It’s not always possible to immediately tell what an abnormal growth on your feet consists of—is it a corn, callus, wart? Or something else?

The rough, scaly appearance of warts on the feet can be one of the most troubling of skin conditions. They are often found on the bottoms of the feet, and can grow underneath calluses on the heel or ball of the foot causing extreme pain and discomfort. Left untreated, these plantar warts, as they are called, can grow to a circumference of over an inch, either as a single wart or in clusters of small warts.

Since plantar warts are flat and darker in color and sometimes completely hidden, they can be difficult to treat. Warts are caused by a common virus called HPV, and they are easily spread on your own skin and to other people through scratching and touching.

You can try to remove foot warts on your own with OTC products, but often the warts grow back and need professional treatment. Your foot care specialist can safely remove warts in a variety of ways depending upon their girth and location. Some of these methods include:

• Cryofreezing—This procedure uses liquefied nitrogen, which is incredibly cold, to freeze the wart tissue and kill the virus. Warts are then completely removed with abrasion and continued freezing regimens.
• Laser treatment—After application of a local numbing agent, the offending wart is dispatched with a powerful laser that destroys the tissue and removes the blood supply thereby cutting off any nutrients that are growing your wart.
• Surgery—Warts should only be cut out with the precise services of a qualified professional to avoid complications and further damage.

At Your Next Step, our team of board-certified podiatrists has access to advanced technologies, along with years of experience, to help diagnose and treat a variety of foot and ankle problems, including sports injuries, joint pain, toe deformities, nail fungus, chronic tendon pain, and skin problems. Dr. Eric Ricefield, Dr. Mark Yagodich and Dr. Aliza V. Eisen provide high quality foot and ankle care to patients in the greater Philadelphia area at our offices conveniently located in Ardmore, Paoli, and Downingtown. Please contact us for more information or to schedule an appointment.