Getting Rid of Plantar Warts

Hot water baths can help you get rid of plantar warts. Softening the skin around the wart is the first step in most of these wart removal methods. The calloused skin surrounding and covering the wart becomes easier to remove. In addition, the affected area pops out a little bit, making it very apparent where the wart is located. Another option is to use apple cider vinegar in place of water for your foot bath. It won't smell too nice, but the acid in the vinegar can help to kill the virus causing the warts.

Salicylic acid based wart removers are a good option. Most over-the-counter wart medications contain an active ingredient similar to aspirin. Salicylic acid is a common ingredient in acne and dandruff medication, and it works by causing skin cells to shed more quickly. When using this medication to remove warts, the first step is to first soak the area in warm water for 10‒15 minutes to soften the skin. Next, you need to remove a layer or two of dead skin to expose the core of the wart cylinder. A foot rasp, a pumice stone, or foot file would do the trick nicely. Finally, apply the medication, allowing it to dry undisturbed for at least 15 minutes. After that, keep it covered with an adhesive bandage. Repeat the treatment daily until the wart comes out of the skin—usually within a week or two.

Occlusion of the wart tumor and the surrounding area will get rid of plantar warts. This is just a fancy way of saying that you are putting duct tape on your body. It can be a messy process, but it still works. Simply cut a piece of tape slightly larger than the wart, slap it over the area, and check back in about six days. You could also attempt to defeat the wart by combining the tape method with salicylic acid method described above. When you remove the tape, you will notice that the wart has risen up from the skin a little bit. It will also appear wrinkled, as if it had just finished a long soak in a bath. Remove that skin as described above, add the salicylic acid, and slap on some more tape. Complete removal shouldn't take more than a week or two.

Freezing is another good option for removing warts. The use of liquid nitrogen to freeze off plantar warts has long been the bastion of wart-removing physicians, as well as farmers who have access to the stuff for use in artificial insemination. It was one of the perks of working on a dairy farm in high school during the wart years. Every few months would find us gathered around the liquid nitrogen tanks, freezing each other's plantar warts. Now that I think about that, it does seem a bit odd. Anyway, it doesn't matter, because now you can buy aerosol bottles that are designed for freezing warts at home. They are similar to the canned air dusters that we all use to blow potato chip crumbs out of our keyboards. Instead of an open tube, the tip has a pad which is placed against the wart area for 30 seconds as the trigger is depressed. I won't lie—it's going to hurt a little. You'll be left with a little white area. The skin will die and fall off in a few days, and your wart will officially be gone. This is not a cure for warts. They may or may not come back.

Cleanliness will help to prevent warts from spreading. As important as getting rid of the current wart is the prevention of future warts. Unfortunately, there is no cure for human papillomavirus. There is a vaccine available that can prevent infection of the more dangerous strains of the virus, but not the kinds that cause plantar warts. I guess medical researchers saw the threat of cervical cancer as taking precedence over an uncomfortable walk. If you visit a place like a gym, where it is customary to shower afterward, bring along some beach flip-flops so that you can avoid walking in other people's germs. If someone in your household has plantar warts, make sure that they get them treated immediately. Proceed to thoroughly clean your shower with a strong vinegar solution.

Sometimes you need to go deeper

If the time frame of these home treatments doesn't suit you, or if your wart problem has grown bigger than you think you can treat at home, do not hesitate to go to a doctor. The plantar warts that I have experienced were all limited to the balls of my feet, but they can spread from heel to toe. They can form clusters of a dozen or more warts in what are called mosaic wart plaques. Removal of something like that could be a difficult task.

Podiatrists have more advanced options available to them that could make the difference. If you have tried the home freezing technique to no avail, it is quite likely that a doctor will know how to do it more effectively. Laser therapy can be used to burn warts off your feet, but it takes a couple sessions and is said to be quite painful. Traditional surgery can remove the whole wart outright, but you will need a couple days off your feet for recovery time.

Currently, there are several injections being developed which encourage the body's immune system to take care of the problem itself by tricking it into reacting to the injected agent. Unfortunately, they are all quite expensive. Also, I'm not sure if they are widely available at this point, but it does mean that there is hope for the future.