What is a wart? It is actually a growth on the skin, caused by a virus. On the plantar surface of the feet it is rather flat while on the back of the foot or on the hands it may be slightly elevated.
Sometimes small black dots are visible in its center, but this is not always the case!
It is contagious, so can be passed on to other places on your foot or to other family members. Most often, the contagion is by indirect contact via shower floors, swimming pools, locker rooms, etc.
Warts can develop at any age, but we see them more often in children and young adults. Fortunately, they are rarely painful.
How to get rid of it?
It is said that most warts can go away on their own without treatment, within 2 years. In adults, spontaneous resolutions are rarer and may be longer. During this time, it must be said that the wart may become larger, multiply or infect other people / other areas of our body. It is for these reasons that people goprefer to have them treated.
It is possible to use pharmacy products to do home treatments. We must pay attention to the recommendations related to these products, especially in the case of a pregnant woman, a very young child or a person suffering from neuropathy. It is better to check with the pharmacist or with the podiatrist that this treatment is suitable for you.
Treatments generally available in clinics are as follows:
- Liquid Nitrogen
- Prescription cream to apply at home
- Acid/caustic and blistering agent
- Medicated injection
The choice of treatment will be discussed with the podiatrist, in relation to the patient's age, the duration of the presence of the lesion and the extent of it.
Your podiatrist can also give you recommendations to avoid transmission and recurrence.
Often, warts are confused and mistaken for other lesions. It is therefore important to consult your podiatrist to confirm the diagnosis; it could be a corn, a foreign body or a melanoma, so don't hesitate!
Dre Coralie Emond, podiatrist
