How to Get Rid of Plantar Warts The human papillomavirus (HPV), particularly its most contagious strains, are what cause plantar warts. This is a highly contagious virus spread to individuals through direct contact with the virus. The HPV that triggers plantar warts thrives in warm and humid conditions like public shower rooms (like public health club showers), swimming pools, bath mats as well as shared outdoor shoes (such as summertime flip-flops). It should be noted that a plantar wart shouldn’t be confused with a callous. A callous is generally uniform in color, while a plantar wart will have a dark spot in the middle of it which are actually black petechiae (essentially little blood clots of irritated capillaries).
Plantar Wart Treatments 1. Duct Tape. Duct tape will not only suffocate the wart, but it will irritate the skin surface around the plantar wart such that your immune system begins to attack the wart. Keep the duct tape on your feet for a week, and change the tape if it loses its stickiness or is becoming gross. Go over the wart with a pumice stone when you remove the tape. You may have to repeat the procedure, as it can take a couple months for a plantar wart to be completely removed.Something else to try:Try placing a copper coin between the duct tape and your skin. Using a penny, the copper oxide within will kill the wart while only cosmetically affecting your healthy foot skin. 2. Try using the dermatologist approved treatment of DUOFILM, a known wart killer. These can be purchased at your local drugstore. 3. Try using Salicylic Acid. The salicylic acid method requires daily application of salicylic acid to the wart. You will also need to rub the dead skin off the wart using a nail file or pumice stone every day. 4. If you do observe a plantar wart on your skin then cover it up with a plaster, as that may be enough to make it go away.
Preventing Plantar Warts o o o
Don’t share communal shoes. Get your own shoes for wearing outdoors for simple yard tasks. If you wish to share shoes, then wearing socks before donning them can help inhibit infection but is still not recommended. Your likelihood of getting a plantar wart increases if your feet are dry and cracked. Make sure your feet are regularly bathed and thoroughly dried afterwards, and keep your feet moisturized with skin lotion. Avoid walking barefoot in public bathing areas, especially if you’ve got an unhealed cut on your feet.