How to Treat a Plantar Wart on Your Foot

Plantar warts are warts that grow on the bottom of the feet after exposure to the human papillomavirus (HPV). You can get HPV from going barefoot, especially in public places like swimming pools and locker rooms, or from contact with another person who has it. Plantar warts are not dangerous, but if you find them uncomfortable or unsightly, you may want to treat them. There are a variety of home and medical treatments to choose from if you want to eliminate a plantar wart.

Instructions

• 1

  Try over-the-counter products containing salicylic acid. Salicylic acid solutions and patches designed for use on plantar warts can slowly remove a plantar wart one layer at a time, according to the Mayo Clinic. Before you apply salicylic acid, file the wart down while your skin is damp, as recommended by the University of Maryland Medical Center.

• 2

  Consider freezing the wart off (cryotherapy). See your doctor to have the wart frozen with liquid nitrogen. The procedure can be done quickly in your doctor's office. Over-the-counter cryotherapy products are available, but they are not as effective as the medical procedure, according to the Mayo Clinic.

• 3

  Try duct tape therapy. Covering a wart in duct tape for six days and then soaking it in water and filing it has proven to be an effective wart treatment, according to the Mayo Clinic. The process may need to be repeated for up to two months.

• 4

  Talk to your doctor about other medical treatments if your wart is difficult to eliminate. A combination of salicylic acid and cantharidin, which is extracted from blister beetles, may be used. Immunotherapy medications may be applied topically or injected into the wart to encourage your immune system to fight off the wart. Your doctor may choose to inject the wart with a drug called bleomycin, which kills the wart-causing virus.

• 5

  Ask your doctor about surgery if your wart bothers you and proves resistant to other treatments. A doctor can cut a wart away during a minor surgical procedure. Laser removal is a more expensive surgical option. (Reference 1)