Palmer and plantar warts are benign (noncancerous) skin growths. They often resolve naturally, but can become large, painful, and embarrassing. The Menkes Clinic & Surgery Center offers removaloptions, for care customized to your needs. Patients in and near Mountain View, CA are enjoying wart-free hands and feet thanks to these effective techniques.
About palmer and plantar warts
These warts are the result of viral infection – a strain of the human papillomavirus – in the top layer of skin. The virus is usually spread by indirect contact, such as playground equipment or public showers. An individual with a compromised immune system is more likely to get a palmer or plantar wart.
Palmer warts appear on hands, and plantar warts on feet. They are usually about the size of a pencil eraser, and may show one or more black dots, which are tiny blood vessels. Palmer warts are usually raised, while plantar warts may flatten from the pressure of walking. Plantar warts sometimes grow in clusters, called mosaics.
Treatment
Your personalized treatment plan may consist of:
- Home care with prescription-strength salicylic acid peeling medication. Layers are removed, while the body’s immune system is stimulated to fight the wart naturally.
- Liquid nitrogen applied to the wart to freeze it. A blister forms, causing dead tissue to slough off over the course of a week or two.
- Combination treatment with cryotherapy and salicylic acid.
- More aggressive topic treatment, such as trichloroacetic acid, applied weekly at the Clinic.
- Immunotherapy – an oral medication, antigen injected into the wart, or a solution applied, to stimulate your immune system.
- HPV vaccine.
- Minor surgery or electrodesiccation and curettage to remove the wart.
- Treatment with a pulsed-dye laser to cauterize blood vessels that feed wart tissue.
Palmer and plantar warts can return, so repeated treatment may be necessary.
To learn more about your options for removal of warts near Mountain View, CA, call (650) 962-4600.
