Anyone ever have plantar warts?

LATeagno
LATeagno Posts: 620 Member
edited October 19 in Health and Weight Loss
OK, so I've been swimming a lot at my local community center. Somehow I've developed a case of what I think are plantar warts, probably contracted from the pool or something. Super ultra gross. :/

Anyway, they start out as these tiny bumps that seem like blisters under the skin and then emerge. They are tiny and super painful. In fact, I'm having a rough time walking on my left foot now. My hubby thinks I'm just a complainer (the warts don't look like much-- kind of like rough patches of skin that are like pinky fingernail size). The pain radiates deep into my foot and it really does hurt.

Does anyone know how to get rid of these? I bought some OTC wart remover (acid), but it didn't seem to do much at all. I want these stupid things to go away. :(

Replies

  • MooMooooo
    MooMooooo Posts: 306 Member
    My stepdaughter had them, the dr froze them off.

    funny thing is, I told the school about the warts and asked what their policy was regarding swimming and they didn't have one!

    So she swam with the other kids - it's probably how she caught them.

    Apparently, only people with allergies are susceptible - no one in our family caught them, not even me, and she used to borrow my flip flops/ thongs without asking.
  • lauralind5
    lauralind5 Posts: 133 Member
    It takes a while for them to go away using the OTC treatment (weeks). Stick with it, it will work eventually, or go to the dermatologist for quicker relief.
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
    I had them like 25 years ago. It hurts deep into your foot because it IS deep in your foot. If it is causing pain when you walk, go see your doctor. The doc can freeze it out and cauterize the edges to make sure it is ALL gone and cannot grow back. You may have to be off your feet for a few days while it heals, but then you will be fine.
  • jbloomfj
    jbloomfj Posts: 122 Member
    I had them years ago and the doctoe froze them. OTC did not work for me
  • raitch
    raitch Posts: 62 Member
    Our family doctor is pretty out of the box. My husband's feet were COVERED in plantars warts (that he likely caught from me, that *I* caught from the pool in middle school) and she suggested taking a scalpel blade and cutting them out of his feet. Like, every other day cutting them out. AND he also had to take Pepcid. I know, crazy right? They did eventually go away, though to be honest I only sliced him open a few times.
  • stylistchik
    stylistchik Posts: 1,436 Member
    My brother used to get them a lot, but he also refused to wear shoes a a child. lol He would get them frozen off at the doctor but now I think they even have freeze kits you can buy at a pharmacy.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Compound W.
  • RedSunshine365
    RedSunshine365 Posts: 189 Member
    I've had a few and so have my kids. They were all definitely plantar's warts.

    I have had good luck with the liquid salicyclic acid wart remover but you must be diligent about putting it on and covering it. It can take several weeks of daily treatment.

    Because of this, it didn't work for my son, so we just went to the doc and he painted something on (stronger that OTC) and after two treatments, it "fell off" and was not painful. It was a HUGE wart.

    When I was a child, they froze it off. That was painful.

    Get it treated asap as it will keep getting bigger and get more "seeds" - the little black spots deep within and get more painful.
  • NewChristina
    NewChristina Posts: 250 Member
    Our family doctor is pretty out of the box. My husband's feet were COVERED in plantars warts (that he likely caught from me, that *I* caught from the pool in middle school) and she suggested taking a scalpel blade and cutting them out of his feet. Like, every other day cutting them out. AND he also had to take Pepcid. I know, crazy right? They did eventually go away, though to be honest I only sliced him open a few times.

    I went to the podiatrist and had this done. She scraped at them, like she was removing a callus, as far as she could. I went back week after week and they kept shrinking. I finally got tired of going to her office and started doing it myself. I was more aggressive than she was. I had them gone in no time, and never got them again. Good luck! And yes, they were VERY painful. As the other poster said- they are rooted deep in your skin. That's why it takes so long to get rid of.
  • Dethea
    Dethea Posts: 247 Member
    I would get them frozen off at the doctor. I had some weird kind of wart on my elbow, and they thought it was a plantar wart but it wasn't, so the treatments they did (some kind of acid) only made it grow. Eventually, it was about the size of a quarter and they had to cut it off with a laser.

    One of the worst things that have happened to me!
  • RedSunshine365
    RedSunshine365 Posts: 189 Member
    Our family doctor is pretty out of the box. My husband's feet were COVERED in plantars warts (that he likely caught from me, that *I* caught from the pool in middle school) and she suggested taking a scalpel blade and cutting them out of his feet. Like, every other day cutting them out. AND he also had to take Pepcid. I know, crazy right? They did eventually go away, though to be honest I only sliced him open a few times.

    OK..I think this IS crazy and I would not recommend it!
  • dawnmarie57
    dawnmarie57 Posts: 53 Member
    Duct tape removed mine:)
  • htimpaired
    htimpaired Posts: 1,404 Member
    When I was in middle/high school I had plantar warts all the time because I was on the swim team. My doctor would scrap the top off and freeze them, then send me home to soak twice a day in Epsom Salts and use a topical wart treatment until eventually they fell out. (left a nice hole in my foot-nasty!). since I stopped swimming I haven't had any problems with my feet. Wearing flip flops on the deck helps.
  • jfa002
    jfa002 Posts: 54 Member
    I went to the podiatrist :bigsmile:
  • charris5313
    charris5313 Posts: 22 Member
    I am a nurse and I treat plantars warts all the time. First cut them down with a blade (as was already suggested) then treat them with liquid nitrogen. The over the counter stuff is pretty weak so it will likely take a long time. You are better off going to see your doctor for the good stuff. The other thing I always suggest to my patients is duct tape. After the warts have been cut and frozen put the duct tape on and leave it on for about 6 days. Works like a charm. Be prepared though, it will still take many treatments to get rid of them.
  • Meisterberger
    Meisterberger Posts: 24
    Duct tape removed mine:)

    THIS!! I had mine cut out, frozen etc... you ask me... I know about it. Duct tape and about 4 weeks and it got rid of over TWENTY plantars warts that I had. And even the ones I didn't cover. Works like a charm!
  • abbeyl11
    abbeyl11 Posts: 73
    If I could give you any advice it's DON'T LET THEM GET WORSE! Do something about it NOW. They spread. I have them on both feet on the balls of my feet and under my toes. I've had them for years and even had surgery on both feet at the same time to remove them. Surgery as in they put me under, cut them out, and I couldn't walk for three weeks. Guess what, they still came back. Luckily mine don't hurt too much unless I'm barefoot and step on something.
  • pundas
    pundas Posts: 165 Member
    A few years ago I had them all over my fingers, around my nails. I went to several different medical centers and had them frozen about 5 times and nothing worked. I tried over the counter medicines too with no luck. I found through the internet that apple cider vinegar was a good remedy. I tried it and omg.....WORKED. I had (no joke) about 12 warts. I soaked a piece of tissue in the apple cider vinegar and placed it on the middle of the wart and covered with a bandaid. I left the bandaid on for 2 days, removed it for a day to air, and then placed another one on with the apple cider vinegar for another 2 days and removed. After a few days of removing the bandaid, the warts started turning black and all fell off after a week or so. This was a few years ago and since then they have never grown back! I am so happy!
  • BringingSherriBack
    BringingSherriBack Posts: 607 Member
    Plantar warts usually have to be removed by a doctor. They usually cut off the top and then either freeze them or use special tape with medicine on them to freeze and remove them.
    Not sure what causes them, but my brother, sister and I all had them as kids (I had them multiple times) and they are indeed painful. It's like walking with a sharp little rock in a shoe and hurts with every step.
  • Robby131313
    Robby131313 Posts: 9
    edited October 2014
    Hi all, I see this is an old thread, but I just joined the community and have been browsing about and thought my story could help...

    I had a wide and deep one that hurt a lot for over 2 years. I tried treating it with various different methods, but what it ended up taking was a combo of three.

    1. Duct Tape Method - You just cover the wart(s) with duct tape and leave it there 24/7

    2. Epsom Salt Soaks - Take the duct tape off and soak in warm/hot epsom salt water for 15 minutes or so once a day

    3. Salicylic Acid Pads - I used the ones intended for corns and not warts. What's important is that the pad must be thicker on the non-acid, but adhesive portion of it so that it's designed to put pressure around the wart when you walk. This forces the wart head out from the skin and into the acid.

    After two years of little success in treating the thing it was gone in a few weeks. I have no scar of any kind (from what I've read that's the downside to having it frozen/burned off by a doc. A lot of people seem to end up with scars.) It's been gone for almost 8 months now.

    You can also take in some antiviral herbs and foods such as garlic to help. For me, avoiding sugar and generally unhealthy foods helped at least keep it from worsening and keep the pain away before using this method.

    I created a blogger documenting the process as I saw success from it and included before and after photos in case anyone is interested. I'm not sure what the policies on links are at the moment (although I have posted one in another post) so I'll just tell you for now that if you google "stubborn plantar wart blogger" it should be the first result.

    I've actually got a couple blogger pages that I made for the sake of experimenting with treating health issues and things like that which I'm always more than happy to share. Let me know if anyone is interested in checking them out and I'll either PM the links to you or if it's ok to post (it seems to be), I'll post.

    -Rob
  • Amber503
    Amber503 Posts: 3 Member
    I had one for about ten years. It was in a spot that didn't really bother me so I tried OTC things to take care of it, but wasn't really trying. Well it finally grew big enough to bother me so I did my research and apple cider vinegar is the answer!
    I soaked my foot while watching TV and then duct taped a soaked cotton ball over night. I will tell you that it hurt. I once walked around with glass in my foot for a month and this was worse. It only hurt for a couple of days and I only soaked it a couple of times and within a month my wart was gone.
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