What You Can Do to Treat Foot Warts

The number of people suffering from foot warts at any given point is rather considerable. These are tiny, rough skin growths that occur anywhere on the foot and they have a cauliflower like appearance. The virus that causes them is the human papillomavirus (HPV) type 4, 1, 63 and 2. If left untreated, they could spread to other parts of your body. They can also start to bleed and cause pain. Naturally, it\’s usually best to remove them.

Infection usually occurs when one walks barefoot on damp surfaces, such as showers and swimming pools. The virus gets into the skin via direct contact through tiny cuts or abrasions on the top layers of the skin. This virus survives for a long time without a host, which is what makes it so contagious.

Several methods could be used to remove plantar warts. Don\’t forget, the HPV virus is contagious. You want to contain the virus as best as you can, which means keeping it from coming into contact with the rest of your skin.

The easiest methods are known as first-line therapies, which typically include over the counter treatments, prescription medications and natural remedies. Wart prescriptions and over-the-counter remedies are applied directly to the wart. Home remedies may include suffocating the skin around the wart using duct tape or glue. This cuts off the oxygen supply, so it begins to disintegrate.

If the aforementioned methods fail, there are also second line therapies that include more aggressive treatments, like cantharidin, immunotherapy, intralesional and cryosurgery. Treatments such as immunotherapy or intralesional are administered as injections that contain antigens. The injections get rid of the growths because they make you immune to the HPV virus. This treatment method can also eliminate distant and non-injected warts.

In advanced cases, third-line therapy tend to be used. This could involve using chemotherapy chemicals either topically or via injections. If other treatment methods don\’t work, warts can be removed surgically using bleomycin surgical excision. Another effective treatment is laser treatment, which does not leave any scars.

Removing warts often becomes essential, especially if you experience any pain and bleeding. People who have any of these symptoms should contact their physician immediately.

Once again, there\’s plenty of choices available. Your personal preferences as well as the severity of your condition should determine which technique is most appropriate for you.

If you have any other concerns about removing warts on feet using home remedies, then you should discuss them with your doctor.