verrucae pedis warts podiatrist

Verrucae pedis are small, growths on the skin of the foot caused by a virus, they can occur anywhere on the foot, they can be totally painless or extremely painful. They are generally referred to by the name warts or plantar warts. Warts can be disfiguring and embarrassing. Plantar warts are found on the soles of the feet, the typical wart is a raised round or oval growth on the skin with a rough surface. Compared with the surrounding normal skin, warts may appear light, dark, or black (rare). Most adults are familiar with the look of a typical wart and have little trouble recognising them. Unusual warts with smooth surfaces or flat warts in children may be more difficult for parents to recognise.
Plantar warts, can become extremely painful, large numbers of plantar warts on the foot may cause difficulty running and even walking. Warts around and under your nails are much more difficult to cure than warts elsewhere. Some warts will disappear without treatment, although it can sometimes take a couple years. However it is often not worth waiting as they do not always resolve and the problem will be greater in 2 years.
Your Podiatrist can generally diagnose warts simply by their location and appearance. Over the counter medications might remove some warts, however it is worth while to seek professional advice before using these. These are applied to the wart every day for several weeks. Stronger (prescription) medications may be required for removal of persistent warts. Surgical removal or removal by freezing, burning with electrocautery, or laser treatment may be needed.
Immunotherapy, done by injecting a substance that causes an allergic reaction, this method is not commonly used anymore because of possible complications. DO NOT attempt to remove a wart yourself by burning, cutting, tearing, picking, or any other method.

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