Foot Doctor Explains Corns & Calluses

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Corns and calluses are a thickening of the skin due to pressure and usually over or under a bony prominence. Learn from Dr. Melody Chong why corns and calluses can be problematic.

Transcript

I’m Dr. Melody Chong. I’m a podiatrist. I treat ankle, foot, and leg issues. I'm located at 3838 California Street and I've been in practice for over 25 years.

So basically, corns and calluses are a thickening of the skin due to pressure and usually over or under a bony prominence. A bone that stands out more is more prominent basically.  They are usually at the top of the toes, in between the toes, and beneath the foot, usually at the ball of the foot.

Treatment usually consists of changing to different shoes, padding, and removing the corn and callus. However, I don't recommend the medication that you can apply from the drugstore because those can cause infections. Same with the pads with the medicines. I don't recommend those either because they can cause infections, especially in people who are diabetic and have poor circulation. They cause more pain, they don't remove the corn or callus, and they can often cause an infection or a hole in the skin underneath the corn or callus. 

Why should we treat corns and calluses?

It's very important to treat them in patients with diabetes, patients on a blood thinner, patients with poor circulation, and patients with no feeling in the feet. The reason, again, is that you can get an infection or an underlying open wound, and the skin can open up. 

Often these are confused with warts, which are viruses in the skin, and it's very hard for a patient and even primary care doctors to tell the difference. So I do recommend that you see me because I can best tell you whether or not it's a wart or a corn or callus.

Some treatments are, just like I mentioned, basically just removing it. It's very simple. It's usually pain-free and I recommend this kind of treatment every 2-3 months. I also recommend applying a non-medicated pad, maybe an insert if they keep going back. So those are the main treatments. 

Basically, a callus, again, is a thickening of the skin under a bony prominence like here. A corn is similar, but it's on the top of the foot. A callus is usually on the bottom of the foot. Here is a picture of corn at the top of the toe, and here is a callus on the bottom of the foot, usually at the ball of the foot, which is right here. 

Here are some samples of corn and callus:

Corn is at the top of the toe and it is the thickening of the skin, and it's shown on the foot here. This is a soft buildup of skin. A callus is the thickening of the skin as well, but it's usually on the bottom of the foot.

Here is an example of the callus which is on the ball of the foot.

So as you can see, there are a lot of very common foot problems and I’ve already discussed some very common ones I see in my office.

There are many types of treatments, including what we discussed, and which are most common. But there are some other treatments available for these conditions. So should you need my care, I can help you, as each person is individual, very unique, and therefore the treatment is customized to you. I can provide successful outcomes so that you can feel better.

So I just wanted to let you know that patients and other doctors are very happy with my results and know I provide great care. Patients also refer to me, as do doctors, again, who refer me to their patients.

Our office is also readily available, so one can schedule in a timely manner, and we're a very welcoming office. Our location is well known and we welcome new patients. My office is at 3838 California Street in San Francisco. It's adjacent to the old children's hospital. The cross street is Cherry Street and our phone number is (415) 386-3338, or (415) 386-FEET.

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