Fish eye is a small, thick, benign growth on the skin caused by HPV (human papillomavirus). Fish eyes appear on the bottom of the foot which makes you feel uncomfortable when walking (like a stone in your shoe). Fisheyes usually appear in the areas of the feet that are under the most pressure, which can cause them to grow flat, but deeper under the skin. Most fisheyes do not require medical care or treatment. You can treat fisheye at home and prevent it from occurring by following some of the easy steps in this article.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Treating Fisheye at Home
Step 1. Understand the limitations of home remedies
While you can treat fisheye at home effectively, its success can take months. If you want to get rid of it faster, the best option is to go to a doctor to treat it. Eradication (total destruction) permanently can take a long time even though the fish eye has been treated by a doctor.
Fish eyes usually go away on their own without leaving a scar. However, this could take months. Fish eyes can be painful and make it difficult for you to walk for a while
Step 2. Prepare the eyelets before you do the treatment
Soak the feet in warm water for a few minutes to soften the tops of the eyelets. Next, remove the top of the skin with a nail file or pumice stone. Do not use this nail file or pumice stone for any other purpose because the virus can spread to other areas of the body.
By removing the top layer of skin, the product you use to treat it can seep deep into the fish's eye
Step 3. Try using salicylic acid
There are a variety of over-the-counter topical (for the skin) products (eg Compound W) that contain salicylic acid to treat fisheye. The product can be in the form of a gel, a liquid, or a patch. Follow the instructions on the package to successfully remove the eyelets.
The use of salicylic acid is not painful, but it can take several weeks to get success
Step 4. Try using duct tape
The duct tape should be cut to a size that fits the eyelets, and affixed to it for 6 days. Remove the duct tape on the seventh day, then soak the feet in warm water to soften the dead skin on the top. Next, scrub the top layer of the eyelets with a nail file or pumice stone. After that, apply new duct tape and leave it for six days as in the previous step.
- Do not use nail files and pumice stones for other purposes.
- This process can take weeks to see results.
- Many people have had satisfactory results with this method, although it is not known why this method works.
Step 5. Find out which products to freeze eyelets on at home
This clotting process is used to block the blood supply to the fish's eye. Some of the drugs that can be used to freeze fish eyes at home include Dr. Scholl's Freeze Away and Compound W Freeze Off. Follow the instructions given on the product packaging.
Freezing fisheye at home can be uncomfortable, and some people experience pain when doing it. To freeze the fish eye deeper, the doctor can use a local anesthetic
Step 6. Determine if you really need to see a doctor
While fisheye can usually be treated at home, sometimes you may need to see a doctor. See a doctor if you experience any of these complications:
- If the fish eye does not go away after you treat it, or it disappears for a while, but reappears quickly.
- If the eyelets grow rapidly or form groups. In this case, you may have a mosaic fisheye.
- If the fish eye bleeds or feels more painful after you do the treatment.
- If the fish eye area is red, swollen, or oozing pus. This indicates that the area is infected.
- If you have diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, or coronary artery disease. If you have any of these medical conditions, don't try to deal with fisheye at home. Go to a podiatrist (foot specialist) who will treat it by monitoring the peripheral blood supply to the legs. These conditions increase the risk of infection or tissue death due to poor blood supply.
Method 2 of 3: Leave the Fish Eye Treatment to the Doctor
Step 1. Ask your doctor to give you a strong exfoliating acid product
Over-the-counter salicylic acid is an exfoliating product used to reduce the size of eyelets. If you don't have success at home, your doctor may use a stronger exfoliating acid product, such as trichloroacetic acid or bichloracetic acid.
This treatment will require you to make several visits to the doctor, and you may be asked to use salicylic acid between treatments
Step 2. Talk to your doctor about cryotherapy
This method is similar to using frozen products at home. Cryotherapy is done by freezing fish eye tissue using liquid nitrogen. Once the treatment is complete, blisters will form and heal over time. Furthermore, the blisters that have healed will be released with all or part of the eyeball.
- This method is painful and usually not recommended for young children. The doctor may use a local anesthetic, depending on the size of the fish being treated.
- You may have to undergo several cryotherapy sessions with your doctor for full success.
Step 3. Talk to your doctor about laser treatment
There are 2 laser procedures that can be used to remove fisheye. The first option, the laser will cut the eyelet growth from the skin. The second option, the laser will burn the blood vessels that supply food to the eye of the fish (which kills it).
Laser surgery can be painful and requires a longer healing time. The patient will be given a local anesthetic and will not need to stay overnight
Step 4. Talk to your doctor about using immunotherapy
In this method, the doctor will inject intralesional antigen into the eye of the fish. In other words, doctors put poison into the eye of the fish that will stimulate the immune system to fight the virus.
This treatment is used to treat fish eyes that are stubborn or difficult to remove by other methods
Step 5. Consider surgery if the eyeball cannot be removed by other treatments
Podiatrists may remove the eyelets by slicing them. The doctor will numb the tissue around the fish's eye using an electric needle to completely remove the wart. This process can be painful and usually causes scarring. However, this method is effective and usually gives success in the long run.
NEVER slice eyelets at home. This procedure can lead to bleeding and infection if not performed using the right equipment and in a sterile environment
Method 3 of 3: Recognizing and Preventing Fisheye
Step 1. Find out if you are at risk of developing fish eye
Fish eye occurs due to exposure to HPV (a group of viruses). Among the 120 types of HPV that exist, only 5 or 6 types can cause fish eye. This virus can be transmitted through infected skin.
- People who bathe in public baths are at a higher risk because many people use the area (usually barefoot). For example, swimmers (both indoor and outdoor) are at high risk if they use the bathroom and step on the floor around the pool. This also applies to those who use the changing room areas of the gym, shower cubicles, or areas in hot tubs where people walk barefoot.
- People whose skin is cracked or peeled will provide a good entry point for the virus to enter the body. In addition, people whose feet are always damp or sweaty throughout the day also have a high risk because their skin can break due to exposure to excessive moisture. This allows the virus to enter the body.
- People who have had fisheye before are also at high risk of having it again. For example, people who gouge out the eye of a fish can easily spread the virus to other parts of the body.
- People with weakened immune systems against certain diseases (eg mononucleosis, cancer, Epstein-Bar virus), are undergoing cancer treatment used for psoriatic arthritis, or have HIV/AIDS are also at risk of developing fish's eye.
Step 2. Examine the area suspected of being affected by the eye of the fish
This is a small, firm, flat area of skin that has a rough surface and well-defined boundaries. Although it looks similar to callus (calluses), fish eye occurs due to infection. Fisheyes infect the feet in two ways: singly or in groups (called mosaic eyelets).
- Single eyelets will increase in size and eventually can breed into several small fisheyes which are satellites of the original fisheye.
- Mosaic eyelets are a group of eyelets without any light skin between them. These are not satellites of the other eyelets, but grow tightly together and look like one big eye. It is more difficult to treat than single eyelets.
Step 3. Watch for secondary symptoms
Is the area painful? Although the eyelets look like callus on the bottom of the foot, they are painful when used to stand, and painful when pressed.
Look for dark spots within the thickened skin. These spots are usually called "seeds," but are actually tiny blood vessels that clump together on the inside of the fish's eye
Step 4. Be careful about the spread
Fish eye can be transmitted to other people and parts of your own body. The three tiny eyelets that grow on the underside of the feet can quickly spread to 10 satellite eyelets which makes them difficult to treat.
As with any medical condition, the earlier you find a fisheye and initiate treatment, the higher the success rate
Step 5. Prevent infection from the eyes of other fish
After treatment and resolution, you have a high risk of developing another HPV infection, which causes fisheye. As a first step, wear waterproof sandals or shoes when you are in public places, changing rooms, showers, swimming pools, saunas, and hot tubs. Also, keep your feet dry and clean. Change socks every day and apply foot powder when your feet are sweaty.
Apply coconut oil on your feet before you go to bed at night to prevent peeling and cracking of the skin. After applying enough coconut oil to your feet, put on clean socks
Step 6. Avoid spreading the eyelets on other people
Do not scratch or poke the eyelets because the virus can spread to other parts of the body or to other people.
- Don't touch other people's eyelets and don't wear other people's socks or shoes.
- If you have fish eye, wear waterproof sandals or shoes when going to the bathroom at home to prevent transmission to other family members.
- Do not put clothes, socks, and towels on the floors of public changing rooms and swimming pool areas.
Tips
- Change your socks daily and keep your feet dry and clean while you're undergoing treatment, and to prevent eyelets from reappearing.
- Wear waterproof sandals or shoes when you are in public locker rooms, showers, and areas around saunas, swimming pools, and hot tubs.
- If you have fish eye, wear special socks in the pool to prevent the spread of the virus.
Warning
- Never try slicing eyelets at home. This can result in bleeding and infection.
- If you have diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, or coronary artery disease, leave your fish eye treatment to a podiatrist, a foot specialist.
- You will not suffer from fish eye just from touching frogs, toads, cockroaches, and the like.
