A wart, wherever it appears, is not a joyno one. And the appearance of a wart on the sole is a complete disaster, because it causes severe pain when walking. Which, however, is not surprising, because the entire weight of the body presses on the wart. And the larger the wart, the stronger the pain. Sometimes they are so strong that they turn walking into a real test. If you do not want to be the Little Mermaid from the fairy tale, for whom every step on land was like walking on the tip of a dagger, you need to get rid of the plantar wart. And the sooner you do this, the better - you should not wait until the wart becomes too big. Firstly, there is no need to endure acute pain, and secondly, the smaller the wart, the easier it is to get rid of it. Most often, warts choose for themselves the support points of the foot - those places that bear the main pressure of the body. As a rule, these are the pads of the fingers and heels. Moreover, the main insidiousness of a wart is that it can start growing not on the surface of the skin, but inside - as a result, a bone callus is formed. It is easy to guess that in such a case, trying to get rid of the wart on your own is not only useless, but also dangerous to your health.
Causes of warts
Warts on the feet, as well as on any otherother parts of the body, develop due to the human papilloma virus. Doctors say that a huge number of people are infected with this virus - at least 70% of the entire population of the globe. Of course, this does not mean that all people who are carriers of the human papilloma virus have any warts. As long as the immune system functions normally, the papilloma virus peacefully dormants in the body, without manifesting itself in any way. But as soon as the immune system weakens, the virus is activated and warts begin to appear. Therefore, the best prevention of warts, including on the soles - is, of course, strengthening the immune system. It is quite easy to become infected with the human papilloma virus, since it is very widespread. Most often, direct transmission of the virus occurs - from person to person, sometimes even with a regular handshake. But household transmission of the virus is also very common - for this, it is enough for a sick person to come into contact with a surface on which the virus is located. A shower stall, a gym floor, the bottom of a pool, someone else's shoes - all this can cause a person to become infected. By the way, very often the papilloma virus goes hand in hand with fungi. If there is even the slightest cut or microcrack on the skin, one touch to the infected surface is enough for the virus to easily penetrate the human body. The incubation period can vary greatly - from several weeks to many years. Its duration depends solely on the human immune system. And when it weakens - warts appear - one or more, depending on how quickly the papilloma virus multiplies. Despite the fact that absolutely no one is immune from plantar warts, doctors distinguish so-called risk groups - categories of people who are much more likely to develop it than everyone else:
- Teens
During adolescence, there is a turbulent periodhormonal changes, so during this period the immune system weakens. And considering that teenagers, as a rule, attend various sections, go to physical education classes at school, the probability of infection increases several times.
- Pregnant women
Very often with such a misfortune as plantarwarts, women expecting a baby are faced with. This is explained simply - during pregnancy, any expectant mother without exception has a lowered immune system so that the body can bear the child.
- People who are active in sports
With this category of people everything is also simple —They very often visit gyms, undress in common locker rooms, wash in common showers. And since there are very few people with ideal immunity, the human papilloma virus does not sleep.
Signs of plantar warts
It would seem, what signs could there be?Well, a wart is a wart. But no - people often confuse a plantar wart with a common callus or corn. And they realize that they are mistaken only when they try to cut off the wart - instead of the expected transparent liquid, drops of blood appear. Therefore, it would be useful to know how to distinguish a wart from a corn. This is easy to do if you assess the nature of the pain. If you have developed a plantar wart, when you press on it, you will experience sharp pain on the sides of the growth. And if the pain is in the middle of the growth - most likely, you have a common corn in front of you. Although if the wart is very large, it will be very difficult to accurately determine the localization of the pain, since almost the entire foot will hurt. And another way to understand whether you have a wart or not is to carefully examine it. A plantar wart will have a round, flat shape with clearly defined edges. The color of the wart on the feet is usually flesh-colored or dark brown, and in its center there is a small darkening - there are blood vessels that feed this very wart.
Treatment of plantar warts
While plantar warts are small, theyrarely pay special attention, not to mention specific treatment. A wart can be on the sole for quite a long time - sometimes several years and in rare cases disappears on its own. But most often this does not happen - the wart gradually grows and begins to cause painful sensations. But this is not the most unpleasant thing - if the human papilloma virus becomes too active, other warts will begin to appear, sometimes merging into a group. It is quite natural that in such cases the treatment will be much more difficult. And you will not be able to do without it, because otherwise the constantly increasing pain will deprive you of the ability to walk normally. Plantar warts are the most stubborn of all, so be prepared for the fact that the treatment will require a lot of effort from you and, most importantly, patience. Of course, you may be lucky and get rid of warts on the foot the first time and in a short time, but most often it takes quite a long time. Important! People suffering from diabetes should treat plantar warts only under strict and constant supervision of a doctor. The same applies to children, teenagers and the elderly - no amateur activity! It is very difficult to predict how their body will behave. Although, strictly speaking, doctor's supervision during the treatment of plantar warts will not hurt anyone. Scars that can remain on the surface of the skin after improper removal of the wart are often painful, and getting rid of them is quite difficult. Therefore, it is always necessary to start treating plantar warts with the most gentle method - you will always have time to move on to radical measures. Today, doctors have the following methods for removing plantar warts in their arsenal:
- Cryotherapy
Behind such a beautiful word lies something ordinaryfreezing of a wart - most often with liquid nitrogen. A plantar wart is treated with liquid nitrogen using a special applicator. Under its influence, a blister with watery contents very quickly forms around the wart. In about 7-10 days, the dead layers of the wart will peel off, and the crust formed at the site of the wart removal will heal for another week. During this procedure, a person may experience moderate pain, and the blister is quite painful. But scars almost never remain - of course, only if the doctor correctly calculated the depth of freezing. Therefore, it is very important to choose a truly experienced specialist.
- Cantharidin
Cantharidin is a substance thatis located in the Spanish fly. The liquid solution is used to treat plantar warts - there is almost never any pain. After about 12-24 hours, blisters appear at the site of treatment. They must be treated with iodine and a sterile bandage applied. At this stage, pain may make itself known, but not very intensely. The bandage must be changed every day, until the crust that appears at the site of the dead wart falls off. It is recommended to treat the wound with salicylic alcohol every time you change the bandage. If the wound does not begin to heal within 7-10 days, go to the doctor immediately!
- Laser Therapy
One of the most common methods todaytreatment - laser therapy. Using a laser beam, the doctor carefully removes the wart, leaving only a light pink spot in its place, the color of which will soon match the rest of the skin. Scars are usually not left after laser removal of warts on the feet.
- Electrocoagulation
The essence of this method of removing warts isthe effect of high-frequency electric current on its blood vessels. As a result, the wart is deprived of nutrition and dies very quickly. The method is good for removing small warts. If they are large, there is a high risk of scarring.
- Surgical excision of warts
This method of removal is the mosttraumatic. The doctor uses a scalpel to cut out the body of the wart and then applies the required number of stitches. Doctors almost never use this method today. Firstly, it is painful. Secondly, there is a high risk of infection of the wound. Thirdly, it usually leaves rough painful scars. After the doctor removes the wart, he will prescribe a special antiviral therapy that will help eliminate the root cause of the problem - the human papillomavirus. If a person does not receive such treatment, sooner or later he will get a new wart on his feet. And "this song is good, start over". In addition, you should not forget about your immune system. You remember that you can get infected at any time and anywhere? And there is no guarantee that a person who has been cured of the papillomavirus can catch it again. And in order for this virus not to be able to activate in your body, your immunity must be strong enough to contain it. We recommend reading:
