Plantar warts can bring very unpleasant and sometimes very painful sensations to their owner.There are a large number of ways to treat plantar warts: surgical removal, medications, physical therapy.Traditional medicine has shown good effectiveness in solving this problem;its secrets are quite simple, and the ingredients are quite accessible to everyone.What a plantar wart looks like, the causes of its appearance and methods of treatment will be discussed in the article.
Causes of plantar warts
Corns or plantar warts are a serious skin defect in the form of flat, scaly growths that can appear singly or in groups on any part of the body, but most often appear on the feet and palms of the hands.Plantar warts create the greatest discomfort;they can completely deprive a person of the ability to move.
As a rule, young people aged 20-30 years are exposed to this scourge, although the appearance of spikes has been noted both in the elderly and in children.The main cause of this pathology is the human papilloma virus, which spreads quickly between people and is quite aggressive.
Plantar warts do not have an incubation period.In patients with a weakened immune system, the disease can appear within a few days after contact with a carrier of the infection;with a healthy immune system, warts have almost no chance of appearing.
Factors, criteria and causes of plantar warts:
- Increased dryness of the skin of the feet, decreased pH levels that protect the epidermis;
- Weak immunity;
- Vegeto-vascular diseases, in which cyanosis of the limbs is noted;
- Plantar skin injuries;
- Endocrinological diseases;
- Excessive sweating of the feet;
- Very narrow and uncomfortable shoes that are made of low-quality materials;
- Hormonal disorders.
These conditions not only contribute to the appearance of warts and their further spread, but can greatly complicate the therapy, which in each specific case should be aimed both at removing the tumor itself and at removing the initial cause.
Symptoms of plantar warts
A plantar wart is a rather unpleasant growth that has a root that penetrates deep into the tissue and at the same time exerts pressure on nerve cells.As a result, painful sensations arise, which intensify when walking and even more so when moving in shoes.
The main symptoms of plantar warts:
- Skin thickenings that resemble calluses;
- Small growths appear on the foot;
- Pain when touching the infected area and when walking;
- A change in skin color occurs in a certain area of the sole.
The initial stage is characterized by the appearance of fleshy and smooth growths on the foot;the color of the skin around the lesion becomes unnaturally dark or, on the contrary, becomes very light.At first there is no pain, then it appears with pressure on the infected area, and later it increases with every touch and walking.
For about a month, another, daughter formation usually appears near the first wart, but sometimes they appear simultaneously in a group of several parts.These neoplasms cause a lot of inconvenience and disrupt the normal rhythm of life;in some cases, a person is completely deprived of the ability to move independently, which leads to a loss of working capacity.
How to treat a plantar wart with folk remedies?
The methods of traditional medicine have proven to be excellent in solving this problem.Tools and components for their implementation can often be found in every kitchen and in every garden.The most effective folk methods for the treatment of plantar warts:
- Grind a medium onion into a paste and mix with the vinegar.Cover the healthy skin around the wart with a patch to prevent burns, apply the resulting composition to a piece of cotton wool, which should be attached with a patch or bandage to the site of infection.It is recommended to apply this compress before going to bed for the whole night.The wart gradually dies after the second compress;you can completely get rid of it in a very short time.
- Instead of onion mixed with vinegar, you can apply a slab of horseradish root or a piece of garlic on the infected area.The effect will be the same.
- Celandine has been used to remove warts since ancient times.To get rid of them completely, it is necessary to lubricate the infected area with the juice of this plant 5-6 times a day.After 15 days, there will be no trace of the unpleasant formations.An alternative can be a herbal medicine that you can buy at any pharmacy along with instructions for use.It should be remembered that abuse of this drug can lead to the appearance of keloid scars.
- If a large part of the sole is infected with warts, fresh nettle can help.The ground plant should be placed on a burdock leaf and applied to the infected area.Secure with a bandage or stocking, preferably woolen.A few of these treatments will get rid of plantar warts for good.
- Lemon peel tincture can be easily made at home.Finely chop the peel of two lemons, add vinegar in the amount of 100 g. Insist this composition for a week in a tightly closed container.Treat the infected area with the strained infusion, avoiding contact with healthy skin, 3 times a day.
Before performing the procedures described above, you should steam your feet for half an hour;you can pour some soda in the water or add soap.The steam sole is much more amenable to this treatment, which ensures a quick recovery.
Traditional medicine has been tested by the practice of many generations and, unlike modern medicines, they have almost no contraindications.But if no improvement is noticed within two weeks, then you should consult a doctor.
How to treat plantar warts with medication?
In some cases, plantar warts disappear on their own after a while.However, hoping for a coincidence and expecting a miracle, this disease can be started, and it is usually possible to get rid of neoplasms in the initial stage quickly and easily, even at home.
The most common means of combating this disease is salicylic acid, which can be purchased at any pharmacy.No doctor's appointment or prescription required.The liquid composition is applied to the infected area in the form of a compress 2 times a day.You can buy a special patch;it is stuck on the area of the sole with rashes and removed after two days.
Plantar warts are well treated with a special topical preparation that contains the poison of the blisters.Its use does not cause pain, but a type of blister may form at the treatment site, which opens and dries up over several days.
Treatment of plantar warts is a very long process that requires patience and persistence.It is necessary to use a vitamin complex together with drugs for local application, because immunity plays an important role in solving this disease.
Removal of plantar warts
There are several methods to remove plantar warts in clinical settings, all of them are painful to some extent, but they get rid of the problem in the shortest possible time.The main methods of removing tumors include:
- Any formation can be removed with a surgical scalpel;warts are no exception.The process itself is quite painful and must certainly be accompanied by anesthesia.
- With the help of a laser beam, the vessels near the infected area are burned, as a result of which tissue necrosis occurs and the wart, which is deprived of nutrition, dies.
- The method of electrocoagulation is cauterization of a tumor with a high-frequency current.The process itself takes from a few seconds to a few minutes, it will all depend on the thickness and size of the growth.
The removal of plantar tumors is resorted to in cases where other methods do not bring a positive effect.Scars often remain after these procedures, but these methods remove warts quickly and at the same time as the roots.
Cryodestruction of a plantar wart
This method consists in treating the tumor with liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196 degrees.The cryodestruction method is expressed in the fact that during freezing the part of the skin infected with viruses is destroyed with additional stimulation of the body's defenses.But it should be noted that when a wart appears and remains for up to six months, the effectiveness of its removal is approximately 85%.At the same time, the effectiveness of removing tumors that exist for more than six months is reduced to 40%.
The cryodestruction process can be performed:
- usually (liquid nitrogen is applied until a light halo of several millimeters is formed near the wart);
- aggressively (liquid nitrogen, after forming a light halo around the wart, continues to be applied for another 5-20 seconds).
Studies prove that the aggressive freezing method is more effective than the conventional method, but its disadvantage is that it is much more painful.
After removal of the wart, reddening (hyperemia) of the skin with further formation of swelling in the affected area is noticed.A few hours later, a blister (may contain serous or hemorrhagic fluid) appears on the infected area, and approximately one week after the blister dries up, a crust appears on the area, which disappears on its own within 10-14 days.
Prevention measures and possible consequences
What is the danger if plantar warts are not treated?In the absence or incorrect treatment, tumors can multiply and spread to other parts of the body: face, hands.The aesthetic side of the matter probably does not need comments, but the treatment in this case will take much longer.
Any neoplasm can develop into a malignant form.Therefore, leaving a plantar wart unattended is very dangerous.At the same time, carriers of the human papilloma virus are sources of infection for other people;their relatives are included in the highest risk group.
The importance of treating plantar warts is clear, but we must not forget about preventive measures:
- Mandatory compliance with personal hygiene rules;
- Avoid uncomfortable and tight shoes;
- Wearing special individual shoes in common areas such as sauna, bath, swimming pool;
- Treatment of any damage to the skin of the sole (scratches, wounds);
- Use of vitamin complexes;
- Maintain pH levels with hydrating foot care products.
Since the most important cause of this disease is a viral infection, the main preventive measures should be aimed at maintaining the immune system.Therefore, the main recommendations are personal hygiene and a healthy lifestyle.