Exams and Tests
Calluses and corns—areas of thick, hardened, dead skin—generally are diagnosed during a physical exam. If the calluses or corns are on your feet, you will be asked to take your shoes and socks off, and your feet will be examined. If you have calluses on another part of your body, such as your knee or elbow, your health professional will examine those areas as well.
Your health professional may also ask you questions about your work, hobbies, or shoes. If your health professional suspects a problem with the bones of the foot, he or she might do an X-ray of your foot.
If a callus or corn is not located over a bony part of the foot or a pressure point is not obvious, your health professional may look for another cause, such as skin cancer or a genetic cause.
If you have diabetes, peripheral arterial disease, peripheral neuropathy, or other conditions that cause circulatory problems or numbness, tell your health professional. These diseases affect your treatment options.
Author: Ralph Poore
Medical Review: Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine Alexander H. Murray, MD, FRCPC - Dermatology
Last Updated: February 16, 2006
© 1995-2007, Healthwise, Incorporated, P.O. Box 1989, Boise, ID 83701. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Calluses and Corns - Symptoms
Symptoms
The symptoms of calluses and corns include pain while walking or wearing shoes and difficulty fitting into shoes. Pressing or squeezing the callus or corn may also cause pain.
You can tell you have a callus or corn by its appearance. A callus is hard, dry, and thick and may appear grayish or yellowish. It may be less sensitive to your touch than surrounding skin, and it may feel bumpy. A hard corn is also firm and thick. It may have a soft yellow ring with a gray center. A soft corn looks like an open sore.
See illustrations of a callus and hard and soft corns.
A callus or corn may be confused with a wart. Warts are generally tender and painful when pinched side to side, whereas calluses and corns can be painful when pressing directly on them. See illustrations of types of warts. For more information, see the topic Warts and Plantar Warts.
Other conditions that can resemble a callus or corn include:
An object in the skin, such as a sliver.
Inflammation of the lining of the joint at the end of the metatarsal bone (synovitis).
A pinched nerve between toes (Morton's neuroma).
Hardened areas of skin due to genetics.
Author: Ralph Poore
Medical Review: Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine Alexander H. Murray, MD, FRCPC - Dermatology
Last Updated: February 16, 2006
© 1995-2007, Healthwise, Incorporated, P.O. Box 1989, Boise, ID 83701. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
The symptoms of calluses and corns include pain while walking or wearing shoes and difficulty fitting into shoes. Pressing or squeezing the callus or corn may also cause pain.
You can tell you have a callus or corn by its appearance. A callus is hard, dry, and thick and may appear grayish or yellowish. It may be less sensitive to your touch than surrounding skin, and it may feel bumpy. A hard corn is also firm and thick. It may have a soft yellow ring with a gray center. A soft corn looks like an open sore.
See illustrations of a callus and hard and soft corns.
A callus or corn may be confused with a wart. Warts are generally tender and painful when pinched side to side, whereas calluses and corns can be painful when pressing directly on them. See illustrations of types of warts. For more information, see the topic Warts and Plantar Warts.
Other conditions that can resemble a callus or corn include:
An object in the skin, such as a sliver.
Inflammation of the lining of the joint at the end of the metatarsal bone (synovitis).
A pinched nerve between toes (Morton's neuroma).
Hardened areas of skin due to genetics.
Author: Ralph Poore
Medical Review: Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine Alexander H. Murray, MD, FRCPC - Dermatology
Last Updated: February 16, 2006
© 1995-2007, Healthwise, Incorporated, P.O. Box 1989, Boise, ID 83701. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Warts and Plantar Warts - Symptoms
Symptoms
Warts occur in a variety of shapes and sizes. A wart may appear as a bump with a rough surface, or it may be flat and smooth. Tiny blood vessels (capillaries) grow into the core of the wart to supply it with blood. In both common and plantar warts, these capillaries may appear as dark dots (seeds) in the wart's center.
Following are descriptions of the main types of warts.
Common warts usually appear singly or in groups on the hands, although they may grow on any part of the body. They usually are rough, gray-brown, dome-shaped growths.
Plantar warts can develop on any part of the foot. Sometimes dark specks are visible beneath the surface of the wart. When pressure from standing or walking pushes a plantar wart beneath the skin's surface, a layer of thick, tough skin similar to a callus develops over it. As the callus and wart get larger, walking can become painful, much like walking with a pebble in your shoe. Multiple plantar warts can form in a large, flat cluster known as a "mosaic wart."
Flat warts are usually found on the face, arms, or legs. They are small (usually smaller than the eraser on the end of a pencil), and there are usually several in one area. They have flat tops and can be pink, light brown, or light yellow. Flat warts are often spread by shaving.
Filiform warts, a kind of flat wart, can grow around the mouth, nose, and beard area. The surface of this type of wart has many flesh-colored, fingerlike projections.
Periungual warts are found under and around the toenails and fingernails. They appear as rough, irregular bumps. They can affect nail growth.
Genital warts can be extremely small and difficult to detect. For more information, see the topic Genital Warts.
Common and flat warts do not cause pain. However, they can be bothersome and can spread easily if they are in areas that are constantly irritated by rubbing or shaving. Visible warts can be embarrassing for some people. Plantar warts often cause pain, especially if they are located over bony areas of the foot.
Other skin conditions may look like warts. These include:
Seborrheic keratoses, which are noncancerous growths of the skin. They vary in color from light tan to black and in size from very small to the size of a coin. The growths may look waxy, pasted on, or stuck on.
Skin tags (acrochordon), which are small, soft pieces of skin that stick out on a thin stem. They most often appear on the neck, armpits, upper trunk, and body folds. They commonly appear after middle age.
Corns, which are areas of thick, hardened, dead skin.
Skin cancer. Skin cancer may appear as a growth or mole, a change in a growth or mole, a sore that does not heal, or irritation of the skin.
Warts cover the lines and creases in the skin; this is one way to tell a wart from other skin conditions.
Author: Paul Lehnert
Medical Review: Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine Alexander H. Murray, MD, FRCPC - Dermatology
Last Updated: November 17, 2004
© 1995-2007, Healthwise, Incorporated, P.O. Box 1989, Boise, ID 83701. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Warts occur in a variety of shapes and sizes. A wart may appear as a bump with a rough surface, or it may be flat and smooth. Tiny blood vessels (capillaries) grow into the core of the wart to supply it with blood. In both common and plantar warts, these capillaries may appear as dark dots (seeds) in the wart's center.
Following are descriptions of the main types of warts.
Common warts usually appear singly or in groups on the hands, although they may grow on any part of the body. They usually are rough, gray-brown, dome-shaped growths.
Plantar warts can develop on any part of the foot. Sometimes dark specks are visible beneath the surface of the wart. When pressure from standing or walking pushes a plantar wart beneath the skin's surface, a layer of thick, tough skin similar to a callus develops over it. As the callus and wart get larger, walking can become painful, much like walking with a pebble in your shoe. Multiple plantar warts can form in a large, flat cluster known as a "mosaic wart."
Flat warts are usually found on the face, arms, or legs. They are small (usually smaller than the eraser on the end of a pencil), and there are usually several in one area. They have flat tops and can be pink, light brown, or light yellow. Flat warts are often spread by shaving.
Filiform warts, a kind of flat wart, can grow around the mouth, nose, and beard area. The surface of this type of wart has many flesh-colored, fingerlike projections.
Periungual warts are found under and around the toenails and fingernails. They appear as rough, irregular bumps. They can affect nail growth.
Genital warts can be extremely small and difficult to detect. For more information, see the topic Genital Warts.
Common and flat warts do not cause pain. However, they can be bothersome and can spread easily if they are in areas that are constantly irritated by rubbing or shaving. Visible warts can be embarrassing for some people. Plantar warts often cause pain, especially if they are located over bony areas of the foot.
Other skin conditions may look like warts. These include:
Seborrheic keratoses, which are noncancerous growths of the skin. They vary in color from light tan to black and in size from very small to the size of a coin. The growths may look waxy, pasted on, or stuck on.
Skin tags (acrochordon), which are small, soft pieces of skin that stick out on a thin stem. They most often appear on the neck, armpits, upper trunk, and body folds. They commonly appear after middle age.
Corns, which are areas of thick, hardened, dead skin.
Skin cancer. Skin cancer may appear as a growth or mole, a change in a growth or mole, a sore that does not heal, or irritation of the skin.
Warts cover the lines and creases in the skin; this is one way to tell a wart from other skin conditions.
Author: Paul Lehnert
Medical Review: Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine Alexander H. Murray, MD, FRCPC - Dermatology
Last Updated: November 17, 2004
© 1995-2007, Healthwise, Incorporated, P.O. Box 1989, Boise, ID 83701. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Topic Overview
This topic covers warts on any area of the body except the genitals. For information about warts in this location, see the topic Genital Warts.
What are warts, and what causes them?
A wart is a harmless, noncancerous skin growth caused by a human papillomavirus (HPV). There are more than 100 known types of HPV. HPV infects the top layer of skin, usually entering the body in an area of broken skin. The virus causes the top layer of skin to grow rapidly, resulting in a wart. Warts generally go away on their own within months or years. 1
Warts can occur anywhere on the body. They are most common among children and young adults. 2
There are six main kinds of warts. They can differ in location and in appearance.
Common warts appear most often on the hands, but they may appear anywhere on the body. They are rough, gray-brown, dome-shaped growths.
Plantar warts occur on the soles of the feet. They look like hard, thick patches of skin with dark specks. Plantar warts may cause pain when you walk, and you may feel like you are stepping on a pebble.
Flat warts are usually found on your face, arms, or legs. They are small (usually smaller than the eraser on the end of a pencil), have flat tops, and can be pink, light brown, or light yellow.
Filiform warts are usually found around the mouth, nose, or beard area. They are flesh-colored with fingerlike projections.
Periungual warts are found under and around the toenails and fingernails. They appear as rough, irregular bumps. They can affect nail growth.
Genital warts are found on the genitals, around the anus, within the rectum or vagina, or on the cervix. They range in color from flesh to gray and often grow together to form cauliflower-like masses and in some cases are too small to see. Genital warts may increase a woman's risk of cervical cancer.
How are warts spread?
Warts are easily spread by direct contact with a human papillomavirus. You can reinfect yourself by touching the wart and then another part of your body. You can infect others by sharing towels, razors, or other personal items. After exposure to a human papillomavirus, it can take 2 to 9 months of slow growth beneath the skin before you notice a wart. 2
It is unlikely that you will develop a wart every time you are exposed to a human papillomavirus. Some people are more likely to develop warts than others.
Genital warts are very contagious.
What are common symptoms?
Warts occur in a variety of shapes and sizes. A wart may appear as a bump with a rough surface, or it may be flat and smooth. Tiny blood vessels (capillaries) grow into the core of the wart to supply it with blood. In both common and plantar warts, these capillaries may appear as dark dots (seeds) in the wart's center. Typically, the skin lines and creases over the wart are distorted.
Warts are usually painless; however, a wart that develops on a pressure point, such as a finger or on the bottom of the foot, can be painful.
How are warts diagnosed?
Warts are usually diagnosed by their appearance. Your health professional may take a sample of the wart and examine it under a microscope (skin biopsy). This may be done if the diagnosis is unclear or if a skin growth is darker than the skin surrounding it, appears as an irregular patch on the skin, bleeds, or is large and growing rapidly.
How are they treated?
Treatment is not needed for most warts. However, if you have warts that are painful or spreading or you are bothered by their appearance, your treatment options include:
Home treatment with a nonprescription salicylic acid or with adhesive tape.
Putting a stronger medication on the wart, or injecting it with medication.
Freezing the wart (cryotherapy).
Surgical removal of the wart (electrosurgery, curettage, laser surgery).
Wart treatment is not always successful. Even after a wart shrinks or disappears, warts may return or spread to other parts of the body. This is because most treatments only destroy the wart and do not kill the virus that causes the wart.
Frequently Asked Questions
Learning about warts and plantar warts:
What are warts?
What causes warts?
Can I prevent warts?
What are the symptoms of warts?
How do warts progress?
What increases my risk of developing warts?
Who is affected by warts?
Being diagnosed:
Who can diagnose warts?
How are warts diagnosed?
Getting treatment:
How are warts treated?
What medications will I need to take?
Will I need surgery?
What other treatments might be recommended?
Should I treat warts?
Living with warts:
How can I manage warts at home?
Author: Paul Lehnert
Medical Review: Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine Alexander H. Murray, MD, FRCPC - Dermatology
Last Updated: November 17, 2004
© 1995-2007, Healthwise, Incorporated, P.O. Box 1989, Boise, ID 83701. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
What are warts, and what causes them?
A wart is a harmless, noncancerous skin growth caused by a human papillomavirus (HPV). There are more than 100 known types of HPV. HPV infects the top layer of skin, usually entering the body in an area of broken skin. The virus causes the top layer of skin to grow rapidly, resulting in a wart. Warts generally go away on their own within months or years. 1
Warts can occur anywhere on the body. They are most common among children and young adults. 2
There are six main kinds of warts. They can differ in location and in appearance.
Common warts appear most often on the hands, but they may appear anywhere on the body. They are rough, gray-brown, dome-shaped growths.
Plantar warts occur on the soles of the feet. They look like hard, thick patches of skin with dark specks. Plantar warts may cause pain when you walk, and you may feel like you are stepping on a pebble.
Flat warts are usually found on your face, arms, or legs. They are small (usually smaller than the eraser on the end of a pencil), have flat tops, and can be pink, light brown, or light yellow.
Filiform warts are usually found around the mouth, nose, or beard area. They are flesh-colored with fingerlike projections.
Periungual warts are found under and around the toenails and fingernails. They appear as rough, irregular bumps. They can affect nail growth.
Genital warts are found on the genitals, around the anus, within the rectum or vagina, or on the cervix. They range in color from flesh to gray and often grow together to form cauliflower-like masses and in some cases are too small to see. Genital warts may increase a woman's risk of cervical cancer.
How are warts spread?
Warts are easily spread by direct contact with a human papillomavirus. You can reinfect yourself by touching the wart and then another part of your body. You can infect others by sharing towels, razors, or other personal items. After exposure to a human papillomavirus, it can take 2 to 9 months of slow growth beneath the skin before you notice a wart. 2
It is unlikely that you will develop a wart every time you are exposed to a human papillomavirus. Some people are more likely to develop warts than others.
Genital warts are very contagious.
What are common symptoms?
Warts occur in a variety of shapes and sizes. A wart may appear as a bump with a rough surface, or it may be flat and smooth. Tiny blood vessels (capillaries) grow into the core of the wart to supply it with blood. In both common and plantar warts, these capillaries may appear as dark dots (seeds) in the wart's center. Typically, the skin lines and creases over the wart are distorted.
Warts are usually painless; however, a wart that develops on a pressure point, such as a finger or on the bottom of the foot, can be painful.
How are warts diagnosed?
Warts are usually diagnosed by their appearance. Your health professional may take a sample of the wart and examine it under a microscope (skin biopsy). This may be done if the diagnosis is unclear or if a skin growth is darker than the skin surrounding it, appears as an irregular patch on the skin, bleeds, or is large and growing rapidly.
How are they treated?
Treatment is not needed for most warts. However, if you have warts that are painful or spreading or you are bothered by their appearance, your treatment options include:
Home treatment with a nonprescription salicylic acid or with adhesive tape.
Putting a stronger medication on the wart, or injecting it with medication.
Freezing the wart (cryotherapy).
Surgical removal of the wart (electrosurgery, curettage, laser surgery).
Wart treatment is not always successful. Even after a wart shrinks or disappears, warts may return or spread to other parts of the body. This is because most treatments only destroy the wart and do not kill the virus that causes the wart.
Frequently Asked Questions
Learning about warts and plantar warts:
What are warts?
What causes warts?
Can I prevent warts?
What are the symptoms of warts?
How do warts progress?
What increases my risk of developing warts?
Who is affected by warts?
Being diagnosed:
Who can diagnose warts?
How are warts diagnosed?
Getting treatment:
How are warts treated?
What medications will I need to take?
Will I need surgery?
What other treatments might be recommended?
Should I treat warts?
Living with warts:
How can I manage warts at home?
Author: Paul Lehnert
Medical Review: Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine Alexander H. Murray, MD, FRCPC - Dermatology
Last Updated: November 17, 2004
© 1995-2007, Healthwise, Incorporated, P.O. Box 1989, Boise, ID 83701. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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