Corns

Prevention

Reduce your risk.

There are several ways to prevent corns from developing, including:

• Wear spacious shoes and socks. Ill-fitted shoes or socks that are too tight around the toes, and not wearing socks with shoes at all, increases irritation and friction. So, buy shoes and socks that give your toes plenty of room.
• Use protective coverings. The pressures exerted on your feet by the consistent or extended wear of high-heeled shoes and other footwear with high friction potential can be alleviated through the use of felt pads, non-medicated corn pads, bandages and toe separators.
• Treat other foot deformities. Make sure there isn’t a deeper cause. Hammertoe, flatfoot, bunions and bone spurs change the way that pressure is dispersed across the foot, making feet more susceptible to the irritation and friction that cause corns to develop.

Symptoms

Pinpoint your pain.

Corn symptoms include:

• Thick and hardened skin
• Bump on the skin of the foot that is hardened and raised
• Tenderness or pain under the skin
• Flaky, dry or waxy skin
• Pain or bleeding occurring in a centralized area of the foot

Diagnosis

Get the answers you need.

A physical exam of your feet and an X-ray will help doctors to determine if corns are present and whether or not there are any other physical abnormalities that are causing this condition to arise.

Treatment

Life’s too short to put up with pain.

Rather than using over-the-counter (OTC) corn remedies, it is best to seek advice from your doctor. Self-treatment can result in cuts and burns that lead to infection, and patients with diabetes or circulation problems may have trouble healing. Experienced podiatry specialists can relieve corn discomfort without harmful risk to your foot and ankle. Depending upon your unique situation, one of the following treatments may recommended:

• Preventing the spread of infection with antibiotics
• Carefully shaving or trimming thickening skin during an office visit

If the presence of a foot deformity is instigating the production of corns, our doctors will concentrate on addressing the underlying problem through the performance of minimally invasive surgery or other techniques.