Recognising and treating corns

A corn produces a very recognisable pain: sharp, stabbing and on one exact spot, worst when you stand on it. Many people walk around with one for months hoping it will go away. It rarely does.

1. What a corn actually is

Where pressure concentrates on a very small area, the hardening grows inwards rather than outwards. A cone shaped core forms that presses like a pin on the tissue underneath.

Hence the pain. It is not the hard spot itself that hurts, but what lies beneath it and is pushed in further with every step.

2. Where corns usually appear

On the top of a toe, where the shoe presses against the joint. Between two toes, where the toes push against each other. And under the ball of the foot, on the spot you push off from most.

The location almost always tells you the cause. On the top: not enough height in the shoe. Between the toes: not enough width. Under the ball: uneven pressure distribution when rolling through the step.

• Recognise the sharp, pinpoint pain
• Do not use plasters with salicylic acid
• Have the core removed, not just the top
• Address the pressure point with other shoes

3. Why corn plasters are inadvisable

The classic corn plaster contains salicylic acid. It softens horn cells, but it does not distinguish between the corn and the healthy skin around it. The result is often a white, softened rim that breaks easily.

With diabetes, reduced circulation or thin skin they are explicitly discouraged. A wound in that spot is a bigger problem than the corn ever was.

4. What the pedicurist does

Patty removes the hardening including the core. That is precision work, but not painful: the tissue removed is dead. Once the core is out, the pressure on the underlying tissue disappears.

Many people notice the difference within the first few steps after the treatment. What remains is a tender spot that settles within a few days.

5. Preventing it from returning

As long as the pressure point remains, the corn will come back. That is why every treatment includes the question of where that pressure comes from, and whether your shoes could change it.

More width, more toe height, alternating footwear daily and keeping the skin supple all help. Sometimes a pressure relieving aid is the answer; Patty will discuss that during the treatment.

In practice this subject belongs with short treatment and callus removal. There you can read how Patty works, or you can request an appointment straight away.

Further reading: standard treatment in Blokker, medical pedicure in Blokker, standard treatment in Wognum.

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