Foot Corn: Causes, Treatment, and More

Foot Corn: What Is It?

In simple terms, foot corn is callous build-up on foot, most prominently on heels. This problem develops when the skin on your foot suffers through a lot of friction and pressure that ultimately causes the skin to harden up. People might want callouses on fingers for playing the guitar, but nobody wants callouses on foot! Foot corns can be divided into categories.

Corn type	How does it look
Hard corn	These are very painful corns on the foot. Their appearance is small and round. Generally, It occurs on toe tops.
Soft corns	These corns have a lighter color than hard corns. These whitish callouses form between the toes.
Seed corns	Just like its name, seed corns are as small as a seed. However, it is painful. It appears on the foot's bottom.
Fibrous corns	When hard corns are left without any treatment, a meshwork of tissue fibers tends to surround the affected area of the foot corn. This advanced stage of hard corn is generally known as fibrous corns or Heloma Fascia.

Notwithstanding the texture of the foot corn, all of them cause pain. So, nobody wants it. Corns are not callous. But, it cannot be denied that they are serious forms of callouses. These make life harder and make it difficult to walk. Thus, it is required to learn more about foot corns. Wearing tight-fitting shoes or uncomfortable heels, walking barefoot, or standing for a long time are some everyday mistakes that cause foot corns in the flick of time. Care must be taken to treat it. One should never trim corns. It would only prove to be worse.

 One can also face the problem of foot corn formation if:

• He/She Suffers from Hammertoes and Bone Spurs: These conditions tend to alter the bone alignment, causing friction. This leads to the growth of foot corn too. 
• One Smokes Cigarettes: This is not something to be surprised about. Cigarettes are unhealthy, as we know, and cause several problems. Smoking cuts off the provision of oxygen in the body. This destroys skin tissues. Hence, the problem of foot corns. Foot corn is just one of them. A skin protein known as Elastin breaks down due to the negative effects of cigarettes. Thus, just quit smoking. Also, one should frequently visit a podiatrist to seek help regarding these issues. Foot corn should never be neglected. 
• Some Internal Factors amplify the tendency of foot corns to develop. Some already present conditions are also responsible for foot corn production. The condition of Morton's toe is reported to drag along it with foot corn problem. This is a condition that causes the second toe to be longer than the first. This length of the toe is often the cause of accelerating callous growth. It can cause difficulty in wearing shoes. One can face friction from shoes on this finger. Thus, forms callous. As the website of Healthline reports, this condition can often develop into a hammertoe. Consulting a doctor seems to be the best possible advice in these cases. 
• Overpronation is yet another problem that is likely to cause foot corns. It is a condition of inward rolling of the foot while walking. This tends to be the reason for several injuries such as shin splints, ankle sprains, etc. Foot corn is yet another major issue that this condition poses. Oversupination is another problem where the ankles tend to bend in an outward direction. These extreme conditions lead to extreme causes. These should not be ignored and looked into with great care. 
• A Person Suffering from Diabetes is likely to face several issues. Foot corn is one of those problems. Diabetic patients are likely to suffer from a well-known condition termed Diabetic neuropathy. The website of podiatryhotline states that raised levels of blood sugar has bad effects on the nerve endings present in the feet. This causes a numb sensation accompanied by pain. This also affects the circulation of blood in the body. To prevent the foot from pain, corns are likely to form. However, because of the affected blood circulation, the process of healing is affected, and this corns might ultimately lead to more painful ulcers. 
• One Indulges in Extreme Physical Labour, such as certain games. Sports like basketball and tennis are pretty stressful on foot. Bad gait mechanics can be one of the factors in causing foot corns. If the right posture of the foot is not maintained while playing such games, uneven pressure is created. This forms the unwanted foot corns. Thus, athletes should be very careful about these issues. They should consider a few things to prevent the formation of this problem. The foam cushion can be used for comfort; one might also depend on orthotics after consulting with a specialized doctor. 

What Can Foot Corns Cause?

It should be always noted that foot corns are never to be left untreated. This might lead to serious issues. Yes, foot corns cause a great deal of pain. It makes everyday activities stressful. It makes walking very difficult.

More than this, foot corns can be the reason for causing the skin to break, which might lead to infections. Foot corns are generally the outcome of hyperkeratinization, which is the thickening of the uppermost layer of the skin.

Thick and hard skin is very dry and has a great chance of breaking up. This is due to a lack of moisture. This dry skin breaks open to invite germs which leads to many internalized issues. The passage of bacteria through the skin might lead to serious issues such as Athlete's foot and ingrown toenails, etc.

If the foot injury is not well treated, this might also develop the condition of cellulitis, a very irksome and painful infection of the skin. This infection can also pollute your blood if it gets serious. Simple foot corn might lead to dangerous consequences. If foot corn produces puss, then it is a sign of ulcer formation. Thus, medical attention is recommendable. One of the most common infections is Staph infection which is caused when the bacteria get in through the cracks of foot corn. 

Symptoms that showcase that you have foot corn.

• If you get to know about the symptoms of foot corn, it will be easier to prevent them from worsening. Therefore, getting to know the symptoms is pretty important. Let us get into it!
• If you get to notice a hard and painful bump on your skin, enclosed by layers of dry skin. It is most likely to be an early symptom of foot corn.
• If you are starting to notice hard areas which were caused due to continual friction and pressure on the top layer of the skin. This might be leading to a callous formation.
• If you feel that your touch is sensitive to the skin that is hardening and bumped up. You should start taking precautions. It is the unwanted foot corn.
• If Redness and swelling accompany the hard bump. It is the early stage of this issue. In the later stages, it is likely to become dark brownish, having an extremely hard layer of skin on the top. This is to be avoided. These symptoms are never to be neglected and be treated as early as possible. 

These foot corns tend to be yellowish at times. These are due to the presence of dead skin surrounding the area of the foot.

These are the evident symptoms that one experiences if foot corn formation takes place. These symptoms would help one to understand the nature of the corn and treat it accordingly.

Treating foot corn with available means:

Foot corns are very painful. Thus, remedies should be sought to treat them most simply. These means could be termed as home remedies. These are not much complicated. One can use it without spending much money. However, little things should be kept in mind before arriving at these remedies. One should take care of not wearing tight shoes. This will only aggravate the pain and will not lead to any benefit. So, change shoes before getting into the application of any of these remedies. Now, let us know these available means by which we can treat the pain-causing corns. 

• One Might Prefer to File the Corn: Filing seems a great way to get the foot corns reduced. However, it should not be done in a rash manner. Filing cannot be done directly on the affected area of the skin. If one tends to file the foot corn directly, it will cause more pain.

One of the best ways to treat corns is soaking the feet in a warm bucket of water combined with Epsom salt. Epsom salt is highly beneficial for curing foot corns. It has anti-inflammatory functions that relieve any type of pain. The trusted website of Healthline highly recommends this salt for treating foot corns.

After the soaking process, it is necessary to dry up the skin with a clean towel. Using a moisturizer after cleansing would hydrate the skin. Hydrating the skin would not accelerate crack formation on the dry and hard corns on the foot. This process can be followed until one tends to notice a visible change in the texture of the corns. If the foot corn is not caused due to other medical conditions, such methods of treatment are likely to help.

Using Pumice stone can be of great help. However, it should be applied only when the area is soft enough after treating it with the mixture of Epsom salt and warm water.

At times, the foot corn appears to be in between the toes. In such cases, one might make use of an emery board to file it. It would be simple and easy. These steps are ought to be repeated for getting the best results. 

• Castor Oil is yet another easy remedy for treating the pain caused by foot corn. In case one does not feel very confident filing the corn. If the corn appears to be too painful and not an easy go-away, then one might make use of this magic oil. Some steps are required to be followed to get good results.

Firstly, one needs to clean the affected area gently and apply the oil. Castor oil is quite popular for it is used for several purposes. One of these purposes is its power to heal wounds. A very well-known ointment created by the combination of Peru balsam and Castor oil helps in treating ulcers and wounds. Hence, I can prove highly beneficial for helping cure foot corns. It also acts as a very strong moisturizer. This not only assists in hydrating the skin but also is a good moisture retainer by restricting the loss of water through the skin. Keeping the skin hydrated can easily help in curing any sort of issues. Foot corn is no exception. After the application of this oil, it is necessary to cover the foot. Socks are the best way to do it. It will help the moisture of the oil to soak in the skin, amplifying the healing process. Corn pads can also be used after putting castor oil. It would further help in the healing process of foot corn. 

• Over-The-Counter Process: If the above-mentioned methods are too boring and time-consuming for you, then get rid of them. One can follow certain Over-the-counter healing techniques too. These techniques are pretty effective and would be helpful. Corn pads consisting of salicylic acid prove to be one of these effective methods. Salicylic acid is a keratolytic. It helps in improving the moisture content in the skin, keeping the skin cells in a union. Therefore, after cleaning the foot corn, one can make use of this acid and leave it for 5 minutes to dry. Thus, this OTC treatment serves to be pretty beneficial. 

Let Us Conclude

Foot corns are not painful for all. Some people may get out of it just by taking proper care of their feet. One may make use of the home remedies by using hot water and Epsom salt. Just doing this would help them immensely. However, if one is a long-term sufferer of serious problems like Diabetes, the healing process might appear to be very slow. Nevertheless, with needed diagnosis and medical attention, the condition might reduce to a great extent. It would always be wise to take consultations with a podiatrist. He would be able to provide the best solution to this problem. They might use certain methods in removing the foot corn, such as shaving and cutting off the corn using specialized techniques. One should never shave the corns directly without the supervision of the doctor. These would cause several problems for the overall health in the future. One should also consider the sizes of shoes. A larger shoe size might be of help. 

If one follows these conditions, corns are likely to get better if not entirely vanish. 

Associated Frequently Asked Questions

FAQs tend to clear every doubt in a person's mind. Thus, here are some of them to make one grab the concept of foot corns. So, here we go.

Is It Possible To Pull Out A Foot Of Corn?

It is possible to pull off a foot of corn. However, one should never attempt to try it. It might lead to bleeding and cause infections. It is always advisable it follows certain remedies to deal with corns of any kind. One might use a combination of Epsom salt and warm water to soak the foot and apply castor oil after it. One might make use of corn pads and cover the foot with socks to soften the affected area. If the affected area is soft enough and devoid of any pain, one might use a pumice stone to gently rub over the foot corn. This might lead to the shedding of the dead skin surrounding the sides of the corn. If one directly rubs pumice stone on the affected area, it might lead to worse situations. The Academy of Dermatology suggests some best possible ways to treat corns which should not be neglected.

Is It Possible To Heal Foot Corns Permanently?

It is possible to get off with the problem of foot corns permanently through the process of surgery. Specialists might help in the removal of the bone, which leads to corn formation. This technique is generally followed by Westwood Foot Clinic. This is a painful method. However, it proves to be pretty beneficial in the long run when one gets rid of this irksome issue. 

Is Dr. Scholl's Corn Removal Ointment Beneficial?

Yes, it tends to be quite helpful. The cream works as a great moisturizer. It helps the affected skin to retain moisture. This does not lead the affected area to harden up and form cracks through which bacteria can get an easy entry. If one is suffering from the troubles of foot corn, this liquid is worth a try.

What Is The Reason Behind The Pain Of Corns?

The structure of foot corns is the reason for causing pain. Foot corns are generally very dry, hard, and have edges that point inwards. The uneven structure of the corns causes a great deal of pain. To diminish this pain, one needs to follow home remedies to treat corns or see a specialized doctor. Corns of any type should never be left untreated. Rest is another important factor that one should not neglect to gain the best results. If more pressure is exerted on the affected area, it is likely to become worse. So, rest is needed. 

What Is The Freezing Of Foot Corn?

Cryotherapy is a therapeutic method in which corns can be treated well. Extreme cold temperature is applied to the affected area of the foot to freeze the corn. Freezing the corn leads to a decrease in the flow of blood in that particular area. This soothes the affected area by providing a relieving sensation. In this way, corns can be removed without the experience of pain. The coldness acts as an anesthetic which corn removal. 

Is It True That Corn Pads Help In The Removal Of Corns?

Corn pads might provide temporary relief to the pain produced by foot corns. However, as the trusted website of wellheeledpodiatry states, it is not a matter of permanence. Therefore, one should not entirely rely on these products to remove foot corns. Consultation with a doctor and the recommended means of corn removal often work. A well-known corn removal cream is Xerina cream. It is a personal recommendation. This cream does wonder by moisturizing and exfoliating the dry skin that surrounds the foot corn. This leads to a speedy recovery.

How Long Is It Advisable To Put Corn Pads On?

According to the source of WebMD, it is advisable to put corn pads for 5 minutes. This time is sufficient for the foot corn to soften. One should leave these creams for longer periods for these are chemicals and might irritate the skin. Hence, time limits are to be followed with great care. 

How Is It Possible To Identify Corn?

It is pretty possible to identify corn. Corn can be identified through symptoms. If one feels that a particular area near the skin is becoming hard and flaky. It is probably the early sign of foot corn formation. One needs to detect such symptoms to restrict any serious causes that foot corns might lead to. 

Are Foot Corns Contagious?

No, it is well assured that foot corns are not contagious. They do not tend to spread from one person to another. These are irregular, hard bruises that are formed due to our daily unhealthy practices or constant friction while walking or standing for a great amount of time. Corns usually look like warts which are the formation of little bumps on the skin due to viral infection. However, corns are much different than that. Even though it is not a viral infection, it has its share of troubles.

References

• Sullivan, D. (2019), Treating and Preventing Foot Corns, healthline - https://www.healthline.com/health/foot-corn#see-a-doctor
• Minnis, G. (2019), Corns and Calluses, healthline - https://www.healthline.com/health/corns-and-calluses#contact-doctor
• Watson, K. (2022), Cellulitis: Everything You Need to Know, healthline - https://www.healthline.com/health/cellulitis#overview
• Smith, M (2021), Understanding Corns and Calluses—the Basics, WebMD - https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/understanding-corns-calluses-basics
• Mayo Clinic Staff. (2014), Corns and Callouses: Definition - http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/corns-and-calluses/basics/definition/con-2001446