • Silver nitrate may cause a gray staining on the skin that will eventually fade.

2. Salicylic Acid

  • The chemical is usually formulated as a paste and is then applied to the lesion.
  • Similar to silver nitrate the chemical creates tissue trauma to try to activate the immune response.

You may need several treatments depending on the size and duration of the infection. These chemicals should be applied every 1-2 weeks until the wart is gone. We recommend that you apply an over-the-counter treatment along with these chemical treatments during your treatment.

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy involves the application of a freezing agent, usually liquid nitrogen, directly on the wart. The treatment is quick, but it can be uncomfortable due to the freezing sensation. A blister may also form.

This method is less effective than chemical treatments in many cases.

The treatment is repeated every 2-4 weeks until the problem resolves.

Surgical Plantar Wart Removal

Curettage, also known as a mastectomy, is a surgical process whereby the area surrounding the warts is numbed with a local anesthetic. The podiatrist will then remove the wart tissue in order to reveal healthy skin. The phenol chemical used to burn wart tissue is followed by silver nitrate to stop the bleeding.

You will need to avoid weight-bearing on the foot for the first few weeks after surgery. It will be very tender. Most people can walk normally within 1-2 weeks and the pain has been significantly reduced.

Wart Off and Wartner. These over-the-counter remedies are usually a mild salicylic solution or a home freezing kit. We would recommend the Wart Off Stick as a home remedy. Follow the instructions on the package for four weeks and, if the problem persists, make an appointment with our Advanced Foot Surgery in Perth.

Home Remedies

  • Use duct tape to suffocate warts
  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Garlic

You may have heard of people who are successful with these remedies. To successfully treat warts, it is essential to activate the immune system to fight off the virus. These home remedies are not proven to work and can lead to skin irritation or infection.

What Could Happen if I Ignore my Plantar Warts?

Warts can disappear on their own in 65% of the cases. If you ignore a severe mosaic or plantar wart, it could lead to:

  • Pain and discomfort that persist, leading to more severe treatment.
  • If a painful wart causes muscle or joint pain, you may need to change your posture or gait.
  • The virus can spread to other areas of the body and cause more warts.
  • It is possible to spread the virus, even to family members and friends.

The Following is a List of Preventions.

Here are some tips on how to avoid warts in the first instance:

  • Avoid walking barefoot on communal surfaces
  • Keep your socks clean and shoes fresh
  • Dry your feet off
  • Warts are contagious. Avoid direct contact