[zebra102]

Hello there,

So as the title suggests, I have warts, most likely a form of plantar warts, on the bottom of my feet. My left foot has two warts, with the largest being not quite the size of a penny and seems to be a group of smaller warts. My right foot has one small wart on the side of my heel.

My online research has said that plantar warts are caused by HPV, and that after a few years the virus should be “flushed” out of my system, or at the very least the warts should go away. But now those few years have turned into several years (I believe 7 to be exact), and I think it's time to ask the Internet (you) for suggestions.

I'm 26 years old now, and believe I contracted the virus because I was stupid – in 2007, during my freshman year in college, I lived in the dorms and never wore flip flops or protected my feet in any way when I used the common shared shower stalls. That's where I think I got these guys. As they became obvious, I began finally wearing flip flops in public places and in hotel showers out of guilt that I could possibly infect other barefoot people who came after me.

I actually went to a couple different doctors and asked them twice about these warts. The last official visit was to a certified skin doctor in February of this year. However, his answer and other doctor's answers were the same – not to worry about them, and to try and walk barefoot more often, preferably on sandy beaches, so as to slowly “sand” the warts off. He also suggested I try using those wart-removing band aids with small amounts of acid and to slowly remove the dead tissue.

However, my situation is a bit more unique in that I live and work in China. The previous doctor I mentioned was in Houston, Texas, my home town in the States, so I'm pretty sure I was getting a decent evaluation there. However, that was during one of the two or three visits I make back to the States each year. In China where I live, you really can't walk barefoot outside anywhere because of sanitary concerns (the streets here are dirty), and the nearest beach is 2 hours away, which means I basically don't have access to nice sandy beaches. And because I live in a shared apartment, out of consideration towards my flatmates, I wear flip flops or slippers in the house, so basically the only time I can be barefoot is when I'm in bed sleeping or taking a shower (I have my own bathroom).

On that previous trip to the US, I did purchase some of those wart-removing band aids at Walgreen's, but they didn't seem to do much. Back here in China, I decided to try out a similar product, but I now regret it – these Chinese wart-removing band aids are crazy crazy strong (way more acid than the Walgreen's ones), sting like crazy, and in the end I still didn't see any results that my warts were going away. (I don't want to use those nasty Chinese ones again! So scary those things, with red dye that looks like blood!)

In fact, it seems like the warts have only gotten bigger, and are still going strong. They have changed very little over the past years, but I'm pretty they've been gradually increasing in size. I'm hesitant about getting surgery, because that could leave a crater or scar. My mother tells me that if they don't hurt, then don't bug them, and to simply keep waiting them out. I walk on them every day and they don't bother me the slightest. But now 7 years and they're still there..!

Are having these warts for 7 years getting to be too long (meaning I should take more action on them), or am I worrying too much about it, and that they will go away eventually?

Thanks all!

[tickle]

Your mother is right.

[zebra102]

Hi tickle,

Thanks for your quick response!

I'm sort of hoping I could get a few other people to express their opinions here - anyone else have other suggestions?

If not, well then I guess I have my answer!