If you suffer from calluses, corns, warts or blisters, you naturally want to get rid of them. But how? What are the solutions to it.
Calluses
Calluses are a yellowish thickening of the top layer of the skin. It is a protective response of the skin to excessive pressure and friction. But calluses can also be caused by delayed rejection of the stratum corneum. Callus formation can feel painful or burning. Bunions can become infected. In that case, go to the doctor. The cause of calluses is usually incorrect footwear or a deviation in the position of the foot. Strong sweaty feet can also be the cause. Sometimes cracks or fissures can occur. This can be painful.
Solutions
Calluses can be removed by a pedicure. But you can also do it yourself. You must first soften it with a callus plaster or a warm foot bath and then remove the calluses with a callus sanding block, a pumice stone or sandpaper. There are also callus scrapers and planes, but their effect can be drastic. Definitely don’t use blades! Sanding is the best way, then you will feel when you need to stop.
Corn
Sometimes calluses in the form of a hard point can grow inwards into the skin and can therefore exert pressure on nerve endings, which causes a lot of pain. We call such a hard yellow spot a corn or corn. Over time, the tissue surrounding the corn can become inflamed. Corns are caused by the use of incorrect shoes or an abnormal position of the foot. To reduce the pain, as long as the corn is there, you can buy corn rings, protective plasters or pads at the pharmacy, drugstore, cobbler or pedicure.
Solutions
A pedicure can professionally remove a corn, but the cause must of course also be addressed. If you want to do it yourself, you can soften the corns for the first few days with corn preparations or corn plasters, then take a warm foot bath and remove as much callus as possible. You should not cut calluses or corns yourself. That’s asking for trouble.
Blisters
A blister is a fluid-filled cavity under the epidermis. The cause is usually pressure or friction due to poorly fitting shoes. The treatment consists of: disinfecting, opening the blister with a clean needle, carefully pressing out the fluid and bandaging the area with a plaster. It is better to leave the top layer of the blister in place, because the risk of infection is reduced. Once the top layer has worn off, protect the open area with blister plasters. There are special blister plasters, but they are much more expensive than regular plasters.
Warts
Warts make up almost 10% of foot complaints. They are caused by a virus that enters through small skin lesions and are therefore transmissible. You are usually infected with it in the swimming pool, gym or when trying on shoes with bare feet. A wart is a skin growth in which blood vessels grow, and can look a lot like a corn.
Solution
A doctor can remove the wart by freezing it. That can cause pain for a few days. Another treatment is with a chemical pack, the disadvantage is that you cannot shower for a week. There is now a new treatment with a combination of substances. The disadvantage of all these treatments is that you have to repeat them. You can also do it yourself with a silver nitrate marker.