Human papilloma
It is a skin lesion caused by a viral infection. The papilloma can be located in any area of the body infecting skin and mucous membranes. When it is located on the foot it is also known as a plantar wart. The papilloma sometimes appears covered with callus, which makes it difficult to diagnose at a glance, since it can be confused with a simple callus. It is of variable size, it can be presented as the head of a pin or have the diameter of a coin of 100 ptas. The papilloma always begins as a small lesion that is mistaken for a callus or a blister. As the months pass the papilloma grows increasing in size and can even infect nearby areas and creating a kind of papilloma colony. To the naked eye it is distinguished as a callus of variable size, sometimes surrounded by a ring a little more whitish than the rest of the lesion, and sometimes small black or brown spots can be seen through the lesion. These points are hypertrophied capillaries that are found in a specific layer of the skin. Papillomas can affect any area of the foot, but it is more normal to find it in the plant, and especially in the heel. This circumstance is merely statistical, since a papilloma can be in any area of the foot: between the fingers, in the arch of the foot, under the nail, etc.
Why is it produced?
The virus that causes the human papilloma is the papillomavirus. This type of virus has different subtypes and each of them causes a different infection. Fortunately, in most cases, the lesions are benign and are only dangerous in certain locations, as in the case of genital papilloma. Papillomaviruses are a genus of the papovavirus family. Papillomaviruses are small viruses 52-54um in diameter. The human papilloma virus comprises a family of more than 70 types of viruses.
Production mechanisms
The onset of the disease begins with the contact of the skin of the person's foot with the virus. This circumstance is facilitated by the existence of some fissure of the skin that helps the inoculation of the virus. Traumatized areas are much more sensitive to suffer this type of infection since there is a greater probability that there is a breakage of the skin, even if it is microscopic. The heat and humidity are factors that substantially help the infection to occur, since they dilate the pores of the skin, facilitating the penetration of the virus. Excess sweating is another factor that helps the skin is more unprotected and facilitates infection. Once the virus has penetrated the integrity of the skin, it attacks the cells of the dermis and enters them, modifying their genetic information and parasitizing it. This circumstance makes the treatment of these lesions complicated because to kill the virus we will have to kill the cell that contains it or intervene in the process in which the virus passes from one cell to another.
Symptoms of papillomas
The infection of the virus causes the appearance of a covered lesion and surrounded by a skin more thickened than normal. This circumstance causes that it is often confused with a callus. Around the wart a ring can be distinguished that delimits it of the normal skin and that can be a little more whitish. Through the skin that covers it you can see black dots that are thrombosed capillaries. The size of the wart is variable and the color approaches yellow-brown. A reddened area can often appear. It is generally believed that papillomas are very painful, but this is not always the case. When the wart is in areas of support or pressure of the foot, they are painful, but if they are located in areas free of pressure they can be painless. Papillomas hurt more if we pinch them than if we press them directly, and this circumstance often differentiates them from a callus.
They can be found in any area of the foot although it is more frequent to appear in areas of pressure or friction.
Diagnosis
To make an exact diagnosis of the lesion, it is necessary to perform a biopsy of the skin where it is located and refer it to an anatomo-pathological study, which consists in studying the skin microscopically using different agents that color different areas of the same. Apart from the biopsy study, the papilloma can be diagnosed according to the way in which it is presented. To differentiate it from a callus it is useful what is known as the sign of the doorbell. It consists of pinching the wart, and if the pain is increased substantially with respect to the pain produced by the pressure, there is a chance that it will be a plantar wart. It can also be differentiated by observing whether or not black dots are seen, since the papillomas have this appearance due to the thrombosis of the capillaries of the skin.
How to avoid it?
Never walk barefoot on beaches, swimming pools, common showers or gyms.
Do not exchange shoes or socks with family, friends or at work.
Do not wet your foot in swimming pools or common showers if you have a wound or chafing on your foot.
- Wear wool, yarn or cotton socks and avoid the use of synthetic fibers.
- Do not wear shoes that impede the correct transpiration of the foot and keep the foot moist.
- Use a foot deodorant on a regular basis after daily hygiene.
- Wash your foot every day and if you sweat a lot twice and change every day socks.
- Dry the foot carefully after bathing or showering to prevent maceration.
- Go to the podiatrist if I have calluses or hardness, so that the difference of possible papillomas.
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