What causes plantar warts?
Plantar warts can be contracted in swimming pools or showers. Individuals with sweaty feet may also have an increased risk of being infected by the wart virus. While plantar warts are not highly contagious, they can be picked up in certain situations. If there is a member of the family with plantar warts it’s important to clean the shower floor regularly. Individuals with plantar warts should not share shoes with others as it can expose them to the infection.
What do warts look like?
Warts look like thick areas of scaly skin. They can be small or can cluster together to affect a larger area. The best way to distinguish a wart from a callus is to squeeze the area between your fingers. A plantar wart will be painful, while a callus will not.
Treating plantar warts
There are many different methods for treating plantar warts. In most cases, over the counter solutions are not strong enough to effectively treat the thick skin on the bottom of the foot. At our office, we offer the following methods:
- Freezing with liquid nitrogen
- Laser surgery
- Excision
Excision or removal of the plantar wart has the highest success rate of all the treatments we offer and generally results in the lowest rate of recurrence. The procedure can cause mild discomfort that may persist for a few days.
If you think that you might be dealing with a plantar wart, call us at (631) 417-3300 to schedule an exam to let us accurately diagnose it and discuss treatment options.
