This website has been written by Elizabeth Smith, Podiatrist to The Whiteley Clinic in Guildford (www.easmithchiropodist.co.uk).

The purpose of this website is to describe what corns and calluses are. The treatment of corns is discussed on the sister site, www.corn-treatment.co.uk.

What are calluses?

Calluses on the foot are areas of hard, thickened skin.  When the skin gets hard and thickened in certain areas, it tends to take on a yellowish appearance.  Calluses are usually found over the areas of the foot that rub on things, causing a chronic mechanical injury. The skin reacts to this by thickening - it does this as a form of protection. If the skin stayed thin, it might be damaged - by thickening it adds a protective layer of skin over the area.

Calluses tend to be found in the areas of the foot where the skin rubs between a bony prominence on the inside and footwear on the outside. Apart from the rubbing of the foot on footwear, there can also be mechanical stresses in "foot to ground" contact and also "toe on toe" rubbing.

Corns and calluses may be a sign of abnormal foot function. They can be caused by abnormally high stresses and loads being put through that area of the foot.  This irritates the skin, causing it to thicken - and hence the callus or corn appears.

The common areas to get calluses are:

          ·                     the weight bearing areas of the foot (ball and heel)
          ·                     over the bony prominences on the inner and outer edges of the foot
          ·                     over the toe joints
          ·                     on the tips of the toes
          ·                     between the toes

These slightly stranger corns look like a their name, like little seeds, on the skin of the foot.  They are found around the edges of weight bearing areas of the foot.  They are usually found by themselves, although they can occur in clusters.