Updated on June 21, 2023
Medically reviewed byCasey Gallagher, MD
Pictures of warts on your feet can help you to identify plantar warts. These growths are caused by a virus and usually need some kind of treatment to resolve, whether an over-the-counter product or care from a healthcare provider.
This article includes photos and detailed descriptions of plantar warts. It explains how to tell what's on your foot and what you can do to get rid of it, with some plantar wart treatment options.
What a Plantar Wart Looks Like
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/verruca-on-foot-121776492-sensitive-01b63eee26684757ad4d2711904bbb58.jpg "See What Plantar Warts Look Like on Your Feet (1)")
While warts on your hands and other parts of your body vary widely in appearance, plantar warts on your feet all pretty much look the same. They have the same basic characteristics even though they come in different sizes.
These are common traits:
- Round: Because they are circular, they're sometimes mistaken for corns or calluses.
- Flat: Other growths on the foot may be more raised.
- Rough, tough outer layer: These warts are covered by the tough skin from the sole of your foot. They might also have a rough, grainy surface texture.
- Little black dots near the center: This characteristic feature is the wart's blood supply.
Warts can occur singly or in clusters. In some cases, they stay small for some people, while others might develop giant plantar warts.
Most often, warts appear on the heel or ball of your foot where you place your weight when standing or walking.
Warts vs. Calluses
Plantar warts are commonly mistaken for calluses. Calluses are thickened areas of skin that develop on parts of the foot that bear a lot of pressure or where the skin is constantly rubbing against a shoe or other material.
While at a glance they have similar appearances, warts have a few distinguishing features that calluses do not.
If the circular patch is well-defined, interrupts the natural skin lines, and has black dots at the center, it's not a callus. It's a wart.
Wart
Breaks up the normal skin lines
Small black "seed" dots (capillary blood supply)
Painful when squeezed on the sides
Callus
Skin lines continue through the hard, dead skin
No dots, no blood supply
Painful when pushed on directly
Other Types of Warts
Pictures of warts on your feet can help you to distinguish between plantar warts and other types of warts. These other types include:
- Common warts: Can appear as rough bumps on the fingers, near nails, and back of hands
- Flat warts: Can show up anywhere, but have a tendency in children to appear on the face. Men usually see them appear around the chin, and women usually see them on the legs.
- Filiform warts: Look like thin, fleshy protrusions that usually appear around the eyes, nose, and mouth
- Genital warts: Flesh-colored warts that can be bumpy or flat and are located in the genital area
What Do Multiple Warts Look Like?
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/plantar-warts-resized-56a315a85f9b58b7d0d04d6f-85edcc610ada498f887d524e00b8f7d2.jpg "See What Plantar Warts Look Like on Your Feet (2)")
Warts are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), which infects the epidermis (the upper layer of skin).Once the sole of your foot is infected with the virus, you can develop multiple warts.
Can Vaccines Prevent Plantar Warts?
Currently, there are HPV vaccines available to prevent against certain strains of the virus that cause genital warts and cervical cancer. Some researchers have found that some patients with plantar warts see their warts clear up after receiving the existing HPV vaccines.
However, not all people with plantar warts have these same results. More research is needed.
Warts might be scattered around the foot in different spots. However, they can also appear grouped together as a cluster.
A cluster of warts is called a "mosaic wart." A large cluster of warts can be very painful and make it uncomfortable to walk or run.
It's more difficult to treat a larger cluster, and it can take more time to eliminate all of them.
When to Contact Your Healthcare Provider
Plantar warts can go away on their own without treatment, or you might use an over-the-counter treatment to get rid of them more quickly. These treatments use salicylic acid to remove the layers of the wart slowly. Most people don't see a healthcare provider for treatment unless these self-care efforts don't work.
However, in some instances, it's best to see your healthcare provider immediately when you realize you have a wart. This is especially true if you have certain underlying conditions including:
- Diabetes
- Poor sensation in your feet
- Weakened immune system
If you do try at-home treatments, watch the area for signs that you should see your provider. If the wart changes appearance or color, if it is bleeding, or if you have multiple warts, you should call for an appointment.
Your healthcare provider may use a stronger preparation of salicylic acid to get rid of the wart. You may also receive cryotherapy, which involves applying liquid nitrogen to the wart to freeze it off.
Other treatment options that may be used include immune therapy, minor surgery, and laser treatment.
Summary
Being able to spot the common traits of a wart can help you start the right treatment promptly. Look for the characteristic flat, rough circle with black "seeds" in the center.
You can use over-the-counter medication to get rid of the wart as long as you don’t have any serious underlying conditions. But the problem can be made worse if you treat a wart incorrectly, presuming it’s a callus or something else.
Check the growth closely to be sure you know how to care for it. When in doubt, or if the wart spreads or gets worse, see a healthcare provider to have it removed professionally.
9 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Witchey DJ, Witchey NB, Roth-Kauffman MM, Kauffman MK. Plantar warts: Epidemiology, pathophysiology, and clinical management.J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2018;118(2):92–105. doi:10.7556/jaoa.2018.024
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Patil S, Borkar M, Pande S, Meshram K, Oke M. Dermoscopic Findings in Clinically Diagnosed Cases of Plantar Warts, Corns, and Calluses: A Cross-Sectional Study. Cureus. 2023 Apr 25;15(4):e38093. doi:10.7759/cureus.38093.
American Academy of Dermatology Association (AAD). Warts: Signs and Symptoms.
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Kuan LY, Chua SH, Pan JY, Yew YW, Tan WP. The quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine in recalcitrant acral warts: a retrospective study. Ann Acad Med Singap. 2020;49(10):749-755. doi:10.47102/annals-acadmedsg.2020342
Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care. Warts: Overview.
American Academy of Dermatology. Warts: Diagnosis and Treatment.
American Academy of Dermatology. Warts: Tips for Managing.
Additional Reading
American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons.Plantar Wart (verruca plantaris).
By Terence Vanderheiden, DPM
Terence Vanderheiden, DPM, is a podiatrist in Massachusetts with a subspecialty in the area of podiatric sports medicine.
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