Not sure if this is a corn on my big toe or what it is?

Hello Anonymous,

Welcome to EmpowHER. Thank you for reaching out to our community for help.

Without seeing this, I cannot say if it is a corn. Since you want relief today, consider calling and speaking with your primary care physician, who can look at it.

Corns generally occur at pressure points, typically the bottom of the feet and the sides of toes. They can be painful.

A hard corn is a small patch of thickened, dead skin with a central core. A soft corn has a much thinner surface and usually occurs between the 4th and 5th toes. A seed corn is a tiny, discrete callous that can be very tender if it's on a weight-bearing part of the foot. Seed corns tend to occur on the bottom of the feet, and some doctors believe this condition is caused by plugged sweat ducts.

Many products are available for use as home remedies. These products all share the same active ingredient -- salicylic acid, the ingredient used in over-the-counter wart-removal products.

Salicylic acid is a keratolytic, which means it dissolves the protein (keratin) that makes up most of both the corn and the thick layer of dead skin which often tops it.

It generally is recommended that salicylic acid not be used by people with diabetes or when there is frail skin or poor circulation (because of concern about how the skin can heal). In these situations, application of salicylic acid can potentially lead to ulcer formation on the skin.

Regards,
Maryann