What is the Difference Between Corns and Calluses?

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Today I went into the dermatologist because it felt like someone was shoving a needle into my heel each time I took a step.

After checking for a splinter and finding nothing, I assumed it was a planter’s wart.

Wrong. What I have is a corn. Yes, an annoyingly painful callus type pit or core that my body produced to protect itself.

You see, that’s how corns and calluses are made. Your body is trying to protect your sensitive tissue/skin when friction or rubbing occurs.

What is a Corn?

Corns generally occur at pressure points, typically the bottom of the feet and the sides of toes. They can be painful.

A hard corn is a small patch of thickened, dead skin with a central core. A soft corn has a much thinner surface and usually occurs between the 4th and 5th toes. A seed corn is a tiny, discrete callous that can be very tender if it’s on a weight-bearing part of the foot. Seed corns tend to occur on the bottom of the feet. 

WebMD

What are Calluses?

Calluses are not painful but build a thick layer on the outermost layer or part of your skin. Unlike corns, calluses can develop when there is repeated friction, on the hands, feet, or other places on the body.

Now there are different types of calluses. The first type, which is the most common, is where there is repetition, rubbing, or friction. The second is called a plantar callus found on the bottom of your feet.

How Do You Get a Corn or Callus?

• From friction caused by ill-fitting shoes or by walking improperly. High-hilled shoes are the worst.
• By wearing sandals or other footwear without socks, causing your foot to slip around.
• Running
• Being on your feet for long periods.
• Plugged sweat ducks.
• Rubbing
• Pressure

Remember how I thought mine might be a sliver or wart? Well, that’s something you need to check out too. Warts have little black seed-like heads and keep your fingerprint, so to speak. Slivers or splinters when pushed, can release pus and push out the object under your skin.

Be careful, anytime you deal with feet, and where moisture builds bacteria, that you clean and keep dry any open skin or corn. Again, keep the area clean anytime there is a cut or open wound of any kind in any situation as a staph infection could start.

What Do Corns and Calluses Look Like?

• “A callus is a patch of thick, dead skin anywhere on the body which is subject to friction. There are different common names given to the various type of calluses.
• A hard corn is a compact patch of hard skin with a dense core, located on top of a toe or the outside of the little toe.
• A soft corn is a reddened, tender area of skin, has a thin, smooth center, and is found between toes.
• A seed corn is a plug-like circle of dead skin, often painful, on the heel or ball of the foot.
• A plantar callus is a callus on the bottom or plantar surface of the foot.” -WebMD

Treatments

You will notice a pattern in the remedies below. All will either remove dead skin or moisten your skin. Keeping your skin soft and subtle will help prevent and treat corns and calluses.

Lemon Juice

The citric acid in lemon juice softens the hard-upper layer of the corns and calluses. Using a cue tip, soak the end and apply the lemon juice morning and evening.

Baking Soda

“Baking soda is a natural exfoliating agent that scrubs and removes the hard-layer of dead skin cells that cover the corn and also promotes the process of healing. The potent antibacterial and antifungal properties of baking soda also prevent skin infections.” -thefitindian.com

Warm Water Treatment

Use a 20-min warm water treatment to soak and soften the outer hardened layers of dead skin. To remove the skin, rub it after soaking and after you towel dry with your fingers, a pummel stone or razor. When using a razor, however, be extremely careful not to cut too deep. The point isn’t to bleed, it’s to remove dead skin. Repeat the process daily until your callus is gone.

Callus Pads

Although pads will not heal on their own, they do help protect while you use another treatment, preventing any further friction.

Apple Cider Vinegar

The acid content in apple cider vinegar helps to soften your skin. As with a warm water soaking, the point is to soak your callus multiple times for 20 minutes and peel away or use your fingers to rub off as much dead skin as possible. Don’t try to remove the callus all at one time. Be patient and do the treatment each day until you have removed as much as you can, or the callus is gone.

White Vinegar

To use, soak a cotton ball, squeezing out the excess and place on your corn or callus with tape (I use duct tape.) Leave on for two to four hours twice a day and up to a week or until the corn is gone.

Vinegar has antibacterial and antifungal properties and will reduce your chances of getting an infection.

Garlic

The potent medicinal properties of garlic make it an important Ayurvedic medicine that has been used for ages to treat a wide range of diseases and disorders. Garlic is especially effective for treating skin diseases and is a useful remedy for treating ringworm. It is also one of the most powerful home remedies for corns on feet that promote fast healing. The natural antioxidants present in garlic fight the fungal and bacterial infections and remove the corn from the root.

Press a few garlic cloves to make a paste and apply it to the corn, secure it with a dressing gauge or clean cloth and leave it overnight. Wash your feet with warm water the next morning. Repeat this course every night to get desired results.

thefitindian.com

Special Notes and Prevention:

• Seek a doctor if you see any pus or clear fluid come out of a corn as this is a sign of infection.
• If, while cutting at a callus or corn you make it bleed use tea tree oil, as a disinfectant and oversee it at home or seek medical attention. Pure tea tree oil has antibacterial and antifungal properties. 
• Be smart and use gloves, knee pads, and properly fitting shoes to prevent a callus or corn from forming in the first place or after you have removed them.
• If you have any concerns or questions always ask.
• Keep your skin soft by applying lotion, cocoa butter type foot rubs, or your own homemade lotions and remedies.

Given the information above, you can see how important it is to take care of your feet. Either by wearing proper shoes or keeping your skin subtle.

–Heather Earles