Difference Between a Corn and a Bunion (With Table)

Corn is referred to as a reaction caused by inflation. It is caused if you are wearing tight shoes, and it causes friction on the ankle or tightening in the fingers of the feet. But they don’t only occur at the feet but also on other parts of the body, including hands. They can be treated at home by applying ointment or sometimes can cure by themselves.

Bunions are a reaction that can be caused by deformity or can be genetic, but sometimes unhealthy conditions such as arthritis can also be the reason behind them. They are only found at the feet. They can be recognized easily if your toe is bedding towards fingers due to deformity or any other reason. Sometimes they cannot be treated at home but required surgeries as they lead to deformities.

Comparison Table Between a Corn and a Bunion

What is a Corn?

This is a skin condition caused due to friction, mainly on feet or hands. They are annoying and painful. Following are symptoms of it:

• Thick or patch skin: if you have corn, the area where it is will get hard or patchy thick.
• You will notice bumps on the surface of the skin.
• The skin around it will get excessively dry and flaky.
• You will feel pain or irritation in the affected area.

They can be treatment by ointment for pain relief or chemically paring down the hard or thickened skin. Salicylic acid is the ingredient that is most helpful in treating corn. They can also be treated by reducing the friction or pressure on the affected area. People with soft skin are more likely to suffer from this.

Other things that may lead to the cause of corn are if you are wearing heels for a longer duration or if the shoes are tighter from the toes of fingers if you are holding something with the pressure that is causing friction. Some people might get severe conditions such as diabetes due to corn; therefore, they should consult their doctor immediately. 

What is a Bunion?

It is a bump formed outside the toe. It is more common in older people, especially women. It is differentiated into three types:

1. Congenital hallux valgus: these are genetic, present from birth.
2. Juvenile or adolescent hallux valgus: this is common in teenagers.
3. Tailor’s bunion: this type is not formed on the big toe but the picky little toe.

It can be caused due to many reasons, genetic, pressure on the foot, also have gradually over time. Risk factors of bunions are:

• Family history of the same: if any of the ancestors has bunions, the child is likely to have inherited from them.
• Foot injuries: some major injuries can also be a reason behind this.
• Rheumatoid arthritis: This is a deformity that can lead to bunions.

It can be prevented by several methods, by wearing specially designed pads to provide a correct position to the foot, by changing the normal footwear, by wearing shoes specially designed for this, by taking pain relievers, by getting steroids in the form of injections, last but not least by getting the surgery done.

Main Differences Between a Corn and a Bunion

1. Both of them have different names in the medical field. For corn, the name callus is used, whereas, for Bunion, the term Hallux Valgus is used.
2. They affect different body parts while corn can affect more body parts that include hands, feet including other body parts, but bunion does not affect any part of the body but only feet.
3. Different treatment methods are used for both of the reactions. For corn, simple treatment can be used that includes pain-relieving ointment and home remedies, too, while treatment for a bunion is quite complex, which include wearing loose shoes and resting but can also end up in surgeries.
4. They also differ in terms of symptoms. If you are suffering from corn, there will be inflammation skin on the affected area, whereas in the case of the bunion, the big toe bend to the other one due to deformity or irritation.
5. They have different severity levels in comparison, corn is much less severe in comparison as it can be treated easily, and also they do not cause many problems, whereas bunion is relatively more complex and severe in nature, as they can lead to surgeries and if not treated can lead to bigger problems.
6. Both of them also have different reasons behind their cause. A bunion is caused due to deformity or tight shoes or medical conditions such as arthritis, while corn is caused by friction of tight shoes or pressure on the skin.

Conclusion

Therefore, there should not be any confusion between both inflammatory reactions. Along with all the above-mentioned differences, they are similar as they both are caused by the action of undue pressure on the body. It is important to have information about both reactions as then only you can have treatment for them. They are mostly ignored by the people as initially, they don’t cause much pain or irritation, but sometimes it can turn up into big. They can cause infection and get spread to other parts of the body too. In fact, they can lead to time irritation and pain that will make it difficult to concentrate on any other work and even difficult to walk.

References 

1. https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM187306260882601
2. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00325481.1991.11700901
3. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=NftZAAAAcAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=corn+and+bunion&ots=YYJxDwdGiy&sig=yMg6cLXMWA0KfAAwtzTVrPV-y4U