Corns and Calluses

Diagnosis

Your health care professional probably will ask about your shoes, because shoes with narrow toes are more likely to cause corns. He or she also will ask about your foot history, and your history of other medical problems, including diabetes and circulation problems. Some types of foot problems can alter the mechanics of the foot, causing abnormal pressure on certain areas and leading to calluses. Also, any previous surgery or trauma to the feet may affect the structure and alignment of foot bones, increasing the risk of calluses. To assess whether your corns and calluses are related to foot abnormalities, your doctor will inspect your feet for toe deformities, structural abnormalities of the bones, poor bone alignment, and problems related to an abnormal way of walking (gait). If your doctor finds some problem during this part of the foot exam, he or she may suggest a specific type of padding or shoe insert that will help to prevent your corns and calluses from returning or causing as much discomfort.

Also, whenever there is a painful area of thickened skin on your feet, your doctor may need to check whether it is a plantar wart, a localized skin infection caused by human papillomavirus. The diagnosis can be made by shaving down the callus and looking for tiny blood vessels at the base with a lack of normal skin ridges (as in a fingerprint), the hallmarks of a plantar wart.

Expected Duration

Corns and calluses can be a long-term problem if you consistently wear shoes that do not fit properly. Even with good footwear, you may continue to have painful corns and calluses if there is some abnormality in your gait or foot structure that causes unusual stress on parts of your feet when you walk.