What is plantar warts?

Plantar warts are harmless skin growths. They usually occur on the bottom of your feet. Plantar warts may be painful when you walk. Most plantar warts don't need treatment. They usually go away on their own in months or years.

Plantar warts usually look like calluses on the bottom of the foot. They can be painful when you walk or stand, and may make it feel like you're walking on a pebble.

A doctor usually can tell if a skin growth is a wart by looking at it. Your doctor may take a sample of the wart if it isn't clear that the growth is a wart or if the growth is darker than the skin around it, is irregular, bleeds, or is large and fast-growing.

Most plantar warts don't need treatment. But if your plantar warts cause pain or if they spread, your doctor may suggest that you use an over-the-counter treatment or prescribe a stronger medicine. Your doctor may also remove your warts through surgery or by freezing them.

• Use salicylic acid or duct tape as your doctor directs. You put the medicine or the tape on a wart for a while and then file down the dead skin on the wart. You use the salicylic acid treatment for 2 to 3 months or the tape for 1 to 2 months.
• If your doctor prescribes medicine to put on warts, use it exactly as prescribed. Call your doctor if you think your child is having a problem with a medicine.
• Give your child comfortable shoes and socks to wear. Avoid shoes that put a lot of pressure on the foot.
• Pad the wart with doughnut-shaped felt or a moleskin patch. You can buy these at a drugstore. Put the pad around the plantar wart so that it relieves pressure on the wart. You also can place pads or cushions in your child's shoes to make walking more comfortable.
• Give your child an over-the-counter medicine, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) if your child has pain. Read and follow all instructions on the label. Do not give aspirin to anyone younger than 20. It has been linked to Reye syndrome, a serious illness.
• Do not give a child two or more pain medicines at the same time unless the doctor told you to. Many pain medicines have acetaminophen, which is Tylenol. Too much acetaminophen (Tylenol) can be harmful.