Foot Warts: What You Need to Know About Causes and Treatments

Foot warts are unpleasant-looking blemishes that may cause you to feel self-conscious in open-toed shoes or barefoot. And a wart can also make wearing certain shoes uncomfortable. However, by knowing what causes them, you can prevent them. Fortunately, if you develop one, Dr. Kyle Sundblad or Dr. Sadegh Arab of Advanced Foot, Ankle, & Wound Care, serving Sterling Heights, MI, and the nearby region, can provide treatment to remove it.

Causes of Foot Warts

All warts are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). However, the strains that affect your feet and genitals are different. Ones on your feet are usually from either type 1, 2, or 4.

You're more at risk of getting a foot wart if you take a medication that suppresses your immune system or have a weakened immune system from a health condition like HIV. 

In general, the infection can come from directly touching a wart on another person. However, you don't need direct skin contact to develop it. Even indirect contact, like walking without shoes in a public place, could cause you to become infected. Sharing personal items, like towels or shoes that don't require socks, is another way you could catch the virus. 

Treatment for Foot Warts 

Sometimes, they can be treated with over-the-counter measures. You may need to apply a liquid or place a strip over the wart. Eventually, the active ingredient will remove layer after layer of the wart until it's gone. This, however, isn't effective in all cases. 

At our Sterling Heights, MI, office, we can also treat more stubborn foot warts. One option is a prescription-strength solution containing salicylic acid, which removes each wart layer until it is gone. 

We could also provide cryotherapy, which works by freezing the wart using liquid nitrogen. Afterward, you'll notice a blister forming around the wart, and the dead tissue sloughs off, usually in about a week. However, you may need to return to the office for a second treatment to see full results. 

If these options aren't successful, a practitioner may recommend a laser procedure or minor surgery to remove it. A blistering or immune therapy medication is another option.

You may try your hardest to avoid catching a wart, but it's highly contagious and common. Fortunately, when you visit Advanced Foot, Ankle, & Wound Care, serving Sterling Heights, MI, and the neighboring communities, to see either Dr. Sundblad or Dr. Arab, you can receive treatment for foot warts if they're bothering you. 

Call 586-731-7873 today.