Corns

It’s easy to conceal a corn with sneakers, socks and closed-toe shoes, but during warmer weather, the unsightly growths on your toes can become too much to handle. Corns are your body’s response to friction and pressure. It’s a way to protect your skin, but they come with unwelcome results.

What are Corns?

Corns are horny growths of thickened skin that often develop with a centralized core of hardened, dead skin cells. Most commonly, corns develop on your toes but can appear on other parts of the body, such as the feet, knees and hands. Depending on the location of the overgrowth, corns can either be soft or hard. For example, corns that grow between the toes are typically soft because of the moisture in the region. Corns found on the tops of toes are usually hard.

Causes and Symptoms

It is pressure and friction associated with repetitive activity that causes corns to develop and worsen. The kind of shoes you wear will play an important role in the development of corns. Wearing shoes that do not fit your feet well are common culprits. High heels are problematic for women because of the constant stress to the foot.

If the seam or stitching inside of a shoe is out of place, a corn may also develop. If you wear footwear or sandals without any socks, the friction to your feet can cause a corn. If your socks do not properly fit your foot – you’re asking for trouble.

• Thick, rough patch of skin • Hardened, raised bump • Tenderness or pain under your skin • Flaky, dry or waxy skin

Oftentimes, corns and calluses are confused for one another, but they are two separate annoyances. Corns are smaller than calluses, and tend to develop on parts of the feet that do not bear weight.