Plantar warts - causes, treatment and home remedies

Warts and plantar warts: These are the causes and these therapies can help

Plantar warts (verrucae plantares) are known in medicine as prickly or Plantar warts and are considered particularly unpleasant, because they are mostly on the sole of the foot and on the other very deep in the foot inside, which can be extremely painful. To top it all, plantar warts are also extremely stubborn in their treatment, making this wart form one of the most unpleasant ailments.

contents

• Warts and plantar warts: These are the causes and these therapies can help
• definition
• Warm and humid climate favors infection
• Open wounds are a risk
• Plantar warts and weakened immune system
• symptoms
• diagnosis
• Treatment of plantar warts
• Medication
• cryotherapy
• Naturopathy
• Operative treatment

definition

Due to their localization on the body, plantar warts belong to the so-called "plantar warts". The term plantar warts is occasionally mistakenly used only for plantar warts, but basically also includes other on the sole of the foot resulting common warts (Verrucae vulgares) and the so-called mosaic warts, which sprout by name mosaic or beetartig on the sole. However, hardly a plantar wart is as painful as the plantar wart. Because unlike ordinary and mosaic warts, this warts does not develop superficially on the skin, but proliferates deep into the foot. Walking and standing are sometimes unbearable, because any pressure intensifies the stinging pain.

Plantar warts are often located on the sole of the foot and are therefore particularly unpleasant. (Image: Jean Kobben / fotolia.de)

In common with most other wart forms, plantar warts is the path of their formation. Triggered by human papillomaviruses (HPV), they are the result of a viral infection that leads to degeneration of the skin and tissue cells during the infection. In the case of plantar warts in particular, it is the papillomavirus types 1, 2, 4, 60 and 63 that cause the cell sclerosis. As the viruses prefer to nest in corneal tissue, the soles of the feet are of course a well-nibbled food for them. Even a small wound or injury in the cornea of ​​the foot is sufficient to contract a corresponding viral infection.

The incubation period of HPV infection is relatively long and can take several weeks to months. Only then does the formation of benign cell proliferations occur. These work with their thorn-like extensions to deep into the foot tissue. In the further course, the infected tissue turns yellowish-brown to grayish, and there is the typical indentation for Dornwarzen in the corneal tissue, which appears from the outside as a dried-up insect bite. The name of the spike or stinging warts is therefore no coincidence.

Warm and humid climate favors infection

The manner in which plantar warts preferentially reproduce is strongly reminiscent of the path of infection of athlete's foot. In both cases, a smear infection can be cited as the main cause, with hot and humid places significantly increasing the risk of infection. It is therefore not surprising that staying in public places with appropriate climate favors an infection. Particularly risky here

• public baths,
• public showers,
• Saunas and
• changing rooms.

To make matters worse, that people in those places usually run barefoot, which facilitates the infectious agents access to the plantar tissue.

In swimming pools there is an increased risk of infection with HP viruses, which in turn trigger for plantar warts. (Image: S.Kobold / fotolia.de)

Open wounds are a risk

By wound infections, many people understand the contamination of major injuries by germs. However, wounds do not always have to be large in size in order to sustain an infection. Because the HP viruses reach even the slightest skin abrasions in the skin tissue and thus require no particularly large wound opening in order to spread. Again, it should be noted in this context on fungal infections that often precede infection by human papillomaviruses. The athlete's foot commonly causes minor skin tears and thus creates the perfect breeding ground for the viruses. Similarly, minor lesions and skin incisions, such as by stepping on a piece of broken glass or bumping against fittings in the outdoor area, can serve as the basis for the infection.

Plantar warts and weakened immune system

As with all infectious diseases, a preward immune defense also increases the likelihood of infection in the pathogens of the plantar wart. This is particularly true for the sensitive immune system of children who suffer from above-average number of plantar warts. Since their immune defense is not yet fully developed, pathogens such as bacteria and viruses have an easy game with them. In addition, children spend relatively often at risk location number one, the outdoor pool.

Also mentioned are skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis or psoriasis, which have already weakened the immune system. Of course, in addition, any other pre-existing disease can increase the risk of infection, but chronic skin diseases are often associated with persistent skin damage, which favors the invasion of HP viruses into the tissue.

symptoms

The clearest indication of the presence of a plantar wart is of course the unsightly skin proliferation itself. The yellowish to brown-gray discolored skin callus is noticeable by a distinctly white discolored and stitch-shaped center of callus, which is due to the deep growth of the thorny mastoid process. If patients with the affected sole of the foot hit the ground, this causes tremendous stress pain. The deep-reaching wart outgrowths can even affect the sensitive periosteum of the foot bones, which further intensifies the pain symptoms. Even bleeding as a result of the pressure load is conceivable, which is why at this point even be warned of secondary infections of adjacent tissue.

Overall, the following symptoms must be expected for plantar warts:

• Yellowish-brown discolored skin calluses with white, stichförmiger Schwielenmitte,
• sometimes extreme, stinging pressure pain,
• at tissue hemorrhage dark discolored spots on the callus.

diagnosis

Detecting a plantar wart can be easily done by eye diagnosis. If there are doubts about the nature of the wart or ambiguity regarding the individual pathogen strain, skin biopsies are additionally taken to identify the pathogen by laboratory tests.

Treatment of plantar warts

Plantar warts are one of the most persistent forms of warts that can plague patients from months to two years. The reason for this is, among other things, their extreme deep growth, which complicates a complete therapy. Often the wart heals superficially, while its excrescences continue to remain in the subcutaneous foot tissue.

Interestingly, however, in the childhood, plantar warts often heal themselves. It is important to leave the warts alone and not to provoke bleeding due to excessive pressure. It should only be run when it is really necessary. With regard to targeted treatment steps, the following additional measures can be successful:

Medication

There are various active ingredients that promise a good effect on plantar warts. Above all, there are tinctures of monochloroacetic or salicylic acid, the mandibular warts repeatedly make sure the end. Also, formic acid has been well proven so far. For example, these are available in the form of endwarts of the Guttaplast patches. It is best to place the acids on a plaster and stick it to the affected area on the sole of the foot. The acidic agents then gradually dissolve the horny calluses of the wart, allowing them to peel off layer by layer. It should be noted, however, that such a treatment can take up to 3 months, since the complete healing of the plantar warts by means of acids does not take place overnight.

As an alternative to the active substances mentioned, there are also cell-active substances such as fluoracil and imiquimod. After application to the wart, they either attack the degenerated cell tissue directly or stimulate the immune system to produce appropriate antibodies. A treatment should be carried out here but only by the competent dermatologist.

If necessary, a dermatologist must be consulted to treat a plantar wart (Image: hammett79 / fotolia.de)

cryotherapy

Cryotherapy is better known to many as cryotherapy or icing. There are two different variants. For private icing, patients in the pharmacy are free to sell glaciers which cool the degenerated cell tissue down to -57 ° C and thus cause it to die. In addition, liquid nitrogen can also be used for cryotherapy for cryotherapy, which at temperatures of -196 ° C enables even more reliable icing. Due to the extremely low temperatures such a cold treatment may only be performed by a specialist dermatologist.

Whether a cryotherapy is successful, can not be said in any case. Because plantar warts go very deep under the skin, often only the upper horn callus layers can be removed. However, treatment success can be increased if the therapy is repeated every two weeks and the cornea is removed with a coarse file before treatment. As a result, the cold can penetrate deeper into the degenerated tissue and thus reach deep tissue layers.

Naturopathy

Naturopathic agents for wart treatment are Thuja tincture externally or Chelidonium external solution, both of which are applied undiluted twice a day. Among other things, Thuja C30, three globules, but often Sulfur or Causticum, is the drug of choice twice a week.

Operative treatment

Relatively painful and therefore not particularly recommended for young patients are the Weglasern or scraping of the plantar warts. Although both measures are done under local anesthesia, the pain after the procedure is still very large. In laser therapy, the wart is desolated with great heat. For scraping, a special, sharp-edged tray is used, with which the degenerated tissue is removed. Under local anesthesia, warts can also be removed from the sole of the foot with a laser or a surgical scoop. It should be noted that these two treatments are particularly painful and therefore not necessarily recommended for children.

Cutting away the wart should be the last option, as warts can be a sign of constitutional weakness. By cutting away so only the sign is treated, but not the actual weakness. In the best case, the warts come back, in the worst case shows another disease, which is usually more serious. (Ma)
Specialist supervision: Barbara Schindewolf-Lensch (doctor)