Plantar wart WILL NOT GO AWAY

[slang23]

Ok I have had this wart on the ball on my foot for years.  There are a few and now they are large and thick.  It must have roots an inch deep at this point.  I should have just let it be but I have seen about 10 doctors for it (derms and dpms).

I have tried
-Doctor applied acids
-Dozens of doctor freezings
-many self freezings
-Candida antigen injections
-Duct tape for months
-Aldara
-50% salicyclic acid (self applied)


The only thing that seems to be left is bleomycin which my doctor is unwilling to do.  She said I could be left with a hole in my foot.  She says the only thing she can think of is trying many candida shots (we only did 1 injection a week for 5 weeks - the standard) or do a combination of salicyclic acid (to thin the skin) and aldara (which may have had problems with absorption before).  

Does ANYONE have an idea?  has anyone tried bleomycin>  I would like to avoid simple/homeopathic stuff --- I think this is WAY beyond that

[Tayloorr18]

I’ve had one since I was 16 , went this year to start getting it fixed . At first we did the traditional sacylic acid and duct tape , it didn’t work. So we tried freezing , didn’t work. Then my doctor tried canthradin , which is the blistering technique . And wishing 3 hours it caught an infection very bad , I didn’t know what was happening until the next day , yes it was hard to walk on , I couldn’t even get a shoe on. But I noticed streaks going up my ankle. so I went in for and he removed the infection . We for sure thought my warts were gone , but a month later they came back. So I went back and we set up an appointment to cut them and burn the inside. We did that and then a month later they came back. So now I have to set an appointment to get is removed with the laser and if that doesn’t work they’re sending me to the OR , Now my warts are most noticeable because the pains just worse than before I had treatments

[Jxloe]

So I had one from september 2017 up until early January of 2018. I thought I would never get rid of it as the freezing treatments seemed to worsen it and it gradually became more stubborn. I had been applying creams during this time too and making sure my body was always clean and never in contact with the wart (I had a bandage on it). It finally got to the point where I went to Mexico and got some type of acid treatment. It took a week and boom the skin around it died. I peeled off the dead skin (not with my bare hands) and the wart popped out and has not returned for a month. I had a small hole as a result but after some treatments post wart (to make sure it really was gone) the hole healed up.

[Jxloe]

Oh and another thing I forgot to add I was taking a lot of vitamins during this time as well so that helps too

[hopefuldreamer2]

I have had my plantar warts for over 6 years now. I have tried so many treatments including: duct tape, salycilic acid, freezing, silver nitrate, acid corn plasters, laser treatment and nail varnish.

I had a little success on smaller ones on one of my feet with freezing treatment (cryotherapy), towards the end of my treatment. I think this worked because they blistered and when the skin lifted off, I could then see the skin marks returning.

The mother plantar on my other foot, however, is the most resilient little blighter. I am sick to ******* death of covering it up and having to hide it from people (especially on holiday). It, too gets painful if left unparred. So here is where my current treatment stands; I have used the Wartabator (successful on skin tags but not on this bad boy...yet) and it doesn't feel tingly anymore on contact so I'm changing back to ACV and duct tape, additionally tacked on with some sticky elastoplast tape which I find sticks on better. I am also going to try tea tree to see if that works with the duct tape to try and strangle the life out of this little b@£$%^&. I am going to suffocate it then try to hack it out, without it bleeding as I have read that this leads to reinfection. I am also going to boost my vitamin A intake.

With always keeping it covered and sterilising everything, I have found not much reinfection. So ALWAYS keep it covered so no contact is made with healthy or broken skin!

Good luck everyone; one day in the future there will be a treatment out there for us... but till then, keep on parring!!

[NursingAssistantStudent]

Ask your doctor about laser treatment.

[Muriel37]

I have very painful plantar warts at both feet for many years. I tried everything to get rid of them, nothing worked. Finally I had them digged out by a surgeon. It was a horrible procedure, it bleeded a lot and I had extreme pain for more than two weeks. They all came back, deeper and much more painful than before. Standing and walking on them is hellishly painful and after half an hour the pain is unbearable. I showed them to another surgeon and was told that the risk getting them back after another surgery is very high because they are so deep. I learned that there are many different kind of plantar warts and that the type I have is almost impossible to remove. Their diameter increases in the depth and they have dendrites which are root-like branches with blood vessels. He advised against another removal and recommended special soft bedded  insoles to reduce the pain.
Perhaps my story will explain why with some warts duct tape and acids work and with other warts even surgical removal fails. It depends on the type of plantar wart whether a treatment works or not.
I have to learn to accept that I will have plantar warts for the rest of my life. That means not only hellish pain with every step but also hiding the pain to avoid being asked for the cause of my limping. It is always an embarrassing situation and I can't recommend telling the truth as the reactions are far from being encouraging. With headache you get compassion by everyone but with plantar warts which are ten times as painful you get disgusted looks. Lying barefoot on the beach is impossible because the view of my soles with the ugly large thick warts is an impertinence and because I feel too much ashamed to exhibit them.
Is there any one with similar warts and experiences? I would like to share informations.

[Treinam]

Yes! I have had my plantar wart since I was about 10. I am now turning 33 this year. To refuse the pain I cut into it about once a week and it helps.

[AlanMerson]

I had lots of warts including plantar warts up until my late 20s. Several burnt/cut out with resulting scars. By accident one day after work I touched poorly grounded water pipe/ shower head ( don't ask me how this works with water pipes in old houses....) when I was having a shower in a concrete floored bathroom. So I guess I was acting as an earth, The contact point was a large wart on my fingertip which a machine job had ripped open in my job that day . It gave the finger/wart a sharp buzz which decreased over about 10 seconds. Over the next few days I noticed the wart healed up but was far smaller. I kept cutting the head off it every few days so root exposed and touching the shower head. After  few weeks it disappeared. No scar either.  I did it slowly to all other warts and they all responded likewise . The few times subsequently I got warts, and then when my kids did likewise I made up a little contraption which was a 9v small battery ( fire alarm) two sewing needles with crocodile clips wires arrangement . I would push the needles down each side of the  wart 2-4mm as far as the patient could tolerant  so they were either side of the core/root and make the circuit for 5 -10 seconds. Easier if u are doing it to someone else! This has never failed to see warts on me or any of the family shrink back and disappear over the next weeks. My sons were sceptical initially:) But it worked for us. Obviously low voltage / low amps!!!! But apparently warts don't like it. No idea why. Good luck. Al

[Bbbmmmttt]

Have you gotton rid of them? I've had my warts removed 6 times including by surgically being removed. I still have them... 13 of them on my big toe!

[msand]

This is a very impressive, interesting thread.  I am equally surprised to see history going back to 2007 through 2016 on this.  I believe I inherited my plantar wart last May in Daytona Beach, FL running barefoot on the beach.  I went to a primary care physician in July and she advised it was a corn.  She encouraged me to use compound W and corn pads.  No luck since after different kinds of tape, moleskin, compound W, cornpads/cushions, tea tree oil, pumice stones, etc.  A week ago, I went to see a podiatrist because the pain is so excruciating that I can hardly walk on my foot.  He peformed a minor procedure where he removed the layer skin forming around it.  I was amazed at how hideous it is.  He asked me to come back in two weeks.  I am so desperate as well to remove this thing and move back into my normal level of productivity and sleep.  I have since decided to adopt some other alternative wellness methods.  Because of the committment on this page, I will definitely be in touch with the outcome.  In the meantime, I wanted to add a note share with the rest of you that yet another person is in the boat with you.  Til next time, Hang in there!

[kennygree]

I decided to try Isopropyl 91% on these stubborn warts and it appears to be drying out and lifting the warts off my fingers. I just did a  search and found your post. I have been using it for 2 weeks now. Your original post was from 2011, how did your treatment go?

[ukusa]

Warts are the HPV virus which is permanently in your blood stream once you catch it.  There are NO roots, but there is one main blood artery/vein deep down into the bloodstream inside the layers of epidermis and it  branches out into about two dozen little blood vessels (little black dots) and that grows into the wart.  I got rid of mine by using the chemical that is used for removing tatoo's and facial peels....TCA (Trichloroacetic acid).  It burns it off.  Yes, it is a strong acid, more powerful than Salicylic acid, but you will see results within two weeks.  I bought it on eBay for under $20.  

[alwaysi]

I have been with a planter wart for five years now..I tried cryotherapy,aldara and they didnt help til now im now worried it ia cancerous and its making my leg pain alot.what else can I do.

[Mswize]

I actually cut out my planters wart I first scraped off the calloused skin, it was on the heel of my foot by the way, then I pulled it out with tweezers it was like a squishy yellowish ball, I was wondering if the skin of my heel will seal up, right now I have a hole that is like a half centimeter in diameter

[melisdimarco]

I've tried everything. On my 3rd injection of candid yeast. Maybe do bleomycin in 2 weeks. Worse than breaking a leg. I use to run marathons and now I can barely walk. Has anyone above with the bad cases of plantar warts found any success? Please say yes.............Thanks

[melisdimarco]

omg! did anything work?

[melisdimarco]

Did you ever find a solution? thanks!

[melisdimarco]

Did you ever find a solution? thanks!

[briottine]

I have had a small plantar wart the size of of pencil eraser for about 7 months.  At first i didn't know what it was and started growing out to the point where I would feel it when I walk.  I would scrape it down but I did not treat it and it would grow back in a repetitive cycle.  I got fed up and started looking for treatments.  I bought salicylic acid 17% liquid drops (duofilm) and a 40%salicylic patch (mediplast). I would alternate.  When I did not have time, I would cut out the patch to fit over my wart then I would put duct tape over it. I would keep it on for about 1-2 days. If I showered I would put a new patch with duct tape. After a few days, a layer of dead skin covered the wart. I would cut a circle around the wart with a scalpel and remove the dead skin (made sure to sanitized it with alcohol and burned the tip of the scalpel). Once I removed it, I would repeat the salicylic acid treatment with duct tape.  Eventually over a few weeks, I got deeper and saw a dark spherical blob. After several days of salicylic acid treatment, I took my scalpel again and cut around it. I knew I was close so I took a pair of tweezers and pulled at it.  I am not going to lie it hurt and it felt like pulling roots that the users mentioned and hurt more than cutting around it.  But, I was able to pull it out and a small hole was left.  I then put another treatment of salicylic acid and duct tape just to be sure that I killed any remaining leftovers of the wart.  It stung a little afterwards.  That is where I am at.  Hopefully, it is gone for good.  

[Ande2010]

I picked at mine. Dug it out. Never came back . It's been 8 years.

[jme91]

I have been battling a severe case of plantars warts for over 7 years.
Got them from the pool when i was a lifeguard. I have several of them, some in clusters, on both feet and a really bad cluster on the knuckle of one of my fingers. Here's a list of treatments I've tried:

- compound W
- duct tape
- cimetidine
- acid
- aldara
- silver nitrate
- scraping (doctor and home) with small surgical blade and pumice stone
- countless liquid nitrogen treatments
- blistering agent
- excision
- zinc supplements
- moducare

I am currently still using aldara, acid + duct tape to soften the skin and scrape it down, i see my dermatologist weekly and she pares down the skin/wart as well as freezes them with liquid nitrogen, sometimes applies silver nitrate. I take zinc and moducare to help my immune system.

Excision was successful for some of my warts, but i still have three big ones that are VERY stubborn and no matter what i try, keep resisting treatment. Even after excision, they came back with a vengeance. They are very deep. My dermatologist told me my options are to have them lasered or to have them surgically removed by a plastic surgeon who can cut deeper. However, nerve damage is a risk with both these procédures, as is continuing with the aggressive liquid nitrogen freezing.

I'm sick and tired of being in nearly unbearable pain because of these warts and still not seeing an end to them. I would hate to have them cut out again only to have them come right back.

What else is there that I can do that will have good results and not involve anymore hellish pain?

[Dilek91]

Hi jme91! I am a Dermatology student and do reseach on deep plantar warts, thus I am most interested in getting any information from sufferers.  Your story is very interesting and therefore I would like to get more detailed information about your plantar warts. I would be very happy if you would contact me. Please write to ***@****
Thanks in advance!

[Jamfam33]

Hmm,  I couldn't find anyone here with 16 year-old wart.  Even so I'm rallying my muster to try another protocol.  Just one small wart incredibly resistant wart. But it's left a wake of compensatory musculoskeletal dysfunction. Y'know,  from walking weird to avoid putting weight on the sensitive plantar surface? I have major knee strain, trochatric bursitis and chronic sacro-iliac problems.  16 years!

What I've tried:
4 dematologists over the years, countless appointments
A full year professional shave downs and salycic acid applications
bleomycin
aldara-type med
many re-tries with home salicic acid
oregano oil
banana peel
thuja
duct tape (many years)
Auto-Immune  diet overhaul
dessicated liver
tweeze, dig and pull
prayer

What I may try next:
chelation therapy
Chinese herbs
acupuncture

[Warty101]

I have had plantar warts for five years and nothing seems to be working. I've gotten them freezes multiple times, shaved, used wart stick, compound w, and apple cidar vinegar. I have a pea-sized one on my left toe and slightly smaller one, as well as, a 1/4 of an inch one on my left heel, one slight smaller and three baby ones. They r sooo embarrassing especially when I'm swimming. I can't try any of the treatments requiring keeping the foot dry or keeping duct tape on for more than a day cuz I swim everyday. It makes me sooo frustrated and I'm all out of options unless I get surgery which would be extremely painful and they still might come back. Help!

[jjBreonis]

I have had a Planters Wart for decades and it never really bothered me.  Then it spread and I got more and it started to hurt.  So I used Tea Tree Oil and duct tape.  (A note on duct tape.  There and many different manufactures so you need to find one which will stick to your foot.  They are not all the same.)  So I use a cotton cue tip to apply the Tea Tree Oil and then I put the duct tape over the wart.  I leave the duct tape alone until it starts coming off in 3-4 days, and I reapply the Tea Tree Oil and use new duct tape.  The treatment takes a long time 3-4 months.  It worked great on the tiny ones, they died in a couple of weeks.  The large one took months but it did die.  I thought I had found the perfect solution.  Then another planters wart appeared on my other foot and I used the same system and had no success after 3 months.  Not sure what the lesson is.  I guess tea tree oil and duct tape works sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't.  I will say they system did eliminate the pain from the Planter's wart as long as I was doing it.  But the pain came back shortly after I stopped.  

[jsbsf]

Follow up to December 2 posting.

It's getting toward the end of January, and I just got done with another treatment, so here's my update.

Since a.) I don't have time to "treat" daily, and b.) The warts aren't horrible, and c.) each "treatment" seems to require a healing period, I only treat once per week, on Saturday mornings.

Here's my strategy: On Saturday morning, I fill the bathtub with about an inch of hot water.  Sit on the toilet, and place my right foot into the tub.  I leave it there for about 5 minutes, then I dry off with a towel, and then use a pumice stone to scrape off the dead skin.  The water gets cold, so I drain the tub, and repeat this several times until less dead skins comes off.

Using a cotton round soaked with rubbing alcohol I wipe down the entire ball of my foot, and soak the tip of a needle.  Wait about half a minute, and take another cotton round soaked with hydrogen peroxide, and wipe down the entire area.  This is where my new theory comes in:  I look for "weak spots".  These are areas that turn white.  I figure if an area turns white, that means there's an opening, and if there's an opening then there's still at least some remnant of a wart.  I also notice that some of the white spots seem to be more round, almost like the wart is being bleached.

The only places I find these white spots are where I am sure there were warts.  Now what I do is soak my foot again and then try to scrape down those areas.  The really small ones disappear.

Currently I have 3.  The "mother", one smaller one, and one that at first seemed non-existent, but turned white this time.

I was able to make the smallest one disappear by scraping.

I then take the needle and open up the ones that I can't completely scrape down.  The theory here is that my ACV will be able to penetrate better.  So, I even try to dig out as much white as I feel comfortable with.  With one there was some very slight bleeding.  The "mother" doesn't seem to bleed, but you can see two red "pitted areas" where it seems dead wart pieces fell out from the previous week's treatment.

Next, I do what I've always been doing: I pour the ACV into the cap.  Take off the end of a q-tip and place it in the cap to get it soaked.  I soak the other end of the q-tip in the cap, and wipe down the entire area with the ACV - I do this mainly to punish any potential virus that might have tried to spread.  I then place the piece of cotton over the affected area (luckily these 3 are all close enough to get covered by that small piece of cotton).  I then kind of blot the cotton with some toilet paper, but not too much -- otherwise it's too saturated and leaks out.  I then cover the cotton with a bandaid, and then cover the bandaid with a strip of duct tape.

Then I wash my hands really well.

Usually, it will burn for a day, but then that dissipates over a couple days.  I try not to shower on Saturday, because that tends to loosen up the duct tape.  But on Sunday, I have to, so if it loosens up, I will just reapply a new ACV soaked cotton and some new duct tape.

I leave this on there as long as possible, and it usually doesn't make it through Monday.

But, by the time the duct tape comes off, I can see some black spots, which I'm pretty sure is dead wart.  Those black spots will stay there all week.

I repeat this procedure on the following Saturday, I will practically scrape the dead pieces completely out.

So, right now, I still have the main wart, which seems to be hanging in there, but losing the battle.  The tiny one is probably gone, but I'll have a better idea next weekend.  And the small one is well on its way out.

As far as those other 3 or four I mentioned in an earlier post: they seem to be gone for good.

So, the key here has to do with using the hydrogen peroxide to identify openings.  There are no openings anywhere except for where there are or were warts in the first place.  When I stop seeing these, I'll continue with the pumice / alcohol / hydrogen peroxide (without ACV) for several more weeks until I'm satisfied.

It's been almost 4 months, and I agree with others that you just have to be vigilant.

[jsbsf]

Follow up to Oct 15 posting.

The week before October 23 was more painful than before.  I think it was because I'd filed down quite a bit of skin before the nightly applications of ACV.

So, additionally, although I was prepared for the wart to resurface, I wasn't sure it wasn't a sign that I shouldn't take a break and then come back to in in a few more weeks.  Also, I wasn't sure if I shouldn't stop, since I was making the area very sore, and it was hard to assess whether or not I needed to continue.

Unfortunately I have more bad news than good.  After the very first application of ACV, around October 7 or 8, I noticed some very small "craters" I'd say within 1 1/2 inches of the original wart, all on the side of it that is toward the small toe or toward the heal.  They were pinhead sized dry spots, I didn't pay much attention to.  I figured they might be "babies", but that they would just go away (because they seemed so tiny compared to their mama).

So, this is pretty interesting.  It's amazing how thick the skin is on the ball of your foot (at least it is on mine, and was amazing to me).  So, don't be afraid to scrape.  Those babies were still there, and more noticeable after my foot healed after all the original work.  Mama seemed to still be there as well, but pretty battle damaged.  There was lots of dead skin I could scrap away.  The skin turned white after soaking in warm water (like before).  But there was much more of it.

So, I decided to take a new approach.  First, I decided to swab the area before and after with alcohol (like nurses do when they take blood or give you a vaccine).  It just seemed like a good idea.  Then I soaked a cotton round in alcohol and stuck a needle in it to sterilize the tip.  I took the needle and penetrated each baby and mama.  There are a total of six, so far, that I noticed.

I picked each of them open with the needle. The theory is that I needed better ACV penetration.  When I picked at them, they pretty easily split open (along the footprint lines).  There was very minor bleeding.  When open, I peeled them back.  Now, I'm not absolutely sure of this, but I think I'm correct.  It could have been skin or the warts themselves.  But there seemed to be something white that was clinging to the inside surface of the skin I peeled back.  I could scrape these white things off.  I do believe they were pieces of the warts.  They were very small and roundish.  One "baby"opened a wider, thicker area about 1/4 inch in diameter.  The remainder were pretty much "self contained".

So, I went back to my routine from earlier in October: But because there were more, I used both ends of the Q-Tip adjacent to each other, soaked in ACV, and bandaged on with a bigger Band-Aid, covered with duct tape.

After the first or 2nd night something surprising (to me) happened.  The skin I peeled off the wider thicker baby continued to peel over the entire area.  It was a little scary because the skin that peeled off was a good millimeter thick.  I was a little afraid to keep peeling, so I clipped it off with fingernail clippers.  But underneath was fresh pink skin (looked good, not damaged).  Unfortunately, the story it told was that, yes, mama and the babies were alive and well, and went clear through that thick piece of skin.  The lesson from all this: you really need to go deep.  

So, I did my work for about 4 nights straight, but this time the skin was much more sensitive, and now I think I know why some people report of pain with ACV while others do not.  It's because maybe they don't have as much "cushion" - maybe some people are more routinely using a pumice, and I never have.

Anyway, something that could be totally unrelated, but just in case it isn't: A couple days ago I kept feeling like the back of my right pant leg was wet - toward the bottom of the calf.  At first I just thought it was.  But later I knew it wasn't.  It was just odd.  So, I'm not sure that was in any way related to the ACV.  So, I took a night off, both because of this and because it was getting too painful.

OK.  So, this afternoon, I used the hot tub again for a little more than a half hour.  While in the hot tub I examined both feet.  One looked like hell - purplish with all those dark spots (blood?  dying warts?).  But I noticed what looked like 3 or 4 more "babies" that were well off to the side toward the small toe.  They are tiny, white dry spots.  Now I could be paranoid, but that's exactly what I ignored the very first time.  I looked at the other foot thinking we might all just have these "imperfections", but the left foot is completely uniform all the way across.

So, I got back inside and filed down.  I picked open yet another white spot in the original area that's about 1 1/2 inch tall and 1 inch wide.  Now I have a total of 8 spots (2 sets of 4 are connected together)  Mama seems to be slightly wider than any of the others, and a bit deeper.  Originally she was the size of a pencil eraser and is now about a quarter that size.

It's been only a couple months, and I wasn't even thinking about the others till about a week ago.  So, overall, I'd say I'm learning and seeing progress.

Summary:
- one week of ACV treatment on 1 wart only.
- 2nd week involved more scraping.
- About half the third week.  Then a recovery break for about three weeks.
- Notice about half a dozen more (that I know were originally there, but didn't pay much attention to).
- Took a more aggressive approach, with more caution to disinfecting the area with either or both Hydrogen peroxide / rubbing alcohol.  Picking open any white / dry looking spot with a sterilized needle.  Freakishly thick layer of skin peeled off, exposing fresh pink skin that warts clearly penetrated through to.
- Noticed what might be a couple more babies.

I just soaked in a mix of ACV and Hydrogen Peroxide.  The dark spots either came out or got bleached.  So it's a little easier to inspect.

I will continue to pick and scrape for as long as it takes, probably taking breaks between so the skin can heal and I can get a better assessment.