Corns and Calluses

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Hard corns are the most common type of corn and usually develop over a bony prominence of the foot due to pressure or friction.  They appear as a concentrated area of hard skin, or callus, and they have a central core which can cause pain if it presses on a nerve.

Corn removal is done by removing the hard skin and the central core painlessly and applying padding. We give advice on footwear, skin care and prevention. It's advisable not to use corn plasters, especially if you have diabetes or circulatory problems, as they contain acids that can burn the healthy skin around the corn, leading to problems such as infection.

These appear most commonly inbetween the fourth and fifth toes. They are soft because the skin here is moist from sweat or inadequate drying. They develop in a similar way to hard corns, but soft corns are whitish and rubbery, and often very painful. They can sometimes become infected, so it is important to keep the area clean and dry.

Seed corns are actually a collection of many small corns and typically develop anywhere on the sole of the foot. They are usually painless and have an unknown cause. They can appear singularly and in small clusters.

A callus is an area of hard, rough, thick skin that often appears on the feet.  Like corns, they are caused by pressure or rubbing of the feet, usually by wearing heels or shoes that are the wrong size. They develop when the skin tries to protect itself against friction or pressure. For healthy people, they usually only require treatment if they cause pain, or you simply don't like how they look.  Removing the source of friction or pressure is usually enough to make them disappear.

A Foot Health Practitioner can assess your feet and observe your walking (gait) and discuss the cause of the callus. We can then debride the rough skin and give advice on how to prevent recurrence. Paddings can be applied to offload the pressure in that area.

If you have diabetes or reduced blood flow to your feet - you're at greater risk of complications from corns and calluses and so it is important to have your feet assessed and treated.

Verrucae are also known as plantar warts. They are localised thickenings of the skin and are found on the sole of the foot. They are caused by a viral infection - Human Papilloma Virus (HPV 1, 2 and 4 are the most common). There are many different strains of this virus and plantar warts are usually due to just a few of these strains.

A verruca can develop following contact with virally infected skin scales from surfaces and via hands e.g.  floors of public locker rooms, shower cubicles and the tiled areas around swimming pools. However, it is not highly contagious  - it is unclear why some people get them and not others.

Some plantar warts are uncomfortable, particularly if they are on a weight bearing area when it may feel like having a stone in your shoe. They are painful if you 'squeeze' them or apply direct pressure to them. 

They can appear anywhere on the feet and often involve the weight bearing areas. They vary in size from 1-2mm to over 1cm and have a rough surface which protrudes from the skin, surrounded by a ring of callus. If you look closely, you may see black dots.

It can be difficult to tell the difference between a corn and a verruca. If you look closely, verrucae interrupt the fine ridges on the skin (like a thumb print), as they are pushed out to the side of the wart. Whereas corns have the skins ridges running through them.

Although verrucae can be cured, no single treatment can be guaranteed to be effective in every case. The highest cure rates are in the young who have had them for a short time. Most go away by themselves in due course, so it is reasonable to leave them alone if they are not causing unnecessary discomfort.

Sometimes removal of the callus will ease pain and can also be suitable for cosmetic reasons. This can occasionally cause some minor bleeding - especially if black dots are seen in the verruca.

Other treatments can be done at home, such as applying Salicylic Acid - this works relatively well if done weekly for 12 weeks. Zinc Oxide tape can be bought in most pharmacies and can work well by breaking down the verruca.

Particularly troublesome verrucae can be treated by a Podiatrist using Cryotherapy, Needling, Electrosurgery, Curettage or Laser Therapy.

However, no one treatment is guaranteed to work.