Viral infection of your skin with the human papillomavirus (HPV) may cause warts to form on your hands (palmar warts) or on the soles of your feet (plantar warts). Untreated plantar warts can grow to form a large lump that hurts when you walk.
The good news is that you have several potentially effective at-home and professional podiatry treatments available to you to remove plantar warts from the soles of your feet.
At Town Center Foot & Ankle, board-certified podiatrist Stephen G. (“Dr. Ike”) Eichelsdorfer, DPM, and our experienced podiatry care team can recommend the best treatment options for your plantar warts. Here’s what you need to know.
You may be able to effectively treat plantar wart outbreaks at home on your own with some simple conservative remedies, especially if your warts aren’t painful or rapidly spreading. But you may need multiple treatments to fully remove a wart, and your warts can develop and recur in the same or in other locations.
Try at-home, over-the-counter salicylic acid medications designed for wart removal, or try at-home wart freezing kits.
Some studies show benefit from applying apple cider vinegar, tea tree oil, or diluted milk thistle to plantar warts several times daily using a clean cotton ball or swab. You may even benefit from using duct tape pads to peel away the layers of a plantar wart.
In some cases, plantar warts require professional medical evaluation and care.
At Town Center Foot & Ankle, we can confirm the diagnosis of plantar warts by examining your lesions, including by paring with a scalpel to check for signs of small clotted blood vessels. We may also need to take a shave biopsy sample of your lesion for lab analysis.
We offer professional-grade treatment options for plantar wart removal including:
These medicines contain the peeling agent salicylic acid, which removes layers of your wart gradually, while also potentially stimulating your immune system to fight off the virus causing your plantar wart problems.
This wart removal technique involves freezing the wart with an application of liquid nitrogen, often requiring repeated treatments every 2-4 weeks for complete wart removal results.
With immunotherapy, we use medications to stimulate your immune system and root out the underlying viral infection causing your plantar warts.
For severe cases of stubborn, painful warts, Dr. Ike may recommend in-office minor surgery for removal (electrodesiccation and curettage).
To learn more about how you can get rid of uncomfortable and embarrassing warts on the soles of your feet, contact our Kingwood or Atascocita, Texas, office today. Request your initial evaluation by calling, or request an appointment through our online tool.
