Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffCorns and calluses are thick, hardened layers of skin that develop when your skin tries to protect itself against friction and pressure. Corns and calluses can be unsightly.
If you're healthy, you only need treatment for corns and calluses if they cause discomfort. For most people, simply eliminating the source of friction or pressure makes corns and calluses disappear.
However, if you have diabetes or another condition that causes poor circulation to your feet, you're at greater risk of complications from corns and calluses. Seek your doctor's advice on proper care for corns and calluses if you have one of these conditions.
- DeLauro TM, et al. Corns and calluses. In: Wolff K, et al. Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine. 7th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Professional; 2007. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2960401. Accessed Feb. 22, 2009.
- Goldstein BG, et al. Benign neoplasms of the skin. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 20, 2009.
- Corns. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00153. Accessed Feb. 22, 2009.
- Calluses and corns. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec10/ch113/ch113b.html. Accessed Feb. 22, 2009.
- Weller GG (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Feb. 24, 2009.
