Warts Podiatrist

Warts (“verruca” in medical terms), are caused by a virus.  Warts which occur on the foot can be rather painful. They are frequently called plantar warts because they appear most often on the plantar surface or sole of the foot. The foot doctor, David P. Rosenzweig (Podiatris), Board Certified in Podiatric Surgery, sees many patients with Plantar Warts.

Plantar warts are similar to warts which may occur elsewhere on the body except they grow inward. The wart cannot grow outward because of weight placed on it when you stand. You may experience severe pain when walking, and can have just one or many plantar warts.

Plantar warts are a common skin infection on the bottom side of your foot. About ten percent of teenagers have plantar warts. Using a public shower or walking around the locker room in your bare feet after a workout increases your risk for developing plantar warts. However, if untreated by your foot doctor (podiatrist) a serious infection can result.

Warts appear as a small lump of hard skin with black dots. It is mostly occurs on the bottom of the foot. It is easily confused with a corn, but there are some simple differences:

  • A wart is painful when squeezed
  • A corn is painful when pushed
  • A wart can occur anywhere on the foot
  • A corn occurs over areas of pressure

Causes

This is one reason why warts are common in children, they have finer skin that is more easily damaged. Other reasons are that they have not yet built up a resistance to warts and more commonly use pools and shared showers.

Treatment

Often warts are painless and the only complaint is that of their appearance. There is a strong argument not to treat painless nor spreading warts particularly in children. It is postulated that exposure to the wart virus as a child gives a resistance in later life and some research seems to bear this out. However, when the decision is taken to treat then there is only one mode of treatment. Because there are no specific antiviral drugs for warts the treatment must be destruction of the infected area. This can be done by a variety of means. Treatments include:

  • Cryotherapy or freezing
  • Chemical, acids
  • Cautery or burning
  • Surgical removal 

Advanced Footcare Center
90 South Ridge Street
Rye Brook, New York 10573
T:  (914) 937-7077
E:  info@footdoctorcenters.com