Corn or Wart , What do your feet have?

You may be getting worried about the funny bump that is on your toe. It might be hurting making you think what it is – a Corn or a Wart? Also you might ant to know how you can treat it at home. Please note that no physician without examining your feet can share whether the same is a corn or a wart. It is always recommended that you consult a dermatologist.

Corns – the hard bumps on your feet:

The basic difference is that corns are concentrated only on the feet while warts can appear all over the body. Corns occur when there is localized high friction pressure on the bony prominences of the foot. The foot then responds to the added pressure by thickening the skin in that area to protect itself. Such skin pressure causes an inadequate blood circulation in the skin to cause corns. A corn doesn’t itch or bleed. You feel no pain if your pinch it. The only pain you may feel from a corn is direct pressure when you stand up or walk. On the other hand, a wart is not related to friction. It is a skin condition caused by the human papilloma virus that enters the skin through breaks or openings or other direct body contact with the virus. Corns are not infectious while warts are contagious and hence should be treated as quickly as possible. Soft corns are due to wearing shoes that are too tight around the toes whereas

Feet Warts:

Plantar warts on the feet called verruca are discreet , round papules with a rough surface surrounded by a collar of hyperkeratosis . They are infection of the epidermis with human papilloma virus. When pared down with a scalpel a plantar wart produces multiple pinpoint bleeding points once the hyperkeratosis has been removed whereas paring down a corn produces a decreasing cone of keratin with no capillary bleeding.

Treatment plans:

Treatment of corn is the patient should wear shoes that fit properly .The area of hyperkeratosis can be pared down regularly with a scalpel and the central core of keratin removed or the same procedure of  removing the hyperkeratosis and the central core of keratin can be done in a single sitting by using a laser at the dermatologist’s office.
The best treatment for plantar warts are complete removal by CO2 laser or Pulsed dye laser and HPV vaccines also seem to be effective.