As the weather here in Houston turns a little bit cooler, we're wearing shoes that we haven't worn in some time. Shoes that are enclosed and cause pressure on our toes, and that can cause corns to form. The question I always get is, if we're able to get the core or the seed out of a corn, will it come back?
Hi, I'm Houston podiatrist, Dr. Andrew Schneider. And corns are very common, and doesn't mean that a shoe is a poorly fitting shoe. It just means the toe might buckle up a little bit, your foot might swell a little bit inside the shoe. And there's some excess pressure, and that forms a corn. And what a corn is, is a buildup of excess dead skin that's there to help to protect you. It's there to try to protect your body from the pressure of the shoe. Unfortunately, what it does, is it builds up additional pressure, and it makes it more uncomfortable.
When you come into the office for me to treat a corn, what I'll often do is pare down that dead skin, and then I'll go find that deep part, which you might call a kernel or the seed, and I'll remove that too. But invariably, you're going to wear shoes, and that corn is going to come back.
Well, why getting that kernel out, why is it still coming back? Well, the thing is, a corn isn't growing from anything. It's not growing from that kernel where if we get it out, it will never come back. It's there because of pressure. And the only way to truly remove a corn is to eliminate the source of the pressure. And in this case, the source of the pressure is the bone. So the bone is either buckled or may have a small bone spur on it, it may be a hammer toe. But regardless, the toe, the bone, is causing additional pressure when it hits against the shoe.
If you truly want to take care of the corn, it's a small surgical procedure that we do in the operating room where I remove a small piece of bone, or I'll shave down a small piece of bone that corresponds to where that corn is. That is what's going to stop that corn from coming back. So next time you come into the office and say, it's back again, I'm just going to look at you and say, yes, it's back again. And you can choose to come in every so often for me to care for it in the office, or if you want to take care of it once and for all, we can discuss the surgical option.
Of course, if you want me to take a look at your corns or your feet, give us a call at the office for an immediate appointment. And if you have any further questions, you can visit our website at www.tanglewoodfootspecialists.com. Thanks so much for watching, and have a great day.
