Warts / Verrucae
Warts that occur on the bottom of your feet are called plantar warts. Often they occur on the areas of the foot that experience the most pressure, such as the ball of your foot or the heel. Because of the increased pressure to those areas from walking and physical activity, plantar warts in these areas often penetrate deep into the tissue and can be very painful. Warts are caused by a virus known as human papilloma virus, or HPV. They can be spread in moist environments such as public showers, locker rooms and swimming areas, but not everyone who comes in contact with a plantar wart will develop one.
This is the information, which is widely spread but unfortunately not exact and correct. Warts or Verrucae are caused by a very specific HPV (Human Papilloma Virus). So far so good, but it’s not as contagious as its often described. The HPV is similar to a Herpes Virus (Cold Sore). Where the Herpes Virus is far more contagious than the HPV. The HPV family is quite big and there are a lot of STD’s, which can cause serious problems for women but don’t mix it up with the one we can find a patient’s feet. Those warts/verrucae are most of the time a family strain that has been inherited by the mothers. The time the baby grows in the mothers whom, they share the same blood circulation and if the mother carries that particular HPV it will be transferred to the baby. For many year this virus will ”sleep” in the person’s body but once the person is in a very high stress level, it “wakes up” and is looking for the way out. In this case we will find them most likely at the bottom of the feet or sometimes on top of the hands. The question is just: What is the definition of stress?. Mainly divided into physiological and psychological stress. Physiological stress is mostly related to hormone’s change like puberty, pregnancy or menopause. This intense hormone’s changes mean a very high stress level for the patient and the so triggered virus comes out. Therefor we find them very often with kids between 12 and 15 etc. Psychological stress related to warts/verrucae is not our every day’s life stress level. That’s just our ‘normal’ life. Stress levels triggering the HPV are extreme life situation, like a loss of a beloved family member, an accident, divorce or bankruptcy etc. Those extreme stress situations are often not controllable and triggering the virus. The wart/verrucae is only contagious, if its an open wound at the same time and if there is a direct blood transfer other than that, it’s not contagious at all. To ban teenagers from P.E. or having them wear verrucae socks its absolutely not necessary.
Diagnosis
Your podiatrist will diagnosis a plantar wart based on physical exam and scanning.
Treatment
If your doctor determines that your wart needs to be treated, the usual choice of therapy is salicylic acid, which when applied daily eventually softens the skin layers of the wart so that it can be peeled off. This process may take several weeks or months. Other treatment options for plantar warts include injection with medication, freezing them with liquid nitrogen, and removing them with surgery. In children, a removal method using duct tape may be effective and relatively painless.
As you find in the above-mentioned paragraph, this is the well-known procedures commonly used around the world. George Stobel has developed in his almost 30 years of practice a technique to eliminate warts/verrucae using the latest laser technology and a procedure in which he can remove warts/verrucae within a chance of 95%. Just the idea of having a virus surgically removed seemed to him as amputating someone’s nose because they got a flew.
Without Treatment
Plantar warts( Warts/Verrucae) will not disappear on their own if left untreated. However, many warts can become increasingly larger and more painful and can begin to multiply into clusters of warts called mosaic warts. Walking and running will become difficult in these situations. Over time, some plantar warts can lead to a type of skin cancer.
