So, what is a spike on the heel and how to treat it - we will talk about this in detail in this article, consider the causes of its occurrence and methods of getting rid of it. The skin formation that we will talk about is, in fact, a type of wart that affects the areas of the feet and palms, those places that bear a fairly large load, perhaps the largest in the entire body. In such places, the skin is usually denser, which is the most pleasant environment for such formations.
But why are some people susceptible to this disease, while others are spared? The problem is the human papillomavirus, which is the causative agent of all known warts. According to statistics, most people are carriers of this virus, and infection occurs in childhood, while attending kindergarten or school, so a child may also develop a spine. Under the influence of certain factors, the virus awakens in the body and manifests itself in the form of warts. One of these factors is a sharp decrease in immunity. This happens after a protracted illness, in winter, when the body is weakened, and also due to a number of factors. In addition, the fact that a spike appears on the heel can be caused by increased sweating of the feet, which occurs due to wearing products made from artificial materials, such as tights, socks or shoes, as well as due to the individual characteristics of the body.
Introduction
The plantar wart that forms on the feet of a person gets its name as a thorn because of its external resemblance to a thorn.
The growths are caused by the human papillomavirus infecting the body. Infection with the virus occurs through contact with a sick person, even through a handshake. The process of obtaining it is very simple, however, getting rid of it will not be a very pleasant hassle.
Diagnostics
A simple test will help determine which type of neoplasm it is. To do this, you need to place your feet in warm water for 10-15 minutes, and then carefully examine the growth. At the end of this procedure, the spine on the foot becomes shaggy. When the top of the wart is removed, black dots can be found, from which thread-like formations extend deep into the dermis, while calluses do not have this feature. The callus on the foot has a uniform surface structure, while the spine looks like a cauliflower. Quite often there is a thick layer of keratinized skin along the edges of the wart. It is worth saying that any wart is a benign neoplasm, but when exposed to unfavorable factors (severe physical or chemical effects), it can become malignant. That is why, if a patient discovers a spine, treatment should be carried out as soon as possible.
How to remove the growth?
Removal of growths occurs using the most modern methods:
- laser;
- liquid nitrogen;
- with a scalpel.
Laser
A progressive treatment for heel bunions is laser removal. The operation is completely painless as local anesthesia is used. One procedure helps destroy several spines at once.
High temperatures lead to the death of viruses, while cutting off the overgrown tissue with pathology in layers. After laser removal, growths do not form again. The crust that forms on the heel falls off, leaving virtually no scar.
A liquid nitrogen
Removal with liquid nitrogen refers to the cryodestruction method. The procedure involves freezing pathological tissues to the required depth, which leads to their disintegration.
The disadvantage of using liquid nitrogen is that constant monitoring of the depth to which nitrogen penetrates is necessary, otherwise healthy tissue can be destroyed. The method is characterized by bloodlessness and the absence of scars.
Impact with a scalpel
The most radical way to remove a heel spike is to remove the growth with a scalpel. A scalpel is used in cases where large formations are removed.
With this operation, there is no guarantee that the pathological cells are completely removed, so recurrences of spines can be expected. The virus remains in the cells, which contributes to new foci of formation.
Pathogenesis
After the papilloma virus enters the human body, the infection may not manifest itself for a long time, up to a severe decrease in immunity. It is at this moment that the patient first learns what a spine is from his own experience. As soon as this happens, the concentration of viral particles in the body increases sharply, and epidermal cells begin to grow randomly. Initially, patients develop a dense white nodule that rises slightly above the skin. As it grows, it takes on the appearance of a corn or callus, but unlike them, it does not consist of a large number of keratinized cells. At the base of the spine there are thread-like processes that penetrate into the deep layers of the skin and affect the nerve plexuses, resulting in discomfort for the patient. Spines rarely grow singly. As a rule, there are whole groups of them on the sole. In this case, there is one largest spine (maternal), while the others are smaller (daughter). These clusters, unlike single growths, are much more difficult to treat.
How to cure and remove a tumor?
In addition to radical removal of the heel spine using a laser or liquid nitrogen, you can get rid of it in other ways.
AC treatment
Electrocoagulation is used to remove the spine. This method involves burning out the build-up using high-frequency current. This option is good when shallow formations on the surface of the heel are removed.
Effective methods using herbs
Herbs also have a medicinal effect, so some of them are also used to combat thorns.
Kalanchoe
Before using Kalanchoe, it is necessary to steam the growth on the sore leg in a bath of hot water and dry thoroughly. A slightly crushed Kalanchoe pinnate flower is applied to the formation and secured with a plaster.
Celandine
Before using celandine, a procedure with steaming the legs is performed. The skin around the growth is lubricated with a rich cream, the growth itself is lubricated with celandine juice. Cauterization is carried out until the spine turns black. Treatment is carried out for a week, after which the growth goes away.
Reference. The cauterization procedure with celandine is very painful, so if you are particularly sensitive to pain, it is better to choose another method of treatment.
Celery
Heel splints are treated with both juice and celery pulp. The juice is taken orally three times a day, two spoons before meals.
A compress is made from the pulp of the plant, which is applied to the formation, previously lubricated with vegetable oil. The compress is secured with a bandage and a sock is put on top. After an hour, the celery can be removed.
Dandelion
Dandelion is a substitute for celandine if a second plant cannot be found. The juice of the plant is used in the same way as in the case of celandine.
Reference. Despite the possibility of replacing one plant with another, celandine juice is a more effective way to combat thorns.
Drug therapy
You can also get rid of the spine with the help of special medications.
Feresol
The drug contains the active substances phenol and tricresol. It is a solution that has a very pungent odor. Used to remove warts, dry calluses and spines. The advantage is that the procedure is painless.
Important!
Improper use of the solution is hazardous to health and can cause chemical burns to the skin.
Feresol is applied to the spine after steaming the heel in a hot bath. You can treat the growth with pumice if it does not cause pain. This procedure will facilitate deeper penetration of the drug into the root of the spine.
Then Feresol is applied to the formation using a cotton swab so that healthy skin is not affected. After the liquid dries, the procedure is repeated. Removing a calcaneal spine requires 2-3 procedures.
lapis pencil
A lapis pencil is a mixture of two components, one of which is potassium nitrate, the second is silver nitrate. It has a bactericidal, disinfectant and cauterizing effect. If applied gently to growths, it can cause burns on the skin.
Reference. Due to the emergence of more effective drugs, the lapis pencil has recently been used quite rarely.
Cryopharma
Cryopharma is created on the basis of liquid nitrogen. With the help of this drug, the heel spine is frozen. The special applicator from the package is pressed tightly onto the growth and held for 10 seconds.
It will burn, which is a normal skin reaction to the product. After 10 days, the root of the formation will die and dry out. After which it may fall out on its own or you can remove it with tweezers. The procedure is painless.
Looking at the spine from the inside
No wonder they say: “If you want to defeat the enemy, you need to know him from the inside!”
Spica is one of the varieties of plantar or vulgar warts
The mere presence of a thorn can instill a feeling of anxiety in a person’s soul for a long time. Some will grab at various antibiotic drugs, guessing in it signs of a dangerous skin infection, others will begin to think about making a will, seeing in it signs of incipient skin cancer, there are, of course, those who will endure the pain steadfastly, citing their own employment and purely Russian “ maybe."
But in fact, the thorn is one of the varieties of plantar or vulgar warts. In its structure, it is comparable to a switch built into a stone wall - it has a signal surface, which, if you take it apart, you can see “wires” going deep into it. In fact, the wires are the legs of the wart, consisting of threads of specific fibrin that can penetrate the walls of blood vessels, nerve fibers and soft tissues.
The main features of this type of wart are:
- The ability to be reborn from the slightest fragment of oneself. If, for example, the spine was removed surgically and a small fragment of the stalk remained, then if favorable conditions were created, it could again revive the wart in its original form.
- Due to penetration into the thickness of the vessels, there is a high risk of metastasis to other surfaces of the skin.
- It can cause sudden microparalysis of tissue, expressed in numbness of certain areas. This occurs due to the penetration of the wart legs into the thickness of the nerve branches and the response of the fibers to this invasion. This type of paralysis is usually reversible, but nevertheless it should not be ignored.
- The concerns of people who see skin cancer in the thorn are not unfounded, since this type of wart growth, being benign, can transform into malignant when the appropriate conditions are created.
- It is almost impossible to completely remove a wart, since the fibrin threads have different thicknesses along their entire length. The ends of the fibrin thread are diametrically narrower than those immediately extending from the beginning of the wart and are often not visible to the naked eye - there is a risk of leaving individual fragments inside the person.
How to remove a tumor using folk remedies?
Home conditions are also suitable for removing heel splints. You can use the following recipes:
- Young nettle : the leaves are crushed until the juice appears, laid out on burdock. The resulting compress is pressed to the heel and secured with a sock, and left overnight. If necessary, the procedure is repeated the next night.
- Onion : one onion is rubbed into a paste and filled with vinegar. You need to cut a hole in the patch along the spine and stick the patch on the heel. Cover the growth with the resulting mixture and secure with a new plaster. Leave it on all night. The spine will disappear after several procedures.
- Dough : Vinegar is used when kneading the dough. Before applying the dough to the spine, the heel is steamed and the top layer of the growth is cut off.
- Garlic, potatoes or horseradish : finely grate and apply to the spike. The procedure is repeated for several days.
- Iodine : the spine is lubricated with the drug up to 10 times a day.
Prevention measures
In order not to have to look for ways to get rid of the heel spine, it is better to follow simple rules that will help avoid this disease:
- Shoes should always be of high quality and comfortable, no smaller or larger in size.
- It is necessary to adhere to the rules of personal hygiene.
- Periodically give your feet a break from shoes.
- Do not use other people's shoes, personal hygiene items and other things.
- Strengthen your immune system.
