How do I prevent my child from getting warts?

According to the FDA, anywhere from 10-50% of children are affected by warts. Warts in children may go away on their own, but as a mother of 5, I know that I would rather treat and get rid of a condition rather than risk it affecting other family members.

Very often, they can be embarrassing or they may itch. In some cases, they may cause pain or spread to other parts of the body, or as I mentioned before, to other family members. On the foot, they appear as skin lesions that are often raised, with pinpoint black dots in the middle with a cauliflower type appearance. Often they are surrounded by thickened skin if it is on the bottom of the foot, and very often they hurt when compressed. The black spots are actually broken blood vessels. The wart may feel rough or grainy to the touch. It is important to instruct the child not to scratch or pick at the wart as this will likely cause it to spread or maybe even bleed.

As a parent, what can one do to prevent this from occurring?

Warts are actually a virus, and they love a damp, moist environment. If at all possible, prevent your child from going barefoot in places that my harbor this virus. Some common places where the virus thrives include locker rooms, swimming pools, showers, or gym floors. I always encourage deck shoes or swim shoes at all times, even when taking a shower in a gym locker area. Discourage sharing shoes as well as again the virus can live in shoes as well.

If you do suspect that your child may have a wart anywhere on the foot, if the lesion is getting larger, or is spreading, or is bleeding, it is best to get it checked out by a podiatrist. At Prairie Path Foot and Ankle Clinic, we can make sure that it is indeed a wart with a proper diagnosis, and we have a tried and true protocol to handle the condition with great success rates. Find us at elmhurstfootdoc.com. Even just a consultation with one of our doctors just to answer any questions you may have, including whether that thing on my child's foot is a wart or not - will put your mind at ease!

What is the Best Wart Treatment?... Identifying it in the first place!

Now that sandal season is upon us, many patients ask, "What is the best treatment for warts?"

Many patients have already tried the over the counter remedies, which include topical salicylic acid, or other topical therapies such as cryotherapy, or liquid nitrogen. The problem with this is that it can be quite painful, and often the question is how effective is it? How do I know when the wart is gone, or more importantly, how do I know it is even a wart in the first place?

This is why it is so important to have any lesion/sore/callus/corn checked out by your podiatrist. You may find that something that you may think is a wart is in fact not, and vice versa. Once it is diagnosed by your podiatrist as truly a wart, then our office has several treatment options that involve proper debridement and inspection with weekly visits until the wart is gone. If there is no improvement after several weeks of treatment, then a biopsy, or sample, may be taken and sent to pathology to identify what is the cause, which may change our treatment plan. For very recalcitrant warts, we even have a laser surgery option.

So, the best treatment for a wart is... identifying it is a wart in the first place. Your podiatrist can help you with that, and can help get rid of it as well.

Beware of warts during vacation or your "staycation"

With spring break here, I have many patients that are taking a trip to a warmer climate, which means visits to swimming pools, or even just doing a "staycation" at the waterpark. Now is when the sandals and open toed shoes are coming out and the boots are slowly going away. One of the most common concerns is how to prevent warts at the water parks or poolside.

Warts are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). If you are exposed to the virus, you may or may not develope warts, depending on how susceptible you are to the virus.

How to avoid HPV:

Never walk barefoot... and I mean never! The virus thrives on moist surfaces, so wear shower shoes in a public area, locker rooms, saunas, or pool areas.

Keep your feet as dry as possible. This means if your feet tend to sweat a lot, consider changing your socks often or consider wearing socks that are made of a cotton blend that wicks moisture away from your feet.

Do not share towels, socks, or shoes, as the virus may be living on these surfaces as well.

Avoid touching the wart itself... it spreads easily. Keep it covered at all times with either tape or a bandaid.

And if you do suspect that you have the virus... do not self diagnose and self treat! It is best to see a podiatrist who can easily diagnose you and start a proper treatment regimen.

With these precautions, you do not have to be worried that spring break is now hear... enjoy the pool and water parks, just heed good advice.

Does My Yoga Mat Need a Wipedown?

Often, we think of warts as prevalent in the summertime more than the winter. We tend to think of summer time as being the most likely season of the year to contract a plantar wart especially when we spend more time at the local swimming pool or the beach barefooted. However, the winter months are not without risks too. It can also be just as possible for anyone to get a plantar wart. It is extremely infectious and can lurk on surfaces, clothing, towels and skin. And just because it is winter, it does not mean that the virus cannot be passed on. Think of gyms, locker rooms, indoor swimming pools, and mats used for exercise classes at the gym. For this reason, there are several brands popping up on the scene advertising to the Yoga-going public about wipes for mats, to prevent odor, prevent the spread of bacteria, and prevent the spread of the virus that causes plantar warts.
The virus that causes warts is HPV (human papilloma virus). Direct contact with any HPVs can infect your skin through a scratch or minor wound. There is thickening and damage to your skin followed by the appearance of plantar warts; it may appear as pinpoint dots, or just a thickening of skin with an interruption of skin lines on the bottom of your foot. They can be difficult to spot at first when they are small and often painless but that is the easiest time to treat them. At this point, you would benefit from a visit to teh podiatrist to diagnose and start treatment on the warts immediately before they become bigger, or even worse, before they spread.
So when you think the time of year leaves you at lower risk to contract warts, think again! And beware when barefooting it... even in the winter months.

Warts in the winter?

It's cold outside, and that means many patients are wearing thick socks to keep warm. But another thing patients are wearing more of... winter boots! Especially the Sherpa or wool lined Ugg type boots, which I must admit, do keep the feet warm. Yes, they keep feet warm...but one thing that this causes is excessive sweating of the feet. This warm toasty environment also provides a warm, dark, damp, enclosed environment, perfect environment for other foot ailments such as foot fungus and warts. How do you prevent any of these ailments from invading your feet? Be sure to always wear socks with boots; do not wear them barefoot! I recommend a cotton blend over a full pure cotton; this allows the sweat to wick away from the feet and allows them to "breath." Also, our office offers a spray that I recommend to use on the inside of the boots 3 times a week, even for prevention. This is especially important if you have a history of warts and do not want that environment to encourage their return. So keep warm with those boots... just know how to take care of the feet inside of them.

What about over the counter treatments for Warts?

People often ask me, why do I need to come into the office for warts? Why can't I treat these warts at home?
Well, there are several reasons why you should come in to the office. First, it is important to get evaluated and examined to even determine if the growth is a wart or not. Although it may have the characteristics of a wart, it may be a callus, a blister, and I have even had a patient come in for an evaluation and we found out is was a foreign body... it turned out to be a piece of pencil lead! The typical appearance of a lump on the foot can be deceiving. Secondly, sometimes the over the counter treatments work, but more often than not, you need weekly debridements, or scraping with a sterile technique of the dead layer of skin so that the medication can get to the affected area. Plus, it is always good to have a trained eye of the podiatrist to monitor is progress: is it getting bigger? Smaller? Why not? Plus, I can also give you to tips on how to prevent them from coming back if and when they do finally go away!
So yes, go ahead and come in the office before trying to treat those warts at home!

How do I know if My Child has Warts?

Summer is winding down, school is starting, and now is the time to take the time to inspect your feet and your children's feet. So many moms stop me at the Oak Brook Park District or at the Oak Brook Bath and Tennis pool when I'm there with my five kids and ask me,"How do I know if there are warts on my child's feet? What do I look for? "
Well, here are some tips. Your child may be complaining of a "sore" on the bottom of his or her foot, and it may look like a callus or a spot of hardened skin. It may be just that... a callus or a corn. However if the callus has tiny black dots, or it has a "cauliflower"-like appearance, or is painful on side to side compression, then you may want to have his or her foot examined by a podiatrist.
On the other hand, there may be no pain at all; you or you child may have noticed a spot on the bottom of his foot, and now that one spot has become two or three spots. This is another symptom of warts - they spread if not treated. They may spread to the other foot, or even to fingers or hands, and maybe even to a sibling. This is one more reason to have your child's foot examined by a podiatrist.
If you you are unsure as to what that spot is on the bottom of your child's foot, it is always better to get it checked out. Should you choose to self diagnose and try over-the-counter treatment, this may or may not work, and you may be treating that spot with something inappropriate.
So now that school is in session, make it a point to check your and your children's feet. If you are unsure, make an appointment with us at Prairie Path Foot and Ankle Clinic. See you then!