Corns - Causes And Home Remedies

Corns, also known as helomas, are localized cone-shaped mounds of thickened skin occurring usually on soles of feet, on the outside of fifth toe or on the area between the fourth and fifth toes. The apex or peak of the corny cone points inwards. Corns pain a lot while walking and are tender to touch. Corns look dry, waxy and translucent. In some cases, corns are formed in fingers too. Corns are of two types: hard corns or heloma durums and soft corns or heloma molles. Hard corns occur on the top of toes or outside of little toes while soft corns occur in between the toes. Corns occur in pressure zones, and corn formation is an instance of the way the body naturally defends itself by thickening, thereby strengthening the skin in areas of pressure and friction. Some of the causes of corn formation may be listed as follows:

1. Wearing tight, inflexible footwear
2. Wearing non-porous footwear
3. Wearing high heels
4. Wearing ill-fitting socks
5. Abnormal gait
6. Abnormal anatomy of feet; for example 'hammer toe'.

Causes of corns on fingers may be the following:

1. Repetitive pattern of using tools
2. Playing of instruments
3. Using work equipments.

Corns differ from warts, but are often mistaken for warts.

Home Remedies for Corns

1. Extract juice of figs. Take half teaspoon of the juice and also apply on corns thrice a day. This checks the occurrence of corns.

2. Place lemon slices on corn, keep overnight and wash the corn with a disinfectant after removing slices in the morning. This is a useful corn cure.

3. Apply juice of raw papaya on hard corns thrice a day. This softens corns and helps to remove them.

4. Apply dandelion stem extracts on corns. This cures corns fast.

5. Tie a clean cloth dipped in rectified turpentine around corns. Repeat the treatment several times along the day to get relief from corns.

6. Place cotton ball soaked in vinegar on corns. Keep it until corns soften. The treatment should be followed by rubbing corns with pumice stone.

7. Make a paste out of chalk powder and water. Apply the paste on corns. This treats corn effectively.

8. Soak few ivy leaves in vinegar overnight. In the morning, remove leaves and dip a piece of bread in to the vinegar and place it on corns. Keep it all day long and replace at night with a fresh piece of soaked bread. This is beneficial in treating corns.

9. Tie pineapple peel around corns. This allows healing of corns.

10. Make a paste out of lemon juice and brewer's yeast. Apply the paste on corns three times a day. This is an effective home remedy for corns.

11. Dip the corny foot in a bucket of water in which oatmeal has been boiled. This lessens pain and heals the corns.

12. Place onion slice on corn and tie a bandage around it to keep the slice in place. Maintain overnight and remove the next morning. This is an effective solution to the problem of corns.

13. Grind 3-4 licorice sticks; add sesame oil or mustard oil to whip up a thick paste. Application of the paste on corns reduces corn size and softens them.

14. Crush 5-6 aspirin tablets. Make a paste by adding half teaspoon lemon juice and water. Apply the paste on corns and wrap a warm, moist towel around. After 10 minutes, remove the towel and scrape with a brush or pumice stone. This is an effective corn treatment.

15. Rubbing corns with castor oil cures them.

16. Daily application of talcum powder softens corns and prevents their occurrence.