Since ancient times, ugly formations in the body have disturbed humanity. Wart on the foot is a skin disease caused by a virus. People with skin defects were avoided, they were afraid of infection and, having noticed a neoplasm on the base or other part of the body, they tried to remove it as soon as possible. What people do not apply to plantar warts if they disappear forever. Until now, dermatologists are looking for the most effective and painless method of dealing with the disease.
what is a wart
Human papillomavirus causes a benign or oncological DNA mutation in skin cells. The body is covered with papillomas, warts, papules. More than one hundred types of HPV have been studied. A wart is a skin growth that signals the presence of the first or third type of papilloma virus in the body. Neoplasms are not potentially carcinogenic, but are extremely contagious due to the viability of the pathogen in the external environment.
What does a wart on the leg look like?
Plantar neoplasm has a rounded shape with clear edges, several millimeters or centimeters in size. In the center, black spots of clogged capillaries can be seen. On the leg, they look like old dry calluses that have grown into the skin. Pain from plantar enlargement is manifested not by direct pressure, but by compression. The absence of papillary lines on the feet is characteristic.
Causes of plantar warts
HPV infections are more common in unprotected sex. The virus penetrates through microcracks in the mucous membranes of the genital organs. Someone's HPV is "in transition", others are less fortunate - the virus remains in the body for a long time without informing itself. Dermatologists do not exclude that the appearance of papillomas on the surface of the feet is promoted by immune disorders and infectious diseases.
Walking barefoot in public places: bathrooms, swimming pools, body care salons, communal bathrooms, on the beach, trying on shoes barefoot are the most common causes of plantar warts. The virus can live outside of the host and can be found in towels, tiles, washcloths, furniture, guest slippers, etc. "waits for the victim" on it. The infection is attracted by dense, tense areas of the skin of the plantar surfaces and palms, where the papilloma virus enters through minor injuries.
Warts on the legs of children
Children are restless, often injured. Parents may not be aware of the presence of HPV acquired through cuts and scrapes on the child's body. With the weakening of immunity, the virus becomes active, papilloma appears on the leg. Painful methods of dealing with warts on the legs in children are generally contraindicated, poorly tolerated. Most often, the child's body copes with this disease of the skin of the feet on its own.
Types of warts on the legs
Warts are a collection of skin lesions caused by a papilloma. Depending on the external manifestation, the effect on human health, the following types of warts are classified:
- coarse (ordinary) - rounded keratinized blisters;
- flat - a rash in the form of spots rising above the skin;
- filiform (acrochords) - elongated with "torn" edges formed in the folds of the body;
- genital warts - reminiscent of a rooster's comb;
- senile (keratomas) - occurs in the elderly, not associated with HPV.
Wart formations are localized on the body, internal organs, oral cavity. Warts on the feet, called plantar warts, are a common type. One of the types includes well-formed, which is a pressed depression on the skin, characterized by rapid growth. The appearance of subungual growths slightly raises the nail plate.
Plantar wart treatment
It is dangerous to neglect the treatment of plantar warts. Neoplasms on the feet are constantly injured. They are removed to stop the emergence of new growths and the entry of infections. There is no complete cure for HPV. Treatment comes down to turning the disease into a "sleeping mode". Surgical, immunomodulatory removal of plantar warts using current drugs, alternative medicine.
The disadvantage of treating plantar growths lies in their location: the wide stratum corneum of the epidermis makes it difficult to deliver active substances to the depth of the formation on the foot. In preparation for therapy, the top layer of build-up is wetted and exfoliated. Traditionally, the treatment of warts on the feet begins with the use of salicylic acid. The wart on the foot is steamed in the bath daily for three months, disinfected, then the softened top layer is cleaned with a pumice stone, salicylic acid is applied and a patch is applied.
Pharmacy chains advise how to get rid of warts on the leg with the help of drugs containing celandine, phenol, trichloroacetic acid. Drugs cause tissue necrosis, saving the patient from its deficiency, but leaving a scar of healing of a deep wart wound. Each disease is individual to varying degrees, so you should get your doctor's opinion before choosing a method on how to remove a wart on the sole of the foot.
Ointment
According to the method of action, there are necrotizing, antiviral, herbal ointments. In the first case, the acid or alkali at the base of the ointment cauterizes the painful growth and leaves a scar. At home, you can use liquid solutions for the treatment of feet: acetic, nitric, oxalic, lactic acids in the composition. The surface of the neoplasm is strictly processed to prevent burns.
Antiviral ointment for warts on the feet is applied to the growth itself and the area around it to reduce the growth of the infection. They are used with special ointments. Herbal ingredients only affect skin formation. An applicator is known for its effectiveness in treating foot balm with colhamin ointment.
Modern removal methods
The advent of modern methods for removing warts has replaced the traumatic scalpel. Similar to the surgeon's knife, the electrocoagulator burns the neoplasm on the foot with current. After the removal procedure with laser or radio waves, a depression remains in the foot. Recovery takes several weeks. Exposure to liquid nitrogen is considered a very painful treatment and requires several treatments. In 2014, British dermatologists published a material on the latest antigen injection therapy. It will help patients who are resistant to current treatments.
folk remedies
Procedures with folk remedies for warts on the legs are carried out before bedtime, with pre-steamed feet and for a long time. Protect your hands from further spread of infection with latex gloves during transport, disinfect all used devices and items to prevent transmission to loved ones. List of effective folk ways to get rid of a wart on the feet:
- Garlic is known for its antibiotic properties. In a neoplasm at the base, the hardened top layer is cut off, a fine clove of garlic is applied.
- You can make "anti-beard paste". Finely grated garlic is kneaded from vinegar, wheat flour, spread over the surface of the neoplasm and closed with a plaster. After a few days, the pulp is removed along with the buildup.
- Apply an onion mixed with vinegar to the foot or rub the growths with vinegar, then add spring onions.
- You can fill the formation with the juice of medicinal herbs: you can add celandine, Kalanchoe, calendula, milkweed, dandelion, golden mustache or a slice of apple, mountain ash, figs, potatoes, horseradish, cabbage. The procedure is performed daily, lasting several weeks to months until the buildup disappears.
- You can apply wood ash diluted in water to a creamy state.
- The growth is sprinkled with powdered chalk and wrapped in a bandage. The compress cannot be wetted.
- Birch and willow bark containing salicyl have proven themselves in the treatment. The bark is applied to the foot, pre-softened with boiling water.
- Hot foot baths with sea salt, soda, laundry soap, tea tree oil or spruce water help in the treatment of foot diseases. Treatments can be mixed or alternated.
- Wormwood water applications are used. 3 tablespoons of dry wormwood is brewed in a glass of boiling water, insisted for at least 2 hours.