Growths on the toes: how to get rid of them, why they appear (from above, from the side), ways to remove them

Lumps, formations and other growths on the toes can appear at any time. If in winter and in the off-season they are practically invisible, then in summer the situation is different. In hot weather, this problem also becomes cosmetic. What could be growths on the toes, and how to get rid of them?

The growths can be a skin problem, or they can also appear as a result of diseases of the musculoskeletal system or other diseases, most often associated with metabolism. It is very important to diagnose formations correctly and timely. Only a specialist can do this correctly.

The same causes can have different types (this, for example, can be said about warts). And even more so, you should not prescribe medications or perform procedures that are not prescribed by a doctor, especially when it comes to a child.

Hallux valgus

In fact, it’s not even a growth, but a protrusion of the big toe, or a violation of the anatomy of the foot. In other words, this is an acquired skeletal deformity. For what reasons does this disease appear? It could be:

Tight, uncomfortable shoes. When the foot remains in an uncomfortable position for a long time, the bones begin to shift so that they take on shapes similar in shape to a pair of shoes.
Increased load. Most often we are talking about athletes. The risk group includes people who professionally lift weights (bodybuilding, weightlifting) or who have prolonged activity on their feet (dancers, football players). Increased load on the forefoot is also present in those women who prefer to walk in high heels. A pair of shoes leads to such consequences if the heel is over 5 cm.

To correct the situation, you first need to eliminate the source, the cause of this condition. Of course, few people will decide to give up professional training, but you can temporarily limit the load. If it's all about the shoes, then you need to replace them with anatomically correct ones. By the way, it is absolutely not necessary to buy shoes in specialized stores, because they cost a lot of money there.

It is enough to purchase special correctors. They can be made of plastic or silicone and are inserted into shoes from the inside. Such correctors fix the finger in the correct position and evenly distribute the load. They should be worn for a long time, several months.

Over time, the arch of the foot will acquire its previous correct shape. Most likely, the patient will be prescribed a course of anti-inflammatory or painkillers, since hallux valgus is usually combined with other diseases (bursitis, arthrosis, etc.).

Causes of bunions in the foot

The following factors can provoke the development of hallux valgus:

osteoporosis;
genetic predisposition;
flat feet;
hormonal disorders;
wearing tight shoes with narrow toes;
diseases of cartilage tissue;
excess body weight.

According to statistics, a protruding bunion bothers approximately 40% of women over 30 years of age. In men, the deformity is extremely rare. This is due to the greater elasticity of the ligaments in the fairer sex.

Dermatofibroma

This formation, unlike the previous one, has a solid structure. It often appears on the top of the fingers, on the back side. To diagnose it yourself, just try to collect a patch of skin in this place. If a dermatofibroma is present, the skin will pull inward into a fold.

Normally, this area of skin has a darker reddish tint. If the dermatofibroma grows to a large size, then in the center you can clearly see a tubercle, more solid in structure than the entire formation.

Causes of dermatofibroma:

insect bite;
untimely opened boils;
penetration of foreign objects into the thickness of the skin.

Its main danger is that it has the ability to degenerate into dermatofibrosarcoma, and this is an oncological diagnosis with all that it implies. And, of course, it causes a lot of inconvenience to a person, preventing him from leading a normal active life. It is almost impossible to treat dermatofibrosarcoma at home.

The thing is that this formation lies deep under the thickness of the skin layers. It is most reliable to remove it using the traditional surgical method.

Reviews about the treatment

Patient reviews of the treatment are quite positive. Some say that you can quickly and effectively cope with the existing problem by wearing special orthopedic correctors and orthopedic shoes.

Surgical intervention also has good reviews. This procedure helps to effectively get rid of the existing problem. The recovery is quite painful, but the result is very good.

In order to quickly and effectively get rid of growths and bumps, it is important to promptly pay attention to the presence of the problem. If you start treatment at the initial stage, you can get rid of the problem using conservative methods without resorting to surgery.

Warts

These benign formations appear on the toes quite often, but mainly in those individuals who have weakened immune systems. They look like calluses, but they are hard inside. And also on the top of warts you can see dark dots, these are dead blood vessels. Warts are not as harmless as they seem. This is not a simple cosmetic defect that prevents a person from wearing open shoes.

Warts cause severe pain when walking if there is friction between the skin and shoes. In the area of the fingers this happens extremely often. This can be observed especially often if the formation is located under the thumb or second finger. A person’s gait changes, and he intuitively tries to shift some of the load to other parts of the foot.

Sweating and elevated temperature only aggravate the situation and help in activating the human papillomavirus, which became the source of such formation on the toes. Pain and discomfort while walking lead to a change in a person’s gait, and this is a serious reason to immediately consult a doctor.

In addition, constant friction against this growth leads to microtraumas of the skin, and the epidermis becomes wounded and more permeable to many pathogens from the external environment. In addition to warts, a person may soon encounter fungi and streptoderma. If a wart appears near the nail, in the area of its base, then it can affect the size and shape of the nail and affect the rate of its growth.

Warts are treated in a specialized cosmetology office. You can choose the cryodestruction method, wave technique or laser. In some cases, if the location of the wart allows, it is removed surgically. The difficulty is that you need to completely remove the growth particles from the skin. Otherwise, after some time the wart will grow back.

There are also traditional methods of removing warts, which are no less effective. The most popular method is to periodically smear this area with fresh celandine juice. The juice should dry on its own. After two weeks of this therapy, the wart will dry out and begin to fall off. You can also use vinegar. Both regular and apple cider vinegar are suitable for these purposes.

You need to soak a cotton swab in vinegar and wipe the wart with it. You cannot pour vinegar directly onto the formation! This may cause skin burns. To prevent the growth of warts, it would be useful to take a course of antiviral drugs, but only a therapist should prescribe them. It is not always possible to cure warts completely. It is important to monitor your immunity, because this is the only way to prevent the activation of the virus.

Why do growths form on the toes?

The definition of “growth” is not a specialized term, so this concept hides a variety of diseases and the causes of their occurrence.

Inflammatory formations can affect the feet and phalanges of the fingers in the following ways:

Insufficient disinfection in baths, swimming pools, and public showers causes growths of the viral type.
Microcracks and wounds on the legs and arms through which bacteria, for example, the human papillomavirus, enter.
Neglect of body hygiene standards leads to the breeding of bacteria and increases the chance of infection.

Damage to bone and cartilage tissue occurs due to the following factors:

Small shoes and too high a heel lead to deformation of the metatarsal bone.
Flat feet contribute to the development of bunions.
Obesity or later pregnancy increases the stress on the legs and feet.
With age, both the immune system and the human skeleton weaken, which gives a higher percentage of neoplasms.
Sometimes the problem of growths in a person is hereditary.

Flat feet

Calluses

On the foot, they most often appear in the area of the heel and toes, that is, exactly where the skin rubs when walking. The appearance of calluses in the toes most often indicates increased stress on the forefoot. It can be assumed that the patient likes to wear high heels.

Wet calluses cause a lot of problems. The skin in this place stings and aches. Walking normally and even standing is very painful. It is especially dangerous if the contents of a wet callus are revealed. Where a sufficient layer of new skin has not yet formed, increased tissue permeability is observed. Pathogens from the external environment can enter the bloodstream.

Treatment of calluses involves applying an antiseptic patch. It is advisable to periodically remove the patch to allow the callus to dry out. If calluses appear periodically, from time to time, then most likely the problem is the wrong shoes, and they need to be replaced.

Corns

Most often they appear on the big and index toes - on the side, below or between the toes, since this is the area on which a person usually leans when walking. Corns can be described as a collection of dead skin, in this case the fingertips. Removing corns at home in one go is quite difficult.

To properly get rid of several layers of skin, use the following methods and recipes:

Gels, creams and ointments. They can contain various components, most often natural acids, which help soften rough layers of skin. After several such applications, all that remains is to remove the soft cells. Such creams may also contain antiseptic components.
Special patches. The simplest ones are based on salicylic acid. It must be applied strictly to keratinized skin. When applied to normal areas of the skin, the patch can lead to softening and, as a result, disruption of the integrity of the skin.

There are also homemade ways to soften dead skin in order to subsequently remove it:

Lemon. You need to cut off a slice of lemon and apply it over the corns overnight. In a few hours, the keratinized skin will soften. The number of treatments that may be required depends on the thickness of the corn. On average, up to 5 such procedures may be required.
Vodka compress. It is necessary to moisten a piece of cotton wool with vodka, apply it to the corn, fix it, cover it with film, put on a woolen sock and leave it in this state for several hours. During this time, the skin will soften, and it will be easy to remove with ordinary pumice.

Treatment with traditional methods

There are traditional medicine methods to cure growths based on the use of natural remedies:

Baths. Soak your feet daily in a bath of hot water combined with a tablespoon of salt and 10 drops of iodine solution. Such baths will help remove and remove unwanted colonies of microorganisms and fungi on the feet.
Apple vinegar. Wipe the growth with undiluted liquid 2 times a day.
Celandine. Freshly squeezed celandine juice is applied to a bump or wart 2 or 3 times a day, which allows you to get rid of warts.
Vegetable oil. Oil will help heal the tumor site. Wipe the area with dampened cotton wool until complete recovery.
Butter and watercress. A paste of watercress juice and butter is applied to the growth several times a day.

Salt foot baths

Keratomas

Keratoma is a benign neoplasm on the skin; it appears as a result of an imbalance in the constant renewal of skin epithelial cells. For some reason, the epidermis cannot independently get rid of old dead cells, but new ones have already been formed. Because it is made up of keratinocyte cells (the normal cells that make up skin), it is considered benign.

Such pathological processes are observed most often on the extremities, and therefore they can often be found on the toes. In approximately 8–20% of all cases, keratomas turn into cancer. How to diagnose keratoma yourself? At the initial stage, it looks like a slightly protruding spot of coffee or gray color.

If you touch it, you will notice that it is rough. Gradually, the elevation above the rest of the skin begins to increase, and now the growth is already visible to the naked eye. If the keratome rises too much, there is a danger of injury, which will lead to bleeding and pain.

Experts believe that keratomas on the fingers can be considered safe if they are in a stable condition. If a person notices their increase, darkening of color or bleeding for no reason, then an urgent need to consult a doctor. Removal of keratomas is carried out in different ways: radio waves, laser, liquid nitrogen, acids, electrocoagulation or the standard scalpel.

If there is a suspicion that an oncological process is occurring inside the keratoma, it can be removed only by radio waves, laser or traditional surgery. The remaining methods are considered weaker, gentler, and therefore, after using them, a person may subsequently experience rapid growth of cancer cells in this area. That is, the therapy itself will provoke the development of cancer.

Types of growths on the toes

In pathologies of the feet and toes, there are the following types of bumps, both caused by bacteria and bone deformation.

Bacterial growths and skin growths due to infection:

Warts: common, periungual and plantar.
Hard and soft fibroids.
Corns.
Nevus.
Seborrheic and actinic keratoses.

Skeletal deformity:

Valgus foot.
Interdigital erosion.
Tofus.
Hygroma.
Sarcomas are malignant tumors.

They all differ in appearance, method of formation, painful and tactile sensations and the severity of the pathology.

Growth on the big or middle toe

Dermatofibroma:

A fairly common occurrence that looks like a hard pink or reddish bump. It is distinguished by a pit that appears when hardened skin is collected.
When the field of formation becomes too wide , a tubercle appears in the middle of the growth. If not treated in a timely manner, there is a risk of developing sarcoma.
Such a bump appears for various reasons: splinters, insect bites, stagnant pustules.

Dermatofibroma on the leg
Nevus:

In appearance it resembles a soft brown bump , sometimes flesh-colored.
Papillomas may appear on the surface ; less commonly, a complex nevus is distinguished by a rim around the growth.
The reason is an excess of pigment in the skin. This often appears from prolonged and frequent exposure to the sun.
There is a predisposition to nevus , sometimes it appears immediately after birth.

Valgus deformity:

Expressed by a protruding bone at the base of the big toe. Here the shape of the joint changes, although in the first stages only calluses appear.
It is detected as a result of women constantly wearing shoes with high heels or shoes with completely flat soles.
Both cases lead to flat feet, and, as a result, hallux valgus deformity may appear.

Hallux valgus deformity of the big toe joint

A growth or callus between the toes

Interdigital erosion. It appears and multiplies between the fingers, since it is easiest for fungal infection to remain there.

Inflammations and ulcers appear at the sites of erosion, which heal and turn into a compacted callus.

The more complex and longer the fungal disease lasts, the more often and more unwanted hard calluses appear. Appears most often in people with diabetes and excess weight.

Callus and warts on the toe

Types of warts or calluses:

Plantar warts. The growths look like compacted flat yellow calluses between the toes and on the pads of the fingers. When small in size they are called spines. When touched strongly, they hurt, which makes it difficult to walk normally. It differs from corns by the asymmetry of its location on both feet.
Periungual warts. This type of growth differs in color (darker colors, from yellow to brown) and structure (more uneven). They are dangerous because they can disrupt the proper growth of nails.
Calluses appear most often on the bend of the ring finger, middle finger, and also on the side of the little finger. A callus is a protection of the skin from constant friction.

Periungual warts on the foot

Calluses

Plantar warts on the foot

Corns

Dry calluses that feel like calluses are called corns. The cause of their occurrence is compaction of the epidermis as a result of constant rubbing and pressure. This reduces blood circulation in the legs and leads to dead skin.

The most common reason is uncomfortable or small shoes. The most common place for corns to appear is the little toe and big toe; less commonly, they occur between the toes due to flat feet.

Corns look different, the type depends on the stage of formation:

In the first stage , a small bump appears and the skin becomes significantly redder.
After about a week, the color changes from red to yellow-gray. To the touch, the compacted area is smooth, less often slightly ribbed.
The last stage of corns development is manifested by cracks of varying depths.

Corns on feet

Fibroma or soft growth

A rather rare type of disease, it has the peculiarity of having a narrow base and a wide, unstable cap. This appearance evokes associations with a mushroom. Under the mushroom cap there is a large layer of fatty deposits. The lump itself is skin-colored, sometimes slightly pinkish.

Causes:

Load on the feet due to excess weight;
Excessive friction in shoes;
Fungal infection.

The divided growth is called a skin polyp.

Growth on the nail and under the toenails

New growths near the nails and under them are hard, roughened, can have a round and elongated shape, and dark spots can be seen under the nail. An unnatural volume can be given to the nail by a splinter that gets inside, sometimes due to foot injuries where the toes are injured.

The cause may be:

uncomfortable narrow shoes;
elderly age;
overweight.

Hygroma (ganglion) on the toe

This type of formation is distinguished by its almost invisible presence on the skin: the base, filled with liquid, is located inside the leg between the tendons. The consistency of the growth is soft and elastic. On the surface of the leg you can only notice redness and irritation of the epidermis.

A progressive ganglion leads to discomfort when walking and playing sports, aching and dull pain in the legs.

Hygroma on the toe

Tophi - a consequence of the “disease of kings”

Growths in this category occur due to gout. The base of the big toe becomes overgrown with uric acid crystals. This is also the first sign of gout. The more tophi develop, the more painful it is to touch the affected area, including moving in general.

The skin becomes very sensitive and turns red. The tophi growths themselves frame the thumb and can be either small (the size of a bead) or so large that some can create microcracks in the skin.

Keratoses or keratomas of different types

Keratoses on the toes are as follows:

Seborrheic keratosis. Externally, the legs are distinguished by lumpy growths and plaques of brown and yellow shades. Most often found in the southern regions, its appearance is due to solar radiation and genetic predisposition. Usually appears on the foot, much less often on the toes and between them.
Actinic keratosis. A particularly dangerous type of growth that can develop into skin cancer if complications arise. They appear on the skin with redness in the form of rough yellowish crusts. It is also formed due to excess exposure to direct sunlight.

Actinic keratosis

Seborrheic keratosis

Malignant formations

Just like actinic keratosis, bone sarcomas are also dangerous - malignant tumors that can return even after treatment and removal.

They are distinguished by the formation of a fairly hard lump on the leg with dilated blood vessels and redness of the skin at the site of the growth. Sometimes the epidermis does not change. The tumor grows exponentially and often forms pathological processes in the nearest lymph nodes.

IMPORTANT! Growths such as osteomas and chondromas (benign bone and cartilage formations) do not trigger malignant processes.

Hygroma

Hygroma is a lump that often appears on the phalanges of the toes, especially the big and little fingers. Inside the finger, with this benign formation, a capsule is formed with liquid contents inside (fibro-mucosal or fibro-serous fluid). Most often, the growth does not stand out much above the rest of the finger. It is stable, that is, it does not move, since it is closely connected to the tendon apparatus.

Such small hygromas may not cause problems to a person, and therefore many simply do not notice them. As the size increases, painful sensations appear, because the formation affects neighboring areas with nerve endings. If such symptoms are ignored, a person may experience limited mobility of the toe joints.

The most effective method of treating hygroma is puncturing it, that is, puncturing the area where the fluid is localized. This is usually combined with physiotherapeutic methods that restore blood microcirculation and improve local immune processes. In some cases, when a capsule with liquid has just formed, it may be reabsorbed on its own when the load on the foot is reduced.

Malignant growths

These reasons are extremely rare, but they should not be ruled out at all. Malignant tumors can form from any structure - bones, blood vessels, muscles, cartilage, ligaments. In the first stages, the growth of malignant tumors is very slow.

Then some provoking factor appears, and the tumor begins to progress rapidly. A growth on one toe quickly spreads to the entire phalanx, and this is far from the limit. Consultation, diagnosis and treatment of such patients should be carried out only together with an oncologist.

How to get rid of growths on your toes?

Each type of formation requires its own treatment.

Warts and calluses:

If there is bloody discharge from callous formations and severe pain, you should consult a dermatologist and oncologist to rule out skin cancer.
If the source of infection is too deep, laser removal or other cryodestruction should be used.
If the warts are periungual , cutting off the growths yourself is prohibited: this can permanently change the correct growth of the nail.
Simple visible warts can be removed independently using pharmaceutical products.
Hard and soft fibroids. Dermatofibromas are quite hard, making home treatment difficult. Most often, such growths are removed surgically. Soft fibroids are removed more easily, but also with the help of medical intervention, for example, with a laser.
Corns. With such growths, first of all, they get rid of the cause of their appearance: excess weight or uncomfortable shoes. The corns themselves, depending on their complexity, can be removed using special patches or surgically.

Malignant growths on the legs are a dangerous type of growth; such growths can only be treated as prescribed by an oncologist after consultation and tests.

Treatment of other types of growths:

Nevus. Treatment is prescribed by the treating dermatologist or oncologist, taking into account the strength of development. Treatment at home is dangerous due to possible malignant formations.
Ganglion and hygroma. It can also be removed surgically using a simple operation.
Interdigital erosion. You can eliminate the development with the help of ointments with an antifungal effect, special powder for shoes, as well as by adjusting your diet and losing weight.
Keratosis. Thanks to superficial formations, seborrheic keratosis is removed using a laser. Actinic is more dangerous and can be removed by cryodestruction.
A bone on the finger. At the first stages, the orthopedist will prescribe correction using special shoes, but neglected hallux valgus can only be removed through an expensive, complex operation.
Tophi. First of all, gout is treated, and a decrease in uric acid in the body helps eliminate tophi.

Malignant growths on the legs are a dangerous type of growth; such growths can only be treated as prescribed by an oncologist after consultation and tests.

Surgical intervention

Treatment with surgery is prescribed for flat feet of 2 and 3 degrees in the absence of results of treatment by other methods.

Operations to eliminate cones are divided into:

penetration into soft tissues;
surgery on bone spurs;
a combination of the first two types.

Most often, operations are performed on the bones, which either remove the lump or significantly reduce its size. Combined methods involving the removal of both bone growths and changes in the ligamentous apparatus are also common.

The operations themselves are performed under general anesthesia, with rare exceptions. the patient recovers within a week; in rare cases, rehabilitation lasts up to two months. After surgery, you must follow your doctor's recommendations and wear orthopedic bandages for a year.

Tophi

A growth on the toe called a tophi is caused by gout. It is formed from crystals of uric acid salts. These nodules are bounded by connective tissue. Color – from white to light yellow. The skin over them differs from neighboring areas; it is rough because it is very poorly supplied with nutrients. The very appearance of tophi indicates a severe stage of the disease, as well as the duration of its course. This area hurts, not only when walking, but also at rest.

The appearance of growths on the toes should alert a person, because any external change is a reflection of internal processes. In most cases, formations should be removed because they interfere with a comfortable life, but only a doctor can make this decision.