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U-M Health SystemThis information is approved and/or reviewed by U-M Health System providers but it is not a tool for self-diagnosis or a substitute for medical treatment. You should speak to your physician or make an appointment to be seen if you have questions or concerns about this information or your medical condition.
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Plantar Warts

What is a plantar wart?

The plantar surface of your foot is the sole of your foot. A wart that grows into the sole of your foot is called a plantar wart.

How does it occur?

Warts are caused by viruses. Some people get warts more easily than other people.

What are the symptoms?

You may notice a growth on the undersurface of your foot. It may grow directly into the sole of the foot, it may rise above the surface of the foot, or it may do both. You may have pain when you put weight on your foot at the site of the wart.

How is it diagnosed?

Your healthcare provider will examine the sole of your foot and the wart.

How is it treated?

There are various ways to treat plantar warts. However, the warts are sometimes difficult to treat so that they go away completely and don't grow back.

Possible treatments include:

  • placing medicines on top of the wart to help kill the wart virus and remove the wart tissue
  • freezing the wart
  • burning the wart
  • injecting medicine into the wart
  • surgically removing the wart

Another treatment uses duct tape: Cover the wart with duct tape. Once a week, remove the tape and soak the wart in water. Gently rub the wart with an emery board, sandpaper, or pumice stone. Put duct tape back on the wart in 12 hours. Repeat this process until the wart is gone. It may take up to 2 months.

You may get relief from the pain of the wart by wearing a doughnut bandage. This type of bandage surrounds the wart, leaving a hole directly over the wart.

How long will the effects last?

Most plantar warts go away without treatment in 6 months to 2 years, but some do not go away without treatment. It may take months of treatment to cure a plantar wart.

What can I do to prevent plantar warts?

Plantar warts may occur more often in people who often walk barefoot. Wearing shoes or sandals, especially in places like locker rooms, may help prevent plantar warts.

Written by Pierre Rouzier, MD, for RelayHealth.
Published by RelayHealth.
Last modified: 2006-09-25
Last reviewed: 2008-07-07
This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information is intended to inform and educate and is not a replacement for medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional.
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