Corns are usually small, but they can cause major problems for patients. They can make it hard to walk and wear shoes, and you may need foot surgery to correct the problem. If you have a corn on your foot, your first reaction might be to attempt treatment at home. But home treatments are often ineffective for corns. Sometimes, you need professional help to get rid of these annoying, painful growths.
At Best Foot Doctor NY, we help our Manhattan, NYC patients understand their treatment options before choosing the best one for their unique needs. This article will explain how to identify corns and some of the most common available treatment commons.
How To Correctly Identify a Corn
The first step to getting relief from your corn is to correctly identify it. Corns are often confused with warts and calluses, so let’s look at some key differences.
The Difference Between a Corn and a Callus
While corns and calluses might seem similar, these tips can help you tell them apart:
- Calluses are typically larger than corns
- Corns are painful when pressed, while calluses often aren’t
- Calluses often develop on parts of the foot that get rubbed or pressed, while corns often form between the toes
- Corns are usually deeper than calluses
The Difference Between a Corn and a Wart
These pointers can help you distinguish a corn from a wart:
- Warts often have small black dots throughout their surface, while corns do not
- Warts are caused by a virus, while corns are caused by rubbing and pressure, so they’ll appear on parts of your foot that make frequent contact with other surfaces (including your toes)
Nonsurgical Options for Corn Treatment
When you first develop a corn, you might be interested in conservative treatment options before considering corn removal surgery. While nonsurgical treatments aren’t always effective, you may want to consider the following approaches.
Wearing Corn Pads or Inserts
A corn pad or other type of shoe insert may help relieve pressure and friction on your corn. However, be careful about medicated pads, as they can irritate your skin and make the situation worse.
Using Liquid Corn and Callus Remover
A liquid remover can help decrease the size of your corn. These products often contain salicylic acid as their main ingredient. It’s important to use them exactly as instructed. Read the warning labels carefully since they may not be suitable for all patients.
Wearing More Comfortable Shoes
Choosing shoes that give your toes enough room to spread out is important. Shoes with narrow toe boxes are likely to make your corn worse.
When home treatments fail, it’s time to visit a corn removal doctor to explore other options, including possible foot surgery.
Professional Corn Removal Options – Manhattan Podiatrist
As the best podiatrist in Manhattan, NYC, Best Foot Doctor NY offers a variety of procedures that can remove your corns for good.
Professional Trimming
Sometimes, the best remover for toe corns is the simplest one. Depending on your situation, your podiatrist may start by trimming away skin from your corn in the office. This should never be done at home since that poses the risk of infection and other complications.
Foot Surgery for Corn Removal
Your podiatrist may recommend surgical correction of your soft corns. Surgical treatment is particularly likely if you have toe corns that are caused by foot bone deformities. During your procedure, you’ll be given an anesthetic so you won’t feel any pain. Surgery will remove your corn entirely and can correct foot alignment in a couple of ways.
First, your surgeon may recommend arthroplasty. This involves removing a small amount of bone from your toe to prevent pressure on your skin. Another common procedure, joint fusion, can help keep your toes from moving out of alignment while wearing shoes.
What Happens to Untreated Foot Corns and Calluses?
Should I Have Foot Surgery To Correct My Corn?
Sometimes, our Manhattan NYC patients are unsure whether their corn is serious enough to need surgery. Here are a few questions to ask yourself as you make your decision:
- Is the pain from my corn affecting my daily life?
- According to my doctor, is my corn a result of deformities in the bones of my foot?
- Have I already tried home treatment of my corn with no success?
At Best Foot Doctor NY, the best podiatrists in NYC are available to help you find the best treatments. Call Dr. Emmanuel Fuzaylov today at (718) 291 9020 to make an appointment!