Although mostly located on the skin area that is not visible at all time, such as the toes, foot corns become a concern for many people, as they may cause discomfort. Prolonged excessive friction and pressure onto the area affected by corns may also cause these corns to inflame and even develop into an open wound. In general, corn on the toes occur as a result of prolonged wear of ill-fitting shoes. In women, pump shoes and high heels that out the pressure excessively on the area of the top and bottom skin of the toes are the most frequent culprit of foot corns.

Why corns need to be treated?

Commonly, corns appear on the parts of the skin that do not bear the weight, but experience repeated friction from ill-fitting footwear, such as on the top or bottom part of your toes. This inflamed, hardened center covered with thickened skin may also appear in between the toes. Compared to calluses that appear on the area where excessive pressure is received, corns are usually more painful.

Women are often concerned about foot corns as these inflamed skin areas may be aesthetically disturbing. They also trigger discomfort and tend to be more painful whenever shoes are worn. In a severe cases of corns, these inflamed skin even develop into an open wound, which is not only painful, but also capable of causing skin infection.

There are some over-the-counter corn medication to be used for self-care at home, and these may alleviate the caused pain resulted from the friction. Soaking corn-affected toes in a basin of warm water will also be helpful to soften the affected area, making it easier to remove with a pumicing stone or scrub. Some home remedies, such as cucumber, lemon, and honey that contain anti-oxidants are also helpful in treating foot corns.

Will a corn go away on its own?

To seek for proper treatments that work well foot corns, it is important to understand the underlying of this hardened skin problem. Corns develop as a protective barrier our body produces in order to prevent the development of open wound on the skin where there is excessive friction. Therefore, the most effective method for removing a corn does not lie on how effective any medications can be, but how well our footwear fit the feet. As ill-fitting shoes, or shoes putting our weight excessively on the area of the toes, such as high heels and pump shoes, are the main cause of corns, replacing those footwear with ones fitting well is the most effective way of removing formed corns.

So, does a corn go away on its own? Mostly yes, if we are able to get rid of whatever causing the problem. There are some things you can do to eventually get rid of corns from the toes naturally, without any medications, such as:

• Always wear well-fitting shoes, especially if you are a runner or a front liner standing behind the counter almost all day long.
• Choose footwear with adequate padding. The ones labeled ergonomic should be the most comfortable, as they support your feet well and put balanced weight on all foot areas, rather than accumulate it on the toe areas.
• Soft corns occur due to scratching between the toes excessively. Reduce the scratch will let the problem improve naturally. On the other hand, hard corns occur as a result of excessively dry toes skin. Moisturizing the area, thus, will be effective in getting rid of this type of corn.
• If you are a healthy person with no health complications, corns will likely go away naturally after the source of pressure aggravating the dry skin area of the toes is removed for certain period.

When to see a doctor?

Most of the time, foot corns on toes go away naturally. There are no required specific treatments for this. However, there are some conditions related to this thickened, hardened skin that need your attention, rather than letting the problem go naturally. Be alert if you have some corns and notice some conditions as:

• You are diabetic and have limited blood circulation onto the foot area. In diabetic person, corns can possibly cover a much deeper open wound and thus, may trigger unseen infection that lead to fatal condition and may end up in leg amputation. Over-the-counter medications for corns are often acidic and thus, abrasive to the skin. Therefore, they are not recommended for diabetic people, as these medications may instead cause an open wound.
• You are experiencing corns that are painful and badly inflamed. This kind of corns may develop into open wounds and may lead to infection. Immediate treatments or medications that alleviate the caused pain will be helpful in getting rid the whole inflamed skin areas.