Plantar Warts and Palmer Warts
Plantar Warts and Palmer Warts
Plantar warts and Palmer warts are common, especially in children. These warts are named for where they appear on the body. Palmer warts occur on the hands, and plantar warts on the bottom of the foot.
Virtually everyone will have a wart (or several) someplace at some time in their lives.
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Plantar warts and palmer warts are noncancerous skin growths, caused by a viral infection in the top layer of the skin. The culprit is a strain of virus called human papillomavirus or HPV. Many strains of the virus exist, and those that cause common warts on the hands and feet are not the same strains of HPV that cause genital warts.
Some people mistakenly think plantar warts or palmer warts are malignant. In fact, they are not harmful. Eventually, in about two years, most warts go away without treatment. Warts can, however, cause irritation or minor pain, depending on their location. Also, warts may appear unsightly and make the person who has them self-conscious.
On average plantar warts and palmer warts are small, about the size of a pencil eraser. But some warts grow bigger. Sometimes plantar warts can grow in clusters; those are called mosaic warts.
Sometimes corns or calluses are mistaken for a palmer or plantar wart. In some warts, little black dots appear, leading people to call them "seed" warts. Actually the black dots are little blood vessels that have grown up into the wart. Warts don’t really have “seeds.”
Plantar warts usually don't stick up above the skin as much as warts on the hand, partly because of the pressure of walking and its flattening effect.
Warts are spread from person to person. The transmission can be indirect. For instance, a child with a wart on his hand may touch a playground surface that is then touched by another child and the wart spreads. Or a person with a plantar wart uses a shower without wearing shower shoes and another person then uses it and develops a wart. The risk of getting a hand or foot wart from another person is small.
A person's risk of getting a wart varies. Those with a weakened immune system are more susceptible. But those with healthy immune systems can also develop warts.
Virtually everyone will have a wart (or several) someplace at some time in their lives.
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What Are Plantar Warts and Palmer Warts?
Plantar warts and palmer warts are noncancerous skin growths, caused by a viral infection in the top layer of the skin. The culprit is a strain of virus called human papillomavirus or HPV. Many strains of the virus exist, and those that cause common warts on the hands and feet are not the same strains of HPV that cause genital warts.
Some people mistakenly think plantar warts or palmer warts are malignant. In fact, they are not harmful. Eventually, in about two years, most warts go away without treatment. Warts can, however, cause irritation or minor pain, depending on their location. Also, warts may appear unsightly and make the person who has them self-conscious.
What Do Plantar Warts and Palmer Warts Look Like?
On average plantar warts and palmer warts are small, about the size of a pencil eraser. But some warts grow bigger. Sometimes plantar warts can grow in clusters; those are called mosaic warts.
Sometimes corns or calluses are mistaken for a palmer or plantar wart. In some warts, little black dots appear, leading people to call them "seed" warts. Actually the black dots are little blood vessels that have grown up into the wart. Warts don’t really have “seeds.”
Plantar warts usually don't stick up above the skin as much as warts on the hand, partly because of the pressure of walking and its flattening effect.
How Do You Get a Plantar Wart or Palmer Wart?
Warts are spread from person to person. The transmission can be indirect. For instance, a child with a wart on his hand may touch a playground surface that is then touched by another child and the wart spreads. Or a person with a plantar wart uses a shower without wearing shower shoes and another person then uses it and develops a wart. The risk of getting a hand or foot wart from another person is small.
A person's risk of getting a wart varies. Those with a weakened immune system are more susceptible. But those with healthy immune systems can also develop warts.
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