Foot thorn - causes and treatment

Calluses, small abrasions on the heels, calluses - all this can cause slight discomfort to its owner. However, if the neoplasm causes severe pain when walking, you should think about it and consult a doctor immediately. It is likely to provoke the appearance of such symptoms as a thorn on the foot - a type of wart that is often located on the heels or toes and requires long-term treatment.

What is a thorn

Plantar wart, goose or in Latin Verruca plantaris - so experienced doctors call a neoplasm that resembles a kind of corn, but causes painful tingling when walking. Spike is considered a type of wart with a radicular method of attachment to the deep layers of the skin. A small accumulation can be cured by folk methods, and only the methods of deep freezing, laser removal and electrocoagulation help to completely remove the thorn on the foot.

The goose, which has grown deep into the skin, touches and injures nerve endings, can cause cracks on the surface of the foot and inflammation. Skin growths are located mainly on the skin of the feet, heels, toes or hands, but sometimes the delicate areas of the body are also susceptible to infection with the virus: face, neck, ankles. Like any other wart, thorn on the foot is a benign neoplasm, but if not treated properly, it can develop into a malignant tumor.

Characteristics of education

As a rule, the diameter of the plantar wart varies within 1-2 centimeters, but sometimes the size of the neoplasm can reach 4-5 cm. In the photo, the thorn on the foot looks like a round or oval dry callus, with clear boundaries. To the touch, the formation is very dense and painful. Under a microscope, black and brown spots can be seen in the center of the spine. If you look closely at the growth after burning your feet, you can see threads on the surface of the thorns that have grown in all layers of the skin.

The first signs of appearance

At the beginning of development, the thorn on the foot looks like a dry callus with hardened bark. However, if not treated properly, the neoplasm increases in size, changes color, becomes uneven, and a small hole forms in the middle through which the rod is clearly visible. When you press on the foot, a sharp pain appears, as if needles or thorns are stuck in the foot. If the neoplasm is not removed immediately, new growths may appear nearby over time.

How the infection occurs

Plantar wart is a viral disease that can be contracted through open wounds on the sole, in contact with a sick person or through common objects. Bacteria feel particularly comfortable in humid environments, so people with excessive sweating of the feet are prone to the appearance of thorns. Very often the infection occurs after visiting swimming pools, showers, gyms. To prevent plantar warts, doctors recommend that you always have personal hygiene products and swimming shoes with you.

Causes of plantar warts

It provokes a peak in the foot of the human papilloma virus, which is present even in a healthy body. However, when certain conditions are created, the bacteria begin to actively multiply, provoking skin lesions. The risk is especially high in people with reduced immunity, pregnant women and children. A spike on the foot occurs as a result of regular rubbing of the foot in tight shoes due to congenital or acquired deviations in the structure of the skeleton, such as from the oblique. Among the factors that provoke the development of the virus in the body are also:

• excessive sweating of the palms, interdigital space, feet;
• constant stress, overexertion, lack of sleep;
• injuries, wounds or burns to the skin of the feet or hands;
• exacerbation of chronic diseases;
• infectious and viral diseases - influenza, SARS, tonsillitis;
• wearing uncomfortable or tight shoes;
• flat steps;
• avitaminosis;
• Overweight.

How to get rid of thorns

If a suspicious formation appears on the soles of the feet, you should not delay a visit to the doctor. The earlier the correct diagnosis is made and treatment is started, the lower the risk of the wart processes growing deep into the soft tissues. There are several methods of treating papilloma: physical impact on the wart, surgery, removal of growths with chemicals, complex therapy to increase immunity. Minimally invasive methods are especially popular.

Physical effect on the wart

Papilloma removal with a scalpel is rarely used today, as this method does not give a 100% guarantee to eliminate the problem. Other processes in the layers of the skin can provoke recurrence and even greater growth of neoplasms. This method of treatment is acceptable if all other options are not available. The operation is performed under local anesthesia, followed by a long period of rehabilitation.

Chemical methods

This option is considered one of the best in the conservative treatment of the spinal cord. Aggressive substances that are part of some drugs, when they get on the affected areas of the skin, cause necrosis of cells, after which keratinized particles are easily removed mechanically. It is worth noting that this option is painful and can provoke the appearance of scars and scars on the body. Preparations with chemical composition are of several types:

• With necrotic effect - due to very aggressive components, they provoke mummification of the skin surface. Such drugs are strongly contraindicated during pregnancy and for the treatment of children.
• Keratolytics - agents that gently exfoliate dead skin cells, help soften rough skin. In combination with other drugs they enhance their effect, contributing to the deep penetration of the active ingredients. Keratolytic drugs include: ointments and solutions with acids, urea-based patches.
• With cryogenic effect - act as a procedure for cryodestruction, freezing and stopping the growth of papillomas.

Immunotherapy

For quick recovery, along with topical medications, doctors recommend the use of drugs that stimulate the immune system. Immunostimulants are prescribed for this. At home, immunotherapy consists of normalizing nutrition. The menu should include more fresh fruits, vegetables, juices. In addition, you can do light sports - swimming, running, cycling.

How to remove a leg spike at home

It can be difficult to cure a thorn with simple means. The whole difficulty lies in removing the roots of a benign neoplasm, otherwise the problem will recur in the future. If you are worried about the thorn on the foot, special detergents will help you remove it:

• Ointment with salicylic acid - a means for external use. It has antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects. The ointment should be applied to pre-steamed and dried skin in a thin layer. An occlusive dressing may be applied on top to enhance the effect. It is necessary to perform the procedure until the papilloma completely disappears once a day. If desired, the ointment can be replaced with special patches or a preparation based on salicylic and lactic acid.
• Ointment with interferon alfa-2b is a drug that has antiviral and immunomodulatory effects. The ointment is applied in a thin layer 3-4 times a day on the lesions. The duration of the course of treatment is 4-7 days. Contraindications include: individual intolerance to the components and the age of children up to one year.
• A special pencil is a silver detergent with antiseptic effect. The surface of the pencil is moistened with water, after which the product is applied to damaged skin, avoiding damage to the healthy epidermis. The pencil should not be used during pregnancy, for the treatment of children with the appearance of papillomas on the neck or face.
• A liquid developed on the basis of a mixture of strong bases. Before use, healthy skin around the papilloma should be smeared with a greasy cream, after which one drop of the solution is applied strictly in the center of the growth. The treatment is performed until the plantar wart is completely burned. It is worth noting that the procedure is very painful, causing itching and burning.
• Topical agent based on isotretinoin. It belongs to the group of keratolytic drugs, available in tablet form. The capsules are taken orally with food at a dose of 0. 5-1 mg / kg for up to four months. The drug is contraindicated during pregnancy. With caution you can take pills for diabetes, obesity, kidney and liver failure.
• Keratolytic ointment that helps treat advanced plantar warts. When applied to the skin, the active components of the product destroy the neurological connection between dead cells. The product is produced on the basis of urea, salicylic, citric, lactic acid. It can sometimes provoke side effects in the form of burning, itching and redness of the skin at the site of application.
• Liquid based on phenol and tricresol with mummifying effect. The method of use is the same as for treatment with an alkaline solution. The drug is contraindicated in the presence of moles to papilloma, hypersensitivity and in children under 7 years of age.

How to remove a spike on the leg

If the plantar wart has grown deep in the skin, ordinary topical creams, solutions and ointments may not help. In such situations, doctors recommend to resort to minimally invasive methods of removing warts: electrocoagulation, laser removal using freezing with liquid nitrogen - cryodestruction. These methods help not only to remove the thorn on the foot, but also to prevent its recurrence in the future.

Cryodestruction

Burning of the wart and its rhizomes with liquid nitrogen. Under the influence of cold, the body of the papilloma is destroyed, the area of inflammation is reduced and more viruses and bacteria die. A small blister remains at the site of the procedure, which disappears on its own in one and a half to two weeks. The procedure is performed without anesthesia and does not cause pain. The disadvantages of surgery for a long period of recovery and the possibility of skin injury to the wart. You cannot undergo the cryodestruction procedure for cancer.

Electrocoagulation

This method shows good results only in the initial stages of the appearance of thorns, when the filamentous roots did not have time to hit a large part of the foot. The papilloma is removed when the skin is exposed to high-frequency current pulses, which causes the thorn in the foot and its rhizome to burn. The disadvantages of such an operation are pain: after the procedure on the body remains a bleeding wound. Occasionally, scarring may occur after electric shock removal.

Pulsed laser treatment

One of the most popular and sought after treatments for plantar warts. Removal is performed under the influence of a laser beam, which simultaneously cauterizes the papilloma and disinfects the skin surface at the site of surgery. The method of laser treatment does not cause any complications, after the procedure the patients are rehabilitated quickly, the possibility of re-growth of thorns on the foot is completely excluded. The only disadvantage of this method is the high cost of the operation.

Leg spike - treatment with folk remedies

Along with complex home remedies, plantar warts can be removed with the help of traditional medicine. There are several effective recipes for removing thorns on the feet, palms and toes:

1. The heel spike will go away if you regularly apply a nettle compress to the affected area. To prepare it, finely chop the nettle leaves, wrap them in a clean burdock leaf, fix with adhesive tape. Put a sock on your foot and leave the compress overnight. The duration of such therapy is 3-4 sessions. In the same way you can make compresses of Kalanchoe, potatoes and garlic.
2. Vinegar lotions help well. To prepare them, use fresh garlic and 9% table vinegar. Mix the ingredients to a slurry and apply after providing healthy skin with a patch. The mixture is left for about an hour and a half to two hours, then washed off with warm water. To enhance the effect after lotions, the surface of the foot is recommended to be treated with salicylic acid ointment.
3. Iodine is an equally effective treatment for human papillomavirus. It dries the skin well, disinfects, helps relieve inflammation. To cure thorns on the feet with iodine, it is necessary to regularly lubricate the affected areas of the body.
4. Folk medicine such as an alkaline preparation can be prepared at home. To do this, the leaves of celandine are collected, ground or finely chopped and then flooded with 90% medical alcohol. The mixture is insisted in a dark cool place for 1, 5-2 weeks, then filtered. You need to apply the solution in spots, sealing the skin around the spike with plaster or smear it with greasy cream. The duration of treatment with celandine juice depends on the growth of neoplasms, but should not exceed 30 days.
5. Painful neoplasms can be cauterized with canned cucumber or tomato brine. To do this, take thick woolen socks, soak in brine and put on. Wrap your legs with cling film or a bag on top. To create a greenhouse effect, fix the compress with a clean and dry pair of socks. Make a compress in the evening, wash your feet with lukewarm water in the morning. Procedures should be performed until all tubercles are resolved.