Plantar warts in the athlete

Plantar warts are thick, endophytic, hyperkeratotic lesions caused by human papilloma virus. Because they are frequently mistaken for calluses, they are often misdiagnosed in athletes. The diagnosis of a plantar wart is made by paring down the hypertrophic epithelium until multiple “seeds” are detected in the dermis representing the thrombosed vessels supplying the wart. A patch system containing 40% salicylic acid in the rubber-based vehicle is applied to the debrided site every 48 hours until healing occurs.