Warts that grow in the tissue that spans the bottom of your foot (known as the plantar fascia) can be very painful and debilitating, especially when the weight of your body comes down on one when you try to walk. Plantar warts are often difficult to see often hidden by a thick skin and can be challenging to diagnose and treat without help from your podiatrist, so be sure to schedule an appointment.

Some excellent treatment for painful plantar warts include the following:

• Skin removal and acid peeling—Using a file or sanding stone to remove the skin that hides a plantar wart can be challenging to do by yourself, so this procedure should be done by your foot doctor. A strong acid solution is then applied to the wart to melt it away in layers.
• Cryotherapy (freezing)— Liquid nitrogen is applied to your podiatrist’s wart to break the wart into large chunks for painless removal. To reveal the wart, careful removal of the skin is necessary before the cryotherapy.
• Antiviral medications—All warts are caused by a virus, and the use of oral and topical antiviral medications can help eradicate the virus and warts.

If you are experiencing painful plantar warts, make an appointment to see your podiatrist.  Your doctor can remove warts without causing undue pain or injury. 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, PA. Please contact us for more information or to schedule an appointment.