Warts are localised thickenings of skin. ‘Plantar warts’ is a term used to describe warts that are found on the plantar surface (the soles) of the feet. You can call them verrucas if you prefer — as it’s the exact same bothersome thing! 

Plantar warts can be anywhere between a few millimetres and one centimetre in size. They protrude out of the skin of the foot and the surface feels rough. You can often see tiny black dots inside them. It’s possible to have many of them on your foot at one time. Clusters of small plantar warts are called ‘mosaic warts’ (as they are said to resemble a mosaic).

Warts are caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) when it infects the outer layer of the skin (the epidermis). The infection causes the skin to thicken and overgrow; leaving you with a benign growth of skin — aka the pesky wart itself! 

Usually, Plantar Warts are caught from other people, by direct contact with infected skin scales. This often happens in places like public swimming pools or locker rooms, for example. The virus sneaks its way into the skin through small breaks in the surface. 

You’ll usually know you have a plantar wart because you notice it on your foot, or it will be causing pain.

When left untreated pain can increase and warts can also spread to other areas of the body. The pain may stop you from being as active as you’d like to be. You may also feel subconscious about the way the warts look on your foot, which may be stopping you wearing certain shoes or doing certain activities.

When you need relief from the pain of plantar warts, a podiatrist can help you.

Our Podiatrist offer a few different treatments to remove plantar warts. They all focus on stimulating your immune system to fight off the wart virus — pretty cool hey!

We often treat them by removing the thickened skin and then applying a medicated cream to the top of the wart. This causes irritation, flagging the wart to your immune system as something that shouldn’t be there.

Your Podiatrist will be able to examine your wart and discuss with you the best treatment options for you.

Before long, you’ll be free from pain and back to your normal activities without the discomfort. Once your warts are treated, you can reduce your chance of getting one again by wearing thongs around public pools and by keeping your feet dry and clean!