Plantar Warts Specialist

Chicagoland Foot and Ankle

Board Certified Foot and Ankle Specialists & Surgeons located in Beverly/Mt. Greenwood, Portage Park Chicago, IL & Orland Park, IL & New Lenox, IL

About 14% of Americans get plantar warts every year, but many don’t get the care they need because the warts can be hard to recognize. The experienced podiatry team at Chicagoland Foot and Ankle offers the most advanced plantar wart treatment innovations, so you can end the pain of walking on warts now. There are office locations in the Beverly/Mt. Greenwood and Portage Park areas of Chicago, as well as Orland Park and New Lenox, Illinois, so book your appointment online or call the office nearest you today.

Plantar Warts Q&A

What is a plantar wart?

Plantar warts are foot warts that develop after human papillomavirus (HPV) exposure. These warts affect the plantar aspect of your foot, which means they can appear anywhere on your foot soles. Most commonly, plantar warts grow on foot pads, under toes, or on the bottom of your heels.

You can get this kind of wart if you have a skin cut or perforation and then walk barefoot in a communal area like a swimming pool deck or sauna.

Who is at risk of developing plantar warts?

Children and adolescents are particularly susceptible to plantar warts. But, you can develop plantar warts at any age. If you have diabetes or another condition that weakens your immune system, you’re less able to fight viruses and, therefore, more likely to develop plantar warts.

Even if you’re not susceptible to plantar warts, it’s a good idea to wear shoes to avoid HPV exposure whenever you’re in public environments.

What are the symptoms of plantar warts?

Common characteristics of plantar warts include:

Flat rough growths of up to an inch wide
Black dots, which are tiny blood vessel clots
Callus like growths, indicating inward wart growth
Pain when you stand, walk, run, or jump

Sometimes, plantar warts look like calluses or corns, so see the Chicagoland Foot and Ankle team for identification and treatment as soon as possible.

What is the best plantar wart treatment?

The Chicagoland Foot and Ankle team uses several different effective protocols for plantar wart removal:

Peeling

Topical solutions like salicylic acid help you shed the infected skin layers that make up your wart. This incremental treatment often works best in combination with cryotherapy.

Freezing

Cryotherapy is a freezing treatment involving topical liquid nitrogen. The liquid nitrogen solution freezes the wart, and you typically shed the dead skin in the next few days.

Laser

A minor surgical procedure called CO2 laser cautery excises warts cleanly and with minimal scarring.

Intralesional immunotherapy

Injection of immunotherapy agents such as zinc sulfate or vitamin D3 directly into plantar warts can stimulate your immune response to kill the virus and destroy the wart.

The Chicagoland Foot and Ankle team explains your plantar wart treatment options so you can choose the best solution.

Are you ready to eliminate plantar warts? Call the Chicagoland Foot and Ankle office nearest you or book an appointment online.

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