This factsheet is for people who have corns, or who would like information about them.

A corn is a painful area of hardened skin on the foot. Corns develop over bony areas of the foot that are under high pressure, usually caused by poorly fitting shoes, or sometimes from the way your feet bear your weight.

  • About corns
  • Symptoms of corns
  • Complications of corns
  • Causes of corns
  • Diagnosis of corns
  • Treatment of corns
  • Prevention of corns

About corns


A corn is a type of painful callus on your foot. A callus is an area of hardened skin made of keratin – a tough protein that is found in the outermost layer of your skin (the epidermis).

When your skin is exposed to lots of pressure or friction, the keratin layer thickens to protect it, and develops into a callus. Although calluses can cover a wide area, they aren’t usually painful.

However, if the pressure is over a bony protrusion, a small hard plug of keratin can form that presses into your skin, sometimes causing pain and swelling. This is a corn. It can be very painful as the keratin plug may put pressure on your underlying nerves.

Unlike calluses, corns are clearly separate from the surrounding area of your skin. In the middle of them is a see-through plug of keratin, which is surrounded by a margin of tough skin (often white in colour).

Types of corn

There are two main types of corn.

Hard corns
Hard corns are the most common. They are concentrated areas of dry, hardened skin about the size of a pea. Hard corns may develop within a broader area of callused skin. They are often found on your toes, most often on your fifth toe. They are sometimes called digital corns.

Soft corns
Soft corns are white and rubbery. They can be extremely painful and tend to develop between your toes. They are like hard corns that have been softened by continual exposure to moisture, usually because you don’t dry between your toes properly or from sweat. Soft corns may form opposite one another and are known as ‘kissing lesions’.

Sometimes, soft corns can become infected by bacteria or fungi.

Other, rarer types of corn include:

  • seed corns – these may appear as one corn or as clusters of small corns on the bottom your foot; they are usually painless
  • vascular corns – these occur in your blood vessels and bleed if cut
  • fibrous corns – these are corns that have been around for a long time and have become attached to the deeper layers of your skin, sometimes causing pain

Symptoms of corns


The main symptoms include:

  • a lump of hard skin over a bony area on your foot
  • pain when you walk, sometimes stopping you from doing certain activities

Complications of corns


If your corn is left untreated, it can ulcerate. This means an open sore will form on it. This is especially a problem if you have diabetes or are an older person as the sore may become infected and/or not heal very well because of bad circulation. See your doctor who specialise in conditions that affect the feet) as soon as possible if you have diabetes or are 65 or over and notice any broken skin, loss of sensation or bruising on your feet.

If you have an infected corn, for example if it contains pus or clear liquid, it may need to be drained. You may also need antibiotics.

Causes of corns


Corns are caused by constant pressure on a bony area of your foot. This can happen for a number of different reasons. These include:

  • poorly fitting footwear – for example, shoes that are too small, cramp your toes or have uneven soles; this is the most common cause of corns
  • being very active – doing lots of exercise can put pressure on your feet
  • prominent bones – these can press against your shoes
  • a misshapen foot because your foot or toes have developed unusually – you may have a toe that is overly curved or a particular bone that is too short
  • poorly healed fractures – if you have broken a toe or another bone in your foot, it may have set out of place causing your foot to press against your shoe

Diagnosis of corns


Your doctor will ask about your symptoms and examine you. He or she may also ask you about your medical history and your footwear.

Corns can be confused with verrucas. Your doctor may use a scalpel to remove the top layer of hardened skin (this isn’t painful) to look for blood vessels that would be present in a verruca but aren’t found in a corn.

You doctor may refer you to a registered chiropodist or podiatrist.

If your corn is a serious problem or if it keeps coming back, you may have:

  • an X-ray – to help identify how and why a bone is causing a corn

Treatment of corns


Your healthcare professional will try to deal with the underlying cause of your corn to stop it coming back as well as treating its symptoms.

There are several ways that corns are treated.

Non-surgical treatments

Footwear

The main cause of corns is wearing shoes that are too small and tight for your feet. You will need to stop wearing any shoes that don’t fit well. Your healthcare professional can advise you on the best type of shoes to wear but in general they should have:

  • a soft upper half
  • low heels (less than 4cm)
  • a round toe that provides lots of room for your toes

If you have a corn between your toes or on the outer edge of your fifth toe, you may need wider shoes to give your feet more room.

Surgery

Your doctor will be able to use a scalpel to remove the central keratin plug from a corn. This is a painless procedure and should almost completely relieve any pain. He or she may also advise you to gently rub away the corn using a pumice stone every week to help prevent it coming back.

If the corn keeps coming back and all other methods have failed to solve the problem, further surgery might be able to help. For example, if your corn is being caused by a deformity on your foot, an operation to reshape your foot can sometimes prevent it returning.

Your healthcare professional will be able to advise you on whether surgery is necessary.

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