Corns and calluses are hard, painful areas of skin that often develop on the feet in response to pressure or friction. People may manage them at home but should not attempt to remove them without medical supervision. Corns and calluses are lesions that happen when the skin tries to protect an underlying area from injury, pressure, or rubbing. The lesions are more common among people who wear ill-fitting shoes, have sweaty feet, or stand for long periods each day.
Calluses and corns are not usually harmful, but sometimes they may lead to irritation, infections, or ulcerations of the skin, especially among people with diabetes or poor circulation in the feet.
What is a callus?
A callus is a section of skin that thickens because of friction, pressure, or irritation. They often happen on the feet but can also occur on the hands, elbows, or knees. They usually do not cause much discomfort. However, a callus on the foot may become painful when a person puts pressure on it while walking in shoes.
Calluses are yellowish or pale in color. They feel lumpy to the touch, but because the affected skin is thick, it may be less sensitive to touch than the skin around it. Calluses are often bigger and wider than corns, with less-defined edges. They commonly appear where the skin frequently rubs against something, such as a bone, footwear, or the ground.
They typically form over the bony area just under the toes, which is the area of skin that takes the person’s weight when they are walking.
A plantar callus is a particular type of callus that forms on the bottom of the heel. It happens when one of the foot bones is longer than the other and hits the ground more forcefully when a person walks. This causes the skin under this bone to thicken.
What is a corn?
A corn is a kind of callus made of dead skin. Corns on toes are very common because these are smooth, hairless skin surfaces. The corns are usually small and circular, with a clearly defined center that can be hard or soft.
Hard corns tend to be small. They occur in areas of firm, hard skin, where the skin has thickened or where there are calluses, and in bony areas of the foot.
Soft corns tend to be whitish in color, with a rubbery texture, and may look like an open sore and cause a person pain. They more commonly occur between the toes, in areas of moist and sweaty skin. A third type of corn is a seed corn, which can form on the soles in clusters and is usually not painful.
Signs and symptoms
Corns and calluses can make a person feel as if they are walking on stones. The following signs or symptoms may indicate a corn or callus:
- a raised, hardened bump
- a thick and rough area of skin
- pain or tenderness under the skin
If a corn or callus becomes very painful, leaks fluid, feels warm, or looks red, a person should seek medical advice. These may be signs that the area is infected.
People with poor circulation, fragile skin, or nerve problems and numbness in the feet should also talk to their doctor before treating corns and calluses at home. People with diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, and peripheral arterial disease need to be particularly watchful.
Causes and risk factors
The primary risk factor for both corns and calluses is any pressure or friction on the skin. On the feet and hands, this may be caused by:
- wearing shoes that are too tight, too loose, or too high-heeled
- having a badly placed seam in a shoe
- wearing socks that do not fit well
- not wearing socks
- walking barefoot regularly, as the skin will thicken to protect itself
- using hand tools, sports equipment, or musical instruments without gloves
- cycling frequently
- kneeling or resting elbows on a table repeatedly
- Additional risk factors include older age, joint diseases, other foot problems like bunions or hammer toe, walking a lot on flat surfaces, or having flat feet. For calluses specifically, diabetes is also a risk factor.
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