Paediatric Foot Issues
Foot conditions can affect children as well as adults. The most common conditions include:
- Plantar warts
- Heel pain
- Flat feet; and,
- Ingrown toenails
However, in children these conditions have unique characteristics that are not shared with adults. Often these problems are occur more frequently in children. This could be because of a child’s active lifestyle as well as their growing bodies. For example, children can suffer from issues like flat feet and heel pain because of the changes that happen when their muscles and bones are growing.
Ingrown toenail: An Ingrown Toenail happens when the edge of your nail grows into the skin that lies next to it. This usually affects the big toe and is often painful and cause infection. Although this issue is more common in children, it can affect people of any age.
Plantar warts: A plantar wart can be described as a skin lesion that occurs on the sole of your foot, as a result of a virus. Often people mistake these for callus or corn, largely because they look very similar. You normally have a thick skin area that is circular in shape. This can cause discomfort, especially when weight is being put on that foot.
A plantar wart is also known as a verruca. They are most easily differentiated in appearance from a corn or callus by a black dot within the hardened skin.
Flat feet: Flat feet, medically termed ‘Pes Planus’, describe a condition where your feet have little to no arch. When this arises in children parents often become worried. There are many causes of flat feet in children, including developmental changes. Treatment is often not necessary, unless the flat feet are painful, as typically the condition naturally resolves as the child grows.
Heel pain: Heel pain, or Plantar fasciitis, is basically inflammation of the tissue band in part of your heel bone known as the plantar fascia. Plantar fasciitis normally occurs at the bottom of your heel. Heel pain at the back of the heel is rather common among the adolescents. This can happen because of a condition named Sever’s disease. In these cases, the pain is accompanied by a growth plate in the affected area.
