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Plantar Warts . . . remove or not (Read 982 times)

stshipley7


    Sorry . . . crappy topic . . .

     

    I have had a cluster of plantar warts on the bottom of my feet for a few years. The Wife says to get rid of them, but they cause me no pain whatsoever and do not affect the running. should I have them removed or let them be?

     

    -STS

      If they weren't painful or spreading or anything, I'd leave them.  

       

      However, I have ugly feet.

       

      And I don't have a wife.  So ymmv.

      "When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then willpower will be no problem." 
      Emil Zatopek

      vegefrog


        I used to get them when I swam in HS. I always had them frozen off; it doesn't hurt and then you are rid of them. I think they can spread via contact/contaminated wet surfaces. If I were your wife I would want you to have them removed too, so that I didn't contract them from using the same shower. Some of my swim team mates got them too and they would just wait for them to go away on their own. So i guess if they aren't bothering you the decision comes down to how much they bother your wife Wink

        Benotto


          I have - after 10 months of treatment - finally gotten rid of the warts on my 4th grader's foot.  She had a sizeable cluster and I ignored them until she started picking at them (and leaving bloody tracks through the house).

           

          We went to our family doctor for 11 (yes, 11!) freezing treatments before we finally threw in the towel and went to a dermatologist.  The dermatologist did another freezing treatment and also pointed out that you can do over-the-counter treatments in between sessions.  I wish I had known that last fall because it only took a few weeks to get rid of them.

           

          What the dermatologist recommended were Curad Mediplast** patches covered by duct tape (we used waterproof first-aid tape).  The Dr. said to leave it on continuously (change every 48hrs), but we went with two days on/one day off.  That not only gave the surrounding area time to heal, but giving the skin time to recover let me see where the remaining warts were. 

           

          Whether you decide to treat them or not it is up to you.  The dermatologist said they will go away on their own, but can take 5 years.  Based on my experience with my daughter, I'd try the patches before going in for a freezing.  She had good size cluster (12+) for well over a year and she did complain about her feet hurting for a day or two after the treatments.  She much prefers the bandaids on her feet, but then again she's not much of a runner so I'm not how irritating they would be.

           

           

          **Mediplast is a medicated patch that is stronger (40% salicylic acid) than what you can buy OTC.  Our pharmacy sold individual sheets for $2.50, no prescription needed.  We got rid of 8-10 warts and only used 2/3 of a sheet over 4 weeks - a little goes a long way as you cut it to cover the individual warts.

          zoom-zoom


          rectumdamnnearkilledem

            There are now home kits for freezing that might be worth a try, too.  They came out not long after the last stubborn wart I had treated finally went away (one that developed on my finger while I was pregnant and stuck around until my kiddo was probably 6 months or so).

            Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

            remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                 ~ Sarah Kay

              I've also read that duct tape alone can do the trick.  Not sure if it starves the wart or what but if you keep it on ALL the time the wart moves to the surface and you can file it off.

               

              Maybe google it.

              2018 Goals

              Figure out the achilles thing...... and THEN try to get running regularly again.

              No racing goals 

               

                Warts are contagious, so do the wife a favor and treat them.

                  I had one that took forever to go away (including the OTC treatments and freezing at a doctor's office), but apple cider vinegar finally did the trick. I soaked a tiny bit of a cotton ball in it and then stuck it on the wart and covered with a band-aid. Did this for about a week or so and it finally was gone for good. 

                  jwowen218


                    I had a "deep" one right on my heel and thought it'd totally mess up my running. The dermatologist used the frozen spray stuff and not only did it hurt at the time of the procedure, it continued to hurt for days and days afterward. However, I found that using "corn pads" protected it while running and I had no discomfort while running. The problem is that the derm wanted me to come back at least 4 times to continue the freeze-off (all the while paying a $30 copay each time). I finally decided to just try some over-the-counter wart remover stuff, and sure enough, that would 10x better than anything the derm was doing and was way less uncomfortable.

                    LedLincoln


                    not bad for mile 25

                      I think they're like a cold:  It'll go away in 14 days if you treat it and in 2 weeks if you don't.  Substitute much longer time for warts, of course.


                      Best Present Ever

                        Imiquimod (Aldara) has worked well for us -- two of my kids have had difficult warts and the imiquimod worked quickly and without any issues.  Certainly better than freezing and whatnot.  Does it not work on plantar warts for some reason? I'm surprised no one has mentioned it.  

                        runningspeed


                          Sorry . . . crappy topic . . .

                           

                          I have had a cluster of plantar warts on the bottom of my feet for a few years. The Wife says to get rid of them, but they cause me no pain whatsoever and do not affect the running. should I have them removed or let them be?

                           

                          -STS

                           

                          Well, I have a few on the side of my foot. I just got this guide at howtokillplantarwarts.com and am going to give it a try. I will let you know how it goes.

                          Mr MattM


                            I've also read that duct tape alone can do the trick.  Not sure if it starves the wart or what but if you keep it on ALL the time the wart moves to the surface and you can file it off.

                             

                            Maybe google it.

                             

                            This absolutely worked for me.  I had a large plantar wart under the big toe on my right foot.  I wrapped the whole area with clear duct tape and left it on... every few days I would remove the tape, file away any soft skin tissue where the wart was, wash it, then re-wrap.  It took about 3 weeks.  The interesting thing is that I had 2 small plantar warts on my left foot.  I did not wrap those, but they went away also.

                             

                            The theory is that since the wart is actually a virus, the duct tape causes the body's immune system to react... once the body starts killing the virus, it kills it everywhere, even where there is no tape.

                             

                            Straight up, no BS... it worked for me 100% and that was about 7 years ago.

                            be curious; not judgmental

                            Trent


                            Good Bad & The Monkey

                              THE ANSWER:

                               

                              Duck/Duct tape adhesive is acidic. The acid, as with the standard wart treatment, salycilic acid, irritates the skin slightly and causes the immune system to find and eliminate the virus. And it has the adhesive built right in. You know, since it is tape and all.

                              Slo


                                Plantar warts are tough little buggers.

                                 

                                I surgically removed my own. Probably not real wise.

                                 

                                My DD did have success with Duct Tape, not so much with the home freezing treatments. I tend to agree with LedLincoln the most.

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