The Truth About Warts

What should you know about plantar warts? Warts are a result of Human Papilloma Virus. This virus enters your body through small cuts in the skin and infects the body. The warts form on the bottom of your feet as a result of the high amounts of pressure. Plantar warts are not a medical emergency, but they can be very painful and bothersome. Plantar warts have nerve endings and blood vessels inside of them which contributes to their pain and they can bleed quite a bit when they are removed.

Most of the time our body is able to fight off the infection on its own and you will never have any visible symptoms. Sometimes though, you can end up with a plantar wart. They are typically raised and will have small dots within it that are a result of the additional blood vessels in it.

The treatment of warts is complicated because our body is not the best at dealing with viruses. Viruses are smart and they tend to evolve over time and have a tendency to outsmart our bodies. Because of this, very rarely will a plantar wart resolve on its own. To treat warts, there are typically two forms of treatment including freezing them off or using acid. Both of these treatments kill off the virus and the surrounding skin. The process is slow and takes several weeks to improve the area. The skin has to regenerate itself and sluff off the dead skin to heal over. The wart will turn black once treated, and It will take several weeks before it will eventually fall off.

Plantar warts are common among children, teenagers and young adults and are nothing to be very worried about. However, if you have recurrent warts or several warts in the same area, this may point towards other underlying systemic diseases including autoimmune deficiencies. These are conditions that your physician can determine what the underlying cause is and treat you for. If you currently have a plantar wart and live in the Newburyport and Chelmsford Massachusetts or the Salem, Windham or Pelham, New Hampshire our staff would be more than happy to help you alleviate your pain associated with your plantar wart and get you back up and going.