Plantar wart filter ... again

September 27, 2007 2:07 PM

Okay, okay. I read all the recommendations in the previous wart posts. My question is a bit different. Will it be detrimental to wart removal if I run on them? Wait, let me explain.

After years and years of trying everything I could find, been going every three weeks for at least 9 months to have plantar warts frozen; have made some progress but the warts are still there. Much smaller, and they actually stick out now instead of being holes in my foot. Right now, my doc is out on maternity leave and I'm treating them with salicylic acid and keeping them covered, which is slowly working. (Any tips anyone has for keeping duct tape/bandaids/whatever on the edge of my heel are more than welcome.) Since they're sticking out now, will I set back my treatment if I run and force them back into the foot? In other words, can I hop on the treadmill or should I wait until they are gone to resume my regular workout schedule?

posted by Jaie to health (8 comments total)

I have had some luck using 3M Vetrap on joints rather than repeatedly applying bandages and dealing with all of that. It's very flexible, water proof and sticks to itself.
posted by iamabot at 2:10 PM on September 27, 2007

No idea if it's worse if you run, but I did notice when I had mine and they finally got irritating enough for me to walk on tip toes all the time, the freezing actually worked. They've been gone since. Granted, I only had to go twice total to get them frozen, but one of them was as large across as a nickel.
After they were frozen the second time, I used the Dr. whatever's little pads with the treatment and cut out more of the foam so that it would fit properly. It was right after I had my second child, and the first was still a toddler, so I was on my feet the whole time, but never running.

If I were you, I would switch to a different workout schedule, something that will let you work your legs without having the entire sole of your foot flat. Maybe standing on one foot while holding on to a mantel and doing the up-down routine dozens of times. Try yoga too, and just don't put all of your weight on that part of your foot. My vote is for no running.
posted by mitzyjalapeno at 2:43 PM on September 27, 2007

I nuked mine purely with duct tape, and found that just wearing socks All The Damn Time worked to keep it on. (Not the most aesthetically pleasing solution, perhaps, but...)
posted by Kemayo at 2:54 PM on September 27, 2007

If you've had them for three years, you need to see someone new about them. I was a swimmer for a long time, walking around barefoot on pool decks, and had quite a few plantar warts. The worst I ever had lasted a year, and the final treatment regimen was applying cantharidin , which I believe is now banned by the FDA. It was horrible, but got rid of it, and thus was worth it. I then applied Aldara (imiquimod) for about three months after it cleared (as well as as soon as I could stand it after each treatment and continuning nightly). This is what really prevented them from coming back.

Good luck!
posted by awesomebrad at 3:46 PM on September 27, 2007

I went and got warts burned for a couple years to no avail; rubbing banana peels on them every morning finally did 'em in. During the period I had plantar warts, I did a couple heavy weightlifting cycles, and it didn't seem to have any effect, negative or positive.
posted by notsnot at 4:56 PM on September 27, 2007

An aside - after you do the salycilic acid pads for a few days, you can pretty much pick them out. I did, and they never came back. Disclaimer: I am not a medical person and do not condone this :-)
posted by WaterSprite at 6:54 PM on September 27, 2007

This is really gross, but when nothing else worked for me, I performed home surgery to remove a small, but painful plantar wart from the bottom of my foot. I soaked my foot in hot water and epsom salt until the skin was wrinkled and the wart was swollen. After the wart is soaked, you'll see little individual root like things sticking out of it. I gently pulled each of these out with a pair of sterilized tweezers, then poured peroxide over my foot. It healed up really fast and I haven't had a problem since

Use your own discretion when doing this, naturally.
posted by pluckysparrow at 8:01 PM on September 27, 2007

I've done the "pluckysparrow procedure" and mine never came back. (I think I was 10 and used the garden hose to keep the field clean, and a Swiss army knife. I don't recommend that.)

I had something like 300 of them on one foot once, and soaked them in salt water every night and cut off what I could, with the doctor's blessing. (He said there were too many to burn off; it would leave too much tissue open to infection.) It's an old wives' tale that they come with an infection and go with an infection, but what finally killed mine was a minor infection in some dissolving sutures. The whole mess just peeled off by itself in sheets over a week or so. I can't recommend that either.

The last one I stuck duct tape on and it fell off. I think that works better if it's a brand new wart, though. FWIW, the ones I've used acid or equivalent on, it dissolved the tissues and spread the virus, and I suddenly had a lot more warts than I started with, but a lot of people have good luck with it.
posted by unrepentanthippie at 10:30 AM on September 28, 2007