Q. I am a distance runner and my feet are in awful shape. They’re cracked and scaly and the toenails are thickened with fungus. Trying to clip my nails is an exercise in frustration. To compound my problems, I also have a plantar wart on my right sole.
My podiatrist says that I need foot surgery to remove the wart and the fungus-infected nails. That would really interfere with my training for a marathon. Is there any non-surgical way to deal with warts and nasty nails?
A. Dr. Samuel Moschella of Harvard Medical School had several patients who were runners with plantar warts. Like you, they were reluctant to stop running, so he had them try an old-fashioned approach instead of excising the warts. They soaked their feet in hot water, and many of them were able to forego the surgery.
The reason runners often try to avoid surgery to remove a plantar wart is that scar tissue can form and lead to an even more complicated problem. That’s why less invasive approaches are often the first line of treatment. We have heard from hundreds of readers that home remedies can be helpful. They have used topical turmeric (be careful not to stain sheets yellow), duct tape, banana peels, Desiccated liver pills, Listerine and vinegar soaks and applications of castor oil.
Now on to your other problem. It is also possible to remove fungus-infected nails without surgery. This requires application of a concentrated urea paste which dissolves the infected portion and leaves healthy nail intact. This approach was developed in Russia and brought back to this country by Dr. Eugene Farber, Chairman of Dermatology at Stanford University in 1978. This requires medical supervision, though, which is why you will want to download our Guide to Hair and Nail Care.
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