Warts 101

Warts are commonly mistaken for corns or calluses, or a variety of different lesions on the skin so it is important to see a Podiatrist if you think you may have a wart or some sort of lesion appears on the skin of the foot. A correct diagnosis will save you time in dealing with the problem.

Warts are actually a viral infection that is harmless, although it can be painful at times. The virus gets into the skin through small cuts or abrasions. Although warts can be found anywhere on the body, they tend to appear on hands and feet mostly. If a wart is found on the sole of the foot, it is called a plantar wart. Planter warts can develop anywhere on the foot. Dark specks are visible under the surface of the wart which is the capillaries that supply it with blood. A callus can develop over the wart due to pressure from standing or walking since it pushes the wart beneath the skin's surface. The larger the wart and callus gets, the more painful it becomes. These warts resist treatment and have a tendency to reoccur.

The virus thrives in warm, moist environments so be careful when walking barefoot, especially in places that may have dirty surfaces. Warts can grow up to an inch or more if left untreated and can also spread into clusters of several warts. Also be aware that if you have a wart, you can spread it to others by touch.

• Follow these tips for prevention:
• Don't walk barefoot
• Good Hygiene – change socks and shoes daily
• Keep feet dry
• Avoid touching others with warts

If you think you may have a wart, visit a Podiatrist. Self medicating is not advised since over the counter medications contains acids or chemicals that destroy skin cells and can do more harm than good. There are various different ways to remove warts such as a simple surgical procedure and lasers.

Image by Sietse de Ruiter. (2010). Killing ze wart wiz ze liquid nitrogen. Flickr.

What You Should Know About Morton's Neuroma

Morton's Neuroma: What is it?

Morton's Neuroma was named after a Viennese physician in 1876, Dr. Morton. It's a condition when the nerves in the ball of the foot are irritated or pinched between the bones. The long bones that extend back from the toes are called metatarsal bones and there are five of them. Nerves course between these metatarsal bones on their way to providing sensation to the corresponding toes.

The most common are for Morton's Neuroma to occur is between the third and fourth toe, with the big toe being the first toe. Why is this area affect more than the other toes? It's the only area in the front of the foot where two nerves come together, doubling the size of the nerve.

What does Morton's Neuroma feel like?

The sensations can be a sharp pain, a burning feeling, numbness, or pins and needles.

What causes Morton's Neuroma?

Wearing tight shoes increases the chances of Morton's Neuroma since tight shoes squeeze the metatarsals together. Other offending shoes tend to be high heels.

How is it treated?

There are multiple ways to treat Morton's Neuroma. First, pain can be relieved by taking off the offending shoe and massaging the balls of your feet and wearing better fitting shoes. Further options include orthotics, surgery and laser therapy. The Isogard system, which is a procedure that we use, is a new approach to decompressing the nerve by a single small incision. With this method, patients have faster recovery time and it leaves the nerve intact.

Image by LeeLeFever. (2011). The latest in spring fashion. 

Health Tip: What Causes Bed Sores?

Bed sores is a common term for pressure ulcers where the skin deteriorates due to constant pressure on the skin. According to a report done from the National Nursing Home Survey in 2004, 11% of residents in nursing homes had bed sores. Bed sores do not only affect residents of nursing homes. People undergoing surgery who are not mobile for periods of time during recovery can get bed sores.

So what causes bed sores and how can it be prevented? There are many factors that increase the likelihood of getting a bed sore such as being bedridden or in a wheelchair, having diabetes, fragile skin, Alzheimer's disease or just being unable to move certain parts of the body.

What happens is that if a person is in one spot for too long, the pressure from a bed or chair directly in contact with the skin reduces the blood supply to that area. In turn, the tissue dies.

Bed sores start off as patchy red skin and progressively gets worse until it forms a blister, then an open sore, and then can lead to a crater forming in the skin if untreated.

Common spots of the body for bed sores to form are ankles, heels, elbows, shoulders, and back.

Bed sores can be prevented. First, check for pressure sores everyday and pay extra attention to the most common spots where they form. If one finds red spots, apply gentile pressure to see if the spot turns white. Changing position frequently minimizes bed sores as it relieves pressure on the skin. Extra padding also helps since pillows help relieve pressure. Eating well balanced meals, exercising, and daily showers all play their part in preventing bed sores.



Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). Publications and Information Products. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/

Image by Joel Kramer. (2006). Big bed. 

What Do Toes Do?

Have you ever looked down at your feet and thought, what function do the toes serve? Feet would look very different without toes, that's for sure! But they do serve a medical purpose while also providing women with toenails to paint.

Toes assist in walking by providing balance, weight-bearing, and thrust during the gait. Since the toes provide balance, if you are having problems with your balance, do some toe and ankle exercises to strengthen the muscles in the feet and toes.

There are at least six sets of muscles that control each toe. Who would have known! Two tendons join the top of the toes and insert into the middle bones of each toe.

Each muscle has a job, and that is to stabilize one of the bones in the toes. If there is an imbalance in the foot, the smaller muscles can be overpowered by the larger flexor and extensor muscles. If a foot is flat, the flexor muscles can overpower the others because as the foot flattens, it also lengthens causing greater than normal tension. If the toes are not strong enough to resist the tension, they become overpowered and can result in deformities.

Photo by Rachel D. (2007). Toes.