The Difference between a corn and a wart – it’s the same same, but it’s also different!
Lately, there seems to be an influx of people coming in to get their corn treated only to be diagnosed as a wart and vice versa. Presenting to have their wart treated, only to be diagnosed as a corn. There must be a full moon or something.
It can be quite tricky to tell the difference between a wart and a corn but after this, you will have no problem in identifying either one. That way you wont have to waste your hard earned money or valuable time treating what you think you have the wrong way.
Corns and warts are treated very differently and if you treat them the wrong way, not only can it be extremely painful, you can actually make the situation so much worse ☹
If you treat them correctly from the start;
- It’s less painful.
- It’s relatively quick.
- You can get to the underlying cause of why you have the wart or corn and have the information you need to stop either of them coming back.
Corns are a cone like lesion that occur on high pressure areas of the feet. There are different types of corns.
- A hard corn is a small patch of thickened, dead skin with a small plug of skin in the centre (this is what we will be concentrating on today)
- A soft corn has a much thinner surface, appears whitish and rubbery, and usually occurs between the toes.
- Seed corns are clusters of tiny corns that can be very tender if they are on a weight-bearing part of the foot. Seed corns tend to occur on the bottom of the feet.
Warts are different to corns. Warts;
- Come from the human papilloma virus
- They can appear anywhere on the bottom of the feet – not just high pressure areas
- may appear yellowed, with a crust, or even have a black spot in the middle.
- Underneath the skin, the wart can have callused, finger-like roots that reach down and grow.
The main way you will be able to tell the difference between at home is a corn and a wart – even when they look similar – is a corn will be painful when you push directly down onto it. A wart usually doesn’t. A wart will be painful when you squeeze it from the sides. A corn usually doesn’t.
Hopefully now you can see why they need to be treated differently. I like to think a hard corn is more like a thumb tack and a wart is more like a piece of cauliflower. Just like the corn and wart, the thumb tack and cauliflower are very different.
The team at Border Podiatry Centre are experts in removing corns painlessly and treating warts and will help you get to the cause of the problem.
On a side note, please please please please please, do not use corn pads. They contain a nasty acid which really just burns the healthy skin and tissue around the corn or wart and makes it very difficult to treat and takes a lot longer.
Also a little tip for you about warts. If they are not painful you could probably leave them alone. They will disappear on their own at some stage – I cant give you a time line though – Sorry.
There you have it. The difference between a corn and a wart. If you require any more information about this feel free to contact the clinic on 60245577 and we will get you sorted.