Warts and all: your guide to plantar warts, verruca and the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)
Plantar wart, verruca or something else? Sometimes it can be difficult to tell.
Warts are caused by viruses that affect your skin, creating a hard and often raised area on your skin. Foot warts that appear on the sole of your foot are often called verrucas, (or Verrucae) or a plantar wart. Unlike verrucae on other areas of your body, plantar warts are flat, as your body weight pushes them into the skin on your feet.
Wherever they appear on your body, verrucae are caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). There are over 100 kinds of HPV, but only a few result in warts on the feet. The types of HPV that do are often found in moist, damp environments, such as the wet areas around communal swimming pools, showers and changing rooms. If you have any cuts or grazes on your feet, or even just soft wet skin, simply walking on the floor barefoot can allow the virus to get into your skin. That’s why so many young people get verrucas from school changing areas or swimming pools.
If you suspect you or one of your family have a verruca, call to make an appointment at one of our foot care clinics in Stratford, Ingersoll, and London. Our team will assess and treat the verruca you have as required, and offer expert care advice so you can carry on and enjoy the summer months in the water and out!
Avoiding contact with the HPV virus
Anywhere that is continually moist and damp could harbour the HPV virus, including around the edges of public fountains, lakeside areas or water parks, even wet decking and beach bar floors! So keep your sandals, water shoes or deck shoes on in these conditions, and rinse your feet in fresh clean water if you have any concerns. Always wash your hands after touching a plantar wart to ensure your skin if feel from any virus, and don’t scratch or pick at them as this may cause them to spread across your foot. Some people build an immunity to the types of HPV that causes verrucas over their lifetime, but in truth, almost anyone can get a verruca at any age.
How to spot a verruca
Verrucas appear as small growths on your soles with a tiny black dot in the centre. Th dot you can see are actually blocked blood vessels, known as wart seeds. Verrucas can also develop hard skin over the top (known as a callus) which can make it painful to walk if they are on a part of your foot that takes your weight. Some describe the pain as like treading on a needle.
Verrucae can also spread into a large flat cluster, known as a “mosaic wart”, (2) so it’s important to catch them early. It’s also important to keep checking your feet long after any potential exposure, as the virus can take months to emerge and form a wart!
Can I treat my plantar warts myself?
There are various over the counter treatments for verrucas/plantar warts, but always check with a foot care professional before self-treating. There are over 200 types of warts, so what you may think are warts may actually be another skin problem. So pop in to see us and consult with one of our team at Hunt Footcare to identify and treat any that you might have.
The good news is that plantar warts often go away of their own accord when affecting children under the age of 12. However, this may take up to 2 years to clear. So it’s important to get any warts on the feet looked at, especially it is bleeding or changes in colour and shape over time. People with diabetes, who are pregnant or who have a compromised immune system are also more vulnerable to infection.
Timely treatment by our team here at Hunt Footcare can treat the plantar warts you have, and prevent them coming back again. We may prescribe special medications for you to apply at home, or we may perform surgery to eradicate your warts altogether.
Get expert help for warts, verrucas, and infection prevention at our footcare clinics in London, Ingersoll and Stratford. So if you live in Brantford, Tillsonburg, St. Mary’s, Strathroy, Mitchell, Aylmer, St. Thomas, and Woodstock, help for your verrucas and any foot health issue is just a short drive away. Book your appointment today!
About the author
J.Craig Hunt D.Ch. is founder of Hunt Footcare, one of Southwestern Ontario’s longest providers of professional footcare and foot surgery consultation services. He is Past President of both the College of Chiropodists of Ontario and the Ontario Society of Chiropodists. Read more about Craig here: https://www.huntfootcare.com/about/.
SOURCES:
(1) https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/plantar-warts/symptoms-causes/syc-20352691
(2) https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthwise/warts-and-plantar-warts
(3) https://opma.wildapricot.org/What-is-a-Plantar-Wart/
GENERAL
