Warts are growths caused by the human papillomavirus and certain kinds can be contagious. Warts are generally harmless but can itch or be ugly and embarrassing. They are small, rough growths that can appear on the soles of the feet, although they can occur anywhere else as well. There are several different kinds and shapes, some coming in clusters and others appearing solo along the hands and feet. The most common kind of warts to get on your feet are plantar warts, which are hard but spongy, potentially painful and with several black specks in the middle of them. Plantar warts are often found on the soles of the feet around the pressure points and can be treated as easily as the rest of them.
If you have a wart, there are several avenues you can take. Over the counter topical applications containing salicyclic acid are common and work well against these afflictions. There are also special pads that you can place on your warts to make them go away. Treatments like apple cider vinegar made into a poultice and applied to the area can help also, but this is where the home remedies really end. Most treatments are administered by physicians. A common way to remove warts is through cryotherapy, which is the application of cold, or even freezing them off with carbon dioxide. The medicines work by killing the wart and make it easy to slough off or pumice away. The skin surrounding the wart will swell and blister, and when the blisters heal, the warts will be gone. This is mainly used on smaller warts; if it is a tougher wart like a plantar wart, then four or five applications may be necessary.
Sometimes, surgery by your podiatrist may be necessary. A procedure called curettage is common. A curette is a sharp scooping tool and during the surgery the wart is physically removed at its root. Laser surgery is also available. A pulse dye or a carbon dioxide laser is used to absorb either moisture or certain blood cells to remove the wart. Unfortunately both of these are costly, painful, can cause scarring, and may require sedation or anesthetic of some kind. In essence, it is "burning" the warts right off. There is even a "home remedy" for surgery, called duct tape occlusion. This process denies the wart oxygen and then involves softening the skin in water and then the person pumices it off. Experts are still undecided about this method and it's definitely not FDA approved, so kids don't try this at home.
If you have warts that need to be removed, a trip to the podiatrist could be in order. Do not attempt to cut them off yourself, as they can be painful and bleed, not to mention that they can reoccur and cause all sorts of problems if you do. If you must take care of the problem at home, purchase one of the over the counter medicines that are geared towards your affliction and use it according to the directions.
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