Even with the most proper foot hygiene practices, it is really hard not to develop calluses and corns. As thickened skin wherein pressure and friction are excessive, calluses and corns are body’s reaction to provide a protection for these regions. When certain skin area of the body receive repeated excessive pressure, such as on a guitarist’s fingers, calluses form. In a quite different environment, corns form as a reaction of the skin of the toes to ill-fitting shoes. Related to this main cause, corns are more common in women than men.

Is foot corn dangerous?

In most circumstances, foot corn is not a dangerous skin disorder, as it acts as a thick protective layer to the skin, providing a barrier for excessively pressured skin regions. Commonly, these hardened skin area affects the toes as a result of ill-fitting foot wear. If you do not have any health complications and are generally healthy, foot corns do not usually require any medications and treatments, unless they cause severe discomfort. Even with this discomfort, eliminating the source of excessive friction and pressure will eventually remove the corns and thus, reduce caused discomfort.

Quite differently, if you have got some health issues related to poor blood circulation to the feet, where corns are commonly located, they might trigger complications. In diabetic feet, open wound is easier to occur, but harder to notice, especially if the nerves are affected, causing the foot skin to feel numb. As a result, excessive pressure trigger hardened skin area, which in fact, covers much deeper wound or foot ulceration. Deeper wound covered by foot corn may worsen, leading to infection. In people with diabetes, infection is a major problem and may lead to much worse problem and may end in amputation. Corns with deeper wound or ulceration also tend to be very thick, causing severe pain and discomfort on diabetic feet.

If you are suffering from diabetes and have developed some foot corns, it is very important to find proper methods and medication to take care of the affected area. while people tend to buy and apply an acidic over-the-counter medication to remove foot corn, these medications are not recommended for diabetic patients, as acidic medications may be abrasive to the skin, causing breaks and minor injuries that may develop to severe open wound. If you are diabetic and have developed corns over the toes, immediately remove the main cause of this thickened skin by replacing your uncomfortable footwear with the well-fitting ones. Before performing any self-care, it is important to talk to your doctor to avoid mistreating the problem and trigger it to become more severe health risk. Applying antibiotic ointment and cover an inflamed, painful corn with sterilized bandage or gauze is an advised solution for diabetic patient before having the occurring corns examined by the doctor. Any wound covered with corns, or corns developing into an open wound should be concerned immediately, since even minor injuries can a serious health problem in people with poor blood circulation to the foot area.

Is foot corn contagious?

In all cases, foot corn is caused by excessive friction and pressure on the toes resulted from ill-fitting shoes. Corns are not caused by either virus or bacteria and thus, are not contagious. Although corns can be painful when touched and may look like an open wound, especially when kept given friction from ill-fitting shoes, they are not transmitted from one person to another, or one skin region to another. Some people may notice that they develop corns all over the toes eventually and might end up thinking that corns are contagious. In fact, it is not the fact that corns are contagious that causes it to “multiply” and affect more areas of the toes. Instead, the occurrence of more corns over time is because the source of excessive friction and pressure to these toes is not removed yet. People tend to develop more corns if they keep wearing the ill-fitting shoes, causing different areas of the toes to thicken and harden. Hence, replacing this kind of shoes—high heels, for instance, with the more comfortable pair is essential in preventing corns from forming over time.