Corns and calluses
Corns and calluses are thickenings of the skin that form where there is sustained pressure or friction. They are not a disease: they are a protective mechanism.
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Corns and calluses are thickenings of the skin that form where there is sustained pressure or friction. They are not a disease: they are a protective mechanism. The problem is that when the pressure does not go away, the thickening keeps growing inwards and starts to hurt. That is why the answer is not filing them down but removing the cause: almost always the footwear or the way the foot loads.
The difference
- callus: a broad area of thickened yellowish skin with no defined edges, little or no pain. Typically on the sole, the heel and the palms;
- corn: small, round and well defined, with a hard core pressing into the skin. It hurts on pressure, like having a stone underfoot;
- soft corn: between the toes, whitish and macerated from moisture; usually between the fourth and fifth toes;
- seed corn: small and superficial, common on the heel.
How to tell a corn from a verruca
These are constantly confused, and the treatment is completely different.
- corn: hurts on downward pressure; the skin lines run across it; when pared, a clear uniform core appears;
- verruca: hurts more when pinched from the sides than pressed down; the skin lines stop at its edge; when pared, small black dots appear, which are thrombosed capillaries; there is often more than one.
Causes
- narrow, pointed or oversized footwear in which the foot slides;
- high heels, which shift the load onto the forefoot;
- a great deal of walking or standing;
- frequently going barefoot;
- socks with seams, or wearing no socks;
- foot abnormalities: bunions, clawed toes, flat or high-arched feet, heel spurs;
- gait abnormalities and leg length differences;
- excess weight;
- dry skin;
- on the hands: tools, sport, musical instruments.
When to see a doctor
- you have diabetes, neuropathy or circulatory problems — in that case do not treat corns yourself, with blades or medicated plasters; always see a professional;
- the corn hurts when walking and limits what you do;
- it has become red, swollen or is discharging;
- an ulcer has formed beneath it;
- corns keep returning in the same place;
- you are not sure whether it is a corn or a verruca;
- there is a deformity of the foot or toes;
- the lesion bleeds or changes appearance.
What you can do
- change your footwear: this is 80% of the solution. A wide toe box, a low heel and a cushioning sole;
- soak the foot in warm water for 10 minutes and file gently with a pumice stone or file, a little at a time and without trying to remove everything at once;
- moisturise daily with a cream containing 10–25% urea: it softens the thickening far better than filing does;
- use offloading pads: felt or silicone rings around the corn, not over it;
- silicone toe separators for soft corns;
- keep the spaces between the toes dry;
- insoles or supports if there is an abnormality of loading;
- seam-free socks.
What not to do: cut the corn with blades, scissors or corn-cutters; use salicylic acid plasters without assessment, especially with diabetes, because they burn the surrounding healthy skin too; tear off skin; or attend a beauty salon with unsterilised instruments.
Professional treatment
- removal of the corn by a podiatrist with sterile instruments: quick, painless and the relief is immediate;
- urea or salicylic acid preparations at appropriate strength, applied with the healthy skin protected;
- custom insoles after a gait and loading assessment: this is what stops it returning;
- verruca treatment if that turns out to be what it is;
- surgery for the underlying deformity — bunion, clawed toe — where the corn is caused by it and keeps coming back;
- specialist wound care if an ulcer has formed.
Common questions
Does a corn have a root? Not a root like a plant. It has a keratin core that is removed; if the pressure continues, it forms again.
Are they contagious? No. Verrucas are; corns are not.
Why does it always come back in the same spot? Because the pressure is still there. Until the footwear or the loading changes, the corn will keep forming.
Can I use a corn cutter? Not advisable: it is easy to cut too deep and create an infected wound.
Do exfoliating foot socks work? They soften surface skin but do not resolve a corn with a core, nor the cause.
Online consultation
In an online consultation the doctor reviews photographs, helps distinguish a corn from a verruca — a mistake that makes treatment fail — advises which products to use and which to avoid, assesses the risk if you have diabetes, and explains when a foot assessment is worthwhile.
This material is for information only and does not replace a medical consultation.
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Medically reviewed by
Reviewed on Aug 1, 2026
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