Corns & Calluses
What are they?
Painful skin lesions such as corns and calluses are common. These lesions are abnormal thickenings of the top layer of the skin. They are commonly found on the bottom on the feet as well as toes (including in between). They are often considered a minor complaint however they can be extremely painful and disabling. Patients with these skin lesions can have difficulty walking and wearing footwear. If these lesions are left untreated, they can develop into more serious complications including ulceration.
What is the difference between a corn and a callus?
A callus is a hard patch of diffuse thickened skin; they can be found of feet and hands. They develop in response to high friction or pressure and is the skin’s way of trying to protect itself from further damage.
A corn is similar to a callus in that it is an area of thickened skin caused by excessive pressure or friction. A corn is found in more concentrated areas and has a painful centre or core which can cause considerable pain. It is common for them to appear on weight bearing areas of your skin, for example the soles of your feet. These corns are usually known as hard corns, where the centre has hardened.
Corns can also develop between toes that are compressed together such as in poor-fitting footwear. They are known as a soft corn and are whitish/grey in colour and are often softer and thinner in texture due to the skin being macerated. These form where the surface of the skin can become damp and is inadequately drying, often due to sweating or wearing shoes with poor ventilation of the feet.
How can corns and calluses be treated?
Management of corns and calluses accounts for the vast majority of a Podiatric practitioner’s workload. Treatment involves carefully debriding and topical treatments as well as identifying contributing factors (e.g. footwear, high pressure areas of the feet). Your Podiatrist can identify biomechanical abnormalities and prescribe customised foot orthotics or exercises to reduce excessive pressure and friction at the affected sites.
Prevention is often better than a cure. Footwear should be appropriately fitted by a professional and simple skin care and foot hygiene measures (such as washing and drying feet, using a moisturiser) should be employed.
What shouldn’t you do?
Don’t ignore skin lesions like corns and calluses. In some patients who have damaged nerves/neuropathy (e.g. diabetic patients), sometimes corns and calluses will not be painful. If left untreated corns and calluses can lead to serious health consequences including infection and ulceration. Additionally, calluses around heels can often crack and bleed leading to pain and infection. It is not recommended that corn pads are used – the medicated disc often leads to maceration and issues within the surrounding healthy skin.
Location
56 Zahel St, Carina QLD 4152
