A plantars wart is caused by a virus known as the human papilloma virus. They are sometimes called Verrucae plantaris, or just verruca. As a virus, warts are contagious. If left untreated they can spread to other areas of the body or other people you are in close contact with. Children and people with weaker immune systems are more vulnerable to the wart virus.

Symptoms of a plantars wart include an abnormal growth of skin in its outer layers. The wart does not penetrate into the deep layers of the skin. Warts on the bottom of the foot may become more painful as a callous may additionally form due to the friction and extra pressure caused by the wart. Warts may be a single lesion, or may group together and for a mosaic type of wart. They may appear spongy with small red, brown, or black spots caused by small blood vessels which bring nutrients to the wart tissue. The warts may be painful, especially in areas where you put direct weight on them. Warts are typically more painful when squeezed side to side. Warts are very commonly mistaken for a corn, callous,or a porokeratosis but are indeed a completely different problem with a different treatment plan. Visit your podiatrist to distinguish the difference.

You can prevent getting a wart by avoiding going barefoot in public places like showers, gyms, locker rooms and around a swimming pool. Wear sandals or something to cover the bottom of your feet.

Treatment of a wart can be accomplished by many methods. Sometimes several of these treatments are utilized at the same time as they can be stubborn and difficult to treat. Your doctor may apply some acid to remove the layers of skin that are affected. This should be closely monitored with your doctor. The wart may also be frozen or burnt off the area. Surgical cutting of the wart can also be done to rid the wart from the foot. This does not insure the virus is still not in your body. Warts may also be treated with a laser to vaporize the tissue. With all types of treatments there is usually a wound that forms and needs time to heal making it more painful to walk on. Reoccurrence is fairly high and the wart may also just disappear on its own.