Plantar's Warts

Updated on June 09, 2009
D.B. asks from Saint Charles, MO
18 answers

Hi everyone. I know I have seen info about this but I don't know what to do since I think I have used all the remedies listed before. Our eight year old son is growing warts on his feet like crazy. We have tried duct tape, Dr. Scholl's freeze away, Compound W, colloidal (sp?) silver and yes, even the potatoes. Nothing seems to work. There was only a couple and now they have spread all over the bottom of one foot and he has two on the other foot. I am currently using the collodial silver and they don't look as bad as they did but have only been using it 3-4 weeks. The pediatrician says not to worry, they will eventually go away but our son doesn't like them. Burning them off through the dermatologist doesn't seem like a good option since there are so many and on his foot. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

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So What Happened?

I want to thank everyone for all their wonderful advice. Our son's pediatrician looked at them about two weeks ago and said to leave them alone. My other son had been to a podiatrist and we were able to get rid of his with the duct tape, salysidic acid and freeze away stuff. We had tried that on these warts but with no success. I am going to try the banana peel and the vitamin E recommendations - they are simple enough and certainly won't cause any harm. If those don't work - I guess it will be the dermatologist. Thank you!!!!

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B.J.

answers from Kansas City on

One more.......my sister had plantar's warts and her doctor told her to take an OTC antacid (I know that sounds wierd)like zantac or the others. It worked...they went away. Worth a shot. Good luck!

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M.R.

answers from Springfield on

I'm having the same trouble with my daughter. she only has one, but it's in the center of the ball of her foot. I got rid of another one by doing what my ped. told me. One day, put the medicine, the next, file it with an emory board. So on and so forth until it went away. It worked perfectly for her toe.
Now, we've killed the one on the bottom, but she's SO ticklish, that we can't file it down. But the filing DOES work, if they'll let you do it.
Good luck!!

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K.C.

answers from Wichita on

Plantar warts are such a mess! I had one on the ball of my foot for 10+ years before I found a dr that was able to remove it. I had tried the over the counter stuff & I even had different doctors freeze it.
The foot dr. I went to did a freeze & scrape method (with a little acid too). He would scrape the wart (to remove all the dead skin & calus that was preventing the other freezings from getting to the root of the wart) then on the fresh skin he would freeze the wart, then he put a bandaid on it. It hurt to walk for 2-3 days. Then the next week he would do the process again, sometimes with acid & sometimes he would freeze it. After about 6 weeks my wart was gone (& it still is).
Plantar warts are supost to be contagious (from what I have been told), but my family never got one from me. Maybe that is why he has so many - they are spreading on his own foot.
If you don't want to do the treatment I recieved you can soak the warts, scrub them with a pumice stone then try one of the OTC treatments. Personally my wart felt like there was a rock on my foot, so it was uncomfortable to walk at times.
I hope this helps so maybe he can get some relief!

God bless!

1 mom found this helpful
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C.M.

answers from Kansas City on

I had worts under my fingernails when I was young and my mom had them a lot too. Here is how my mother treated them. Go buy a bottle of Vitamin E pills and the white medical tape. You can probably use the liquid too but I think the pills are more concentrated. Poke a small hole in the pill and rub some on the wart then cover it with the medical tape. Do not use a bandaid because it will soak up the vitamin E. Do this every night until it is gone. It won't take long before you notice the worts getting smaller and they will not come back. You have to be consistant and keep at it until they are completely gone. I have never had this treatment fail and the vitamin E is good for your skin. No harmful chemicals or painful freezing required and it is much more cost effective.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.C.

answers from Kansas City on

My husband had them for several years. He tried everything. They would get better and worse (he wore duct tape on his foot for like 2 years... eew). Finally he pushed it at the doctor's office and they burned them. It took a couple visits, but now he has been plater's wart free for 2 years. They are a virus, so others can get them from showering in the same place and such. Our doctor said that he probably got them from going barefoot outside so much (on a college campus). We finally did it because we didn't want our kids or me to get them and they were hurting him more and more. I hope this helps some..

K.

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S.B.

answers from Columbia on

Hi D.! My 9 year old son had a plantar's wart on the bottom of his foot last year too. I took him to his ped. and she removed it right there in the office. It was painful for him for a minute until the numbing shot started working but after that he didn't have anymore pain from it at all. It took a little at home care for a couple of weeks after she removed it...but no pain and it has not come back. It is also a good idea to bleach the shower once they have been removed because these type of warts are spreadable. In my opinion having a dr. remove them is the best and only way to totally get rid of them. If you don't totally get rid of them...they just get worse and keep spreading. I feel for your son cuz I know what my son went through when he had his and then what he went through to get it removed...but it was the best thing for him since he is not pain and wart free!!! Hope this helps...if you would like anymore info. on how they remove them...please feel free to ask...I watched the whole process. Take care and good luck!

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B.B.

answers from St. Louis on

We've had good luck with duct tape -- but we had to do it every night (leaving the tape on all day if possible) over the course of a few months at least. Good luck - I hate those things.

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K.G.

answers from Kansas City on

My 5 year old had one big one that we just got rid of! I used the Dr. Scholl's Clear Away (medicated discs) for Plantar warts. After a bath/shower or soaking foot, put the medicated disc on the wart. (This is key to success, making sure it is soft from soaking before putting the medicine disc on) It comes with little "covers" to keep the disc in place, that my son didn't like the feel of, so we used a waterproof bandaid to keep it in place. The directions say to replace with new disc every other day. Sometimes our bandaid would come off and we'd have to replace every day. After about 2 weeks it fell off!

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T.K.

answers from Kansas City on

OK - I know this sounds crazy - because that's what I thought when someone told me this. My daughter too had a few on her feet at about the same age - with this idea - they were gone pain free in about 2 weeks - with little expense!!! We were told to use a banana peel every evening. so, this was good - because it made her eat a banana every night. Then, we took a piece of peel large enough to cover the area, put the inside of the peel against her foot, covered with medical tape and then her sock. We did this every night - and in less than two weeks they were gone - and have not returned 2 years later. Good luck!

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E.S.

answers from Springfield on

Ask your doctor/dermatologist about injection therapy. For warts they inject a small amount of yeast into one of them. When the immune system reacts by fighting the "foreign" yeast it is often tricked into attacking the virus that causes the warts, causing them to go away. I had never heard of this until last week; our daughter has molluscum contagiosum, which is caused by a virus related to the one that causes warts. The treatment is actually used for warts, but is often successful in treating this as well. She had her injection yesterday and we are praying for success. Good luck!

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S.S.

answers from Wichita on

I would definately see a dermatologist, they will keep spreading and you don't want it to get any worse, maybe since there are so many they would numb it or do it as an outpatient procedure and put him to sleep, or maybe there is something causing them. I mean a visit to discuss it would at least be nice.

D.H.

answers from Kansas City on

Hi, D., warts are caused by a viral infection in the body and will have to run it's course. I had one on my middle finger for almost 15 years and did all the "rememdies" and then suddenly one day it was gone. You may need to see a dermatologis to have them removed anyway if they are starting to bother your son. I doubt you want to wait forever to get rid of them and kids can be cruel if they see a lot on his foot. Good luck and God Bless.

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K.G.

answers from St. Louis on

I had warts in high school, and I went to my podiatrist. He gave me two medicines and a nail file. First I had to file the warts to get to the root of the problem (not until bloody, but bloody close!). Then I put a liquid on. I'm pretty sure it was acid of some kind. Then I put a lotion on that was like a freezing lotion; felt really good after that acid! I did it two or three times per day. After about one week, they were almost gone. Try a podiatrist... they must see this all the time and would have very good, concrete solutions. Good luck!

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S.B.

answers from Kansas City on

I really would seek some medical attention. Sounds like you've tried all the OTC remedies. Call you doctor.

S.L.

answers from Kansas City on

I had two on my foot, more on the bottom of the toes, when I was in high school in the dark ages. :-) Back then after we had our PE class we had to shower and step in a pan to get rid of 'germs' and that was passing warts around. Finally they got wise and stopped that practice. I had mine burned off and it hurt but not so bad I wouldn't do it again and they're gone and never came back. I would try to find out why your son is getting them so they don't come back too. I found this online:

Incidence and Prevalence
Anyone can contract the virus that causes plantar warts. According to the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA), plantar warts occur most often in children and young adults between the ages of 12 and 16. Incidence is higher in people who share common bathing areas (e.g., dormitory students, gym members).

And this on treatment:

Treatment

Over-the-counter medications contain chemicals that destroy skin cells (e.g., acid) and may damage healthy tissue surrounding the wart and contribute to spreading. Self-treatment for plantar warts using an over-the-counter preparation is not recommended.

In some cases, podiatrists apply mild acid (e.g., salicylic acid, cantharidin, dichloroacetic acid) topically to treat plantar warts. This treatment, which often requires multiple applications over the course of several weeks, disintegrates viral cells and allows healthy skin cells to replace them.

I know they do hurt so hope you find a way to get rid of them soon for your son's sake.

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L.W.

answers from St. Louis on

D.,
I know that you have gotten a bunch of advice but I wanted to let you know what I went through because I gave them to my daughter. I had 9 on one foot and 6 on the other foot when I finally went in and had them all froze off. If the dermatologist does it right it will hurt for a while. If they do it wrong it will not hurt at all. The first time I had it done I was walking around Wal-Mart with out any pain doing my shopping. However the next time I had it done I was walking on the sides of my feet. By the time I made it home and Hour and a half after it was done my feet were burning so bad. The dermotologist told me to put my feet in ice water as soon as I got home. Well I called my hubby and told him to put a pitcher of water in the fridge about 30 min. after I left the dr. office. When I went back and had 5 redone I went to my mom's house 20 min. away from the dr. office so that I did not have the pain that I had the first time. I could barely walk on my feet for 2 days. I am lucky that I am a sahm because of this.
For my daughter we tried using Mediplast it is sold over the counter at Wal-Greens (you have to ask the pharmacy for it). It comes in package that looks like a large band-aid wraper. You cut it to fit the wart. My daughters dermatologist had us soak her foot for 5-10 min. then file the wart with a nail file (make sure that you throw away the nail file when finished or you will spread it) then put the Mediplast on it and cover it with water proof tape and leave it on for 24 hours and repeat it all over again the next night.
This did help with some of mine but not all of them and did not help with hers.
Come Nov. I will be free of them for 1 year. However I think that my daughter who only had one on her foot has them again so when she goes to the derm. at the end of June for her excema then I will have them look at and treat her foot. I plan on using the mediplast on it till then only because I do not want it to be so bad they have to do it more than once. She had molescum and had to have those warts froze off her last summer. So she knows what the container is that they use and she goes nuts when she sees it. She just turned 6 so I do feel for you and your son. Make him wear his socks in the house so that no one else gets it. That is now the rule in our house. I even make my friends wear theirs or make them wear thier shoes. I have one friend whose daughter hates shoes and socks so when she comes over she puts on a pair of my daughter's (who is older so she thinks it is a big deal) just to make sure that we do not get them again.
I would have it done before school starts.

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T.M.

answers from Wichita on

When I was in high school (back long, long ago....), I had plantar's warts every year during track season - mainly because of the showers, etc. I got them burned off every time and it was painful - especially still haveing to run and they were, of course, on the bottom of my feet. But anyway, I started to take Vitamins A & D (someone had told me about them),and it worked! I have had a bout or two since my high school days, but nothing near as severe. But all during school and sports I took those vitamins and it seemed to help. I know that you don't want to see your son in any pain, but I would suggest that you get these warts taken care of by burning them off - hang in there and get rid of them now - start your son on those vitamins and see how it goes. I believe that they spread very easily to others - so you need to be careful in showers, swimming pools, even just wet, sweaty feet - keep the feet dry. Good luck!!!!

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