Plantar Wart Infection

As you walk, you may notice pain in your foot. When you inspect the tender area, you see a little bump. This could mean you've gotten infected with the virus that causes plantar warts and are experiencing an outbreak. Plantar warts infections are common because the condition is contagious and easily spread in public areas where people tend to go barefoot. Although you cannot get rid of the virus, you can learn to recognize and treat infections.

Definition

• Plantar warts are small, rough skin growths on the feet that usually appear to be whitish or flesh colored. They have clearly defined boundaries, and they are often speckled with little black dots. The Mayo Clinic says the dots are actually clotted blood vessels. Plantar warts are usually harmless, although they can be annoying if they interfere with your ability to walk or run due to their location.

Location

• The main difference between plantar warts and common warts is their location. According to the National Institutes of Health, plantar warts break out on the soles of the feet rather than the hands and fingers like their common counterparts. The Mayo Clinic says they are most likely to appear in areas that are subject to pressure like the heels or balls of your feet. Depending on their location, they can be quite painful and interfere with your mobility.

Cause

• You get plantar warts due to an infection by the human papillomavirus (HPV). The Mayo Clinic says you must have direct contact with the virus in order to get infected. It is very contagious and thrives in warm, moist areas like locker rooms, showers and swimming pool decks. If you walk through these areas and have cuts or skin breaks on your feet, it can enter your body and cause a plantar wart outbreak. However, some people who are exposed to the virus do not get an outbreak. The Mayo Clinic says this is most likely due to differences in each person's immune system.

Treatment

• You cannot completely cure a plantar wart infection because the HPV will stay inside your body once you have been infected. However, you can treat wart outbreaks at home or by visiting your doctor. The easiest treatments are medicated pads or liquids that you can buy over the counter. You can also buy home kits to freeze your plantar warts or have your doctor do a similar procedure. According to the Mayo Clinic, your doctor can treat stubborn cases with a high-strength wart dissolving liquid, by cutting them off, destroying them with an electric needle or performing laser surgery.

Warning

• Although plantar warts are usually harmless, they can resist treatment because the virus can shed back into your skin as you treat them. This allows new warts to crop up as soon as you get rid of the old ones. The Mayo Clinic says you should treat new warts as quickly as possible to prevent this from happening. Otherwise you could get wart clusters known as mosaic warts and suffer a great deal of pain.