Warts can appear on anyone's body. In many cases, they disappear on their own, but sometimes they need to be removed. Removing warts, of course, is best done in a healthcare setting. Self-disposal of such neoplasms may not result or, conversely, lead to their injury. You will learn about where you can remove warts from the next article.
Who can have warts
Anyone can get warts, but the most likely to be infected with the papilloma virus is in:
- children and adolescents;
- adults and children who have a habit of biting their nails or biting their thorns;
- people with weakened immune systems.
In children, warts usually disappear without treatment. You should consult a dermatologist if the warts bother the child (for example, painfully) or multiply very quickly.
Signs and symptoms
Depending on the appearance and location of the body, several types of warts are distinguished. The following are the signs (what the person sees) and the symptoms (what the person feels) that are common to some types of warts.
Vulgar (ordinary) warts
If the child has a wart on his face, be sure to check his hands - most likely you will see warts there. The virus usually spreads to the skin of the face when touched or when a child bites his fingernails.
Vulgar warts:
- more often on the fingers, around the nails and on the back of the palms;
- more often in places where the skin is often damaged, for example, in places where there are healings, or when the habit of biting the nails;
- most often look like a small knot (compaction) with an uneven rough surface;
- there may be black dots on the surface (actually these are small thrombosed vessels) that are sometimes mistakenly called the "root" of the wart.
Plantar warts
They appear on the foot and are sometimes difficult to treat.
Plantar warts:
- appear more often on the feet;
- it can grow, unite and form so-called clusters (mosaic warts);
- more often flat or rising inwards (due to the pressure created by walking);
- are painful, especially under pressure;
- often cause a feeling of a stone in the shoes;
- there may be black dots on the surface.
Flat warts
- it can appear anywhere, but as a rule it is more common in children on the face, in men - on the chin, in women - on the legs;
- Smaller and smoother than other types of warts
- as a rule, multiple and arranged in groups, usually appear in large numbers - from 20 to 100 at once.
Philiform warts (accords)
- resemble long threads or thin finger-shaped growths;
- are more common on the face: around the mouth, eyes and nose;
- tend to grow rapidly.
Should I get rid of warts and why
A numbering system is used for each type of papillomavirus in medicine. It is known that HPV types with numbers 57, 26-29, 14-17, 12, 10, 7 1-5-are to blame for the appearance of different types of warts, from 1 to 4-cause plantar warts, 49, 28, 3and 10 - flat, HPV 27 - plain.
Oncogenic types of HPV require special attention, as 52, 39, 33, 31, 30, 70, 40, 51, 55, 61-64, they can provoke the appearance of a precancerous condition and are considered the most dangerous. When they are localized on the penis, in the vagina, on the cervix - HPV types 16, 11, 13, 31, 33, 35 - form genital warts and papillomas.
The following papillomaviruses, which can be located on the external genitalia and mucous membranes, are considered to be particularly dangerous - these are types 70, 66, 56, 33, 31, 18, 16. Many people who develop warts wonder if it is possibleis to remove warts, is it dangerous or not?
In any case, one should consult a dermatologist to determine the nature of the neoplasm, its type. In addition to eliminating aesthetic discomfort, increased risk of growth injury, it is necessary to treat or eliminate neoplasms, as the presence of foci of viral infection provokes its spread to other areas of the skin, and there is a risk of neoplasm degenerating inmalignant. Be sure to consult a dermatologist to find out the type of wart, papilloma or condyloma and determine the best way to get rid of it.
Do not delay your visit if:
- The neoplasm bleeds or ruptures;
- If the wart becomes painful, itching and burning occur
- It changes color, becomes heterogeneous in color, changes shape and size
- The number of warts grows, many daughter growths appear
- If the wart is located in a prominent place, it is often traumatized and causes psychological discomfort.
Removing a wart at home may not be safe. All doctors agree that removing a wart at home is dangerous and not recommended for the following reasons:
- Self-disposal of the accumulation most often leads to the formation of a scar, scar or burn of the nearest skin tissue;
- With various home methods, it is possible to introduce an infection into the wound and develop an inflammatory process or to spread the virus to other areas of the skin;
Of course, the probability of turning a real wart into a malignant neoplasm is not high, but there is still such a risk and after self-removal of any neoplasm, without diagnosis and hysteroscopy of the removed material, there may be adverse consequences.
How are warts diagnosed?
In the case of warts, in order to make a diagnosis, the dermatologist usually only needs to examine them. In some rare cases, a biopsy may be needed to confirm the diagnosis. To do this, the doctor will remove the wart and send the sample to the laboratory, where it is examined under a microscope. Don't worry - this is a quick and safe procedure.
How to treat warts
In children, warts usually disappear without any treatment.
In adults, warts are usually completely harmless, but unlike children, they sometimes do not go away on their own.
Consultation with a dermatologist is necessary if:
- warts change their shape, color, size;
- warts hurt you;
- the number of warts increases.
There are many different methods to remove warts. The choice of this or that method depends on the age of the patient, the state of health, as well as the type of wart.
Wart - enlargement of the body
Papillomas (warts) are often confused with moles. Warts, like moles, can be removed in the same way. Each of them has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, traditional surgery leaves a mark on the skin anyway.
Surgical removal of warts is usually not recommended, as warts often regrow.
With cryodestruction and laser removal, it is not always possible to precisely control the depth of the effect on the tissue. Electrocoagulation allows you to control the depth of exposure, but the risk of scarring remains. Therefore, a combination of several methods is sometimes used. Other treatments for warts include topical salicylic acid, tape, and chemical treatments.
Basic methods of removing warts
As practice shows, many patients try to get rid of them using folk methods. However, it is always worth understanding that folk methods alone are not very effective, and in some cases can even be dangerous. The correct process is possible only if the specialist fights not only the skin manifestations of the virus, but also its very basis. There are several methods to remove these neoplasms:
- Radio waves. . . A relatively new but already well-proven method. With the help of a special device, the radio wave with a certain frequency is exposed to the formation of the skin. The advantage of the method is that it allows you to remove both the wart itself and its root.
- Electrocoagulation.This term covers the burning of the neoplasm with the help of a special electrode. Thanks to local anesthesia, which performs all procedures, you can always be sure that you will not experience any negative sensations.
- Liquid nitrogen.Another well known method. Nitrogen freezes the wart and its root, which is why it is removed really quickly and efficiently.
To remove warts, dermatologists can use:
- Cryotherapy(liquid nitrogen) is the most common method of removing vulgar warts in adults and older children and is not too painful. But usually the procedure has to be repeated. And the use of this method in people with dark skin can lead to the formation of dark spots on the skin.
- Electrosurgery and curettage. . . Electrosurgery (electric moxibustion) is an effective way to remove vulgar, fibrous and plantar warts. Curettage is a method that involves scraping the wart with a sharp knife or a special tool (curette). After scraping, electrocoagulation is performed and a bandage is applied to the wound.
Often these two procedures are used together. A dermatologist can remove warts by curettage before or after cauterization.
The doctor may also surgically remove the wart.
In cases where the above methods have not given positive results, the dermatologist may use one of the following methods:
- Laser treatment performed under local anesthesia;
- Cauterizing chemicals are usually prescribed to treat flat warts. Such peeling is performed daily at home, for this they use salicylic acid and preparations of glycolic acid;
- Immunotherapy in the treatment of warts is a way to activate the body's own defenses. It is prescribed in cases when other types of therapy have not given positive results.
One type of immunotherapy is the application of a special substance to the wart. An allergic reaction occurs around the treated warts, which can help the body deal with them. Another type of immunotherapy is the injection of interferon inside the warts. Injections can boost immunity and make the body fight the virus.
Unfortunately, there is no way to get rid of warts once and for all with a 100% guarantee. They can reappear in the old place and again in a new place. Sometimes new warts appear to appear faster than old ones. This happens if the virus infects cells adjacent to the wart before the wart is removed. This is why new warts usually appear near where the old one was.
Self-treatment and removal
There are a huge number of ways in which the removal of warts with folk remedies is quite successful, but this does not mean that you should forget about traditional medicine and constantly self-medicate.
Every recipe for removing warts, every video for removing warts, examinations of people and cosmetologists - this is just an introductory material that shows that the removal of warts in children and adults is possible without consequences.
But you should never experiment and jump to conclusions - any tumor on the human body should be shown to a doctor, examined by him with the help of laboratory tests and only then cured or removed. However, we decided to introduce you to some methods that are used to remove warts at home. We hope that this material, as we advised you, will remain for you only informational.
Since the cost of removing warts in some clinics and beauty salons a little scares people, they try to treat the tumors themselves, it happens as follows.
Treatment with bulbs
Raw, medium onion is soaked in vinegar for about two hours, chopped and tied to the wart overnight. The procedure is performed until the wart disappears.
Wood ash treatment
Wood ash, preferably fresh, should be diluted with clean water until a homogeneous slurry is formed, which should be applied daily to the warts until they disappear.
Remove warts with celandine
The wart is smeared with fresh celery juice in the morning and evening. Due to the alkaloids it contains, warts heal quickly. They dry up and leave. The procedure should be repeated until the wart disappears completely. Be careful when using celandine juice, it should not fall on healthy skin, as it is quite corrosive.
Removal of warts and papillomas by cauterization
The method is painful, but according to many people it is quite effective. You need to take a dry stick from a branch of each tree and hold it over an open fire. When it starts to smolder, you need to burn the neoplasm with heat. This should be done several times, after 5-7 days the wart will disappear.
As you can see, apart from the fact that you can buy warts to remove warts at the pharmacy, you can still grow them in your own summer cottage or find them at home. It's up to you to experiment or not, to think, but we made our choice and have already recommended it to you several times.
After removal of the papilloma
Remember that simply removing warts does not eliminate the virus from the body. After a long or not very long time, papillomas may reappear. This is due to the presence of viral particles. To get rid of the virus for a long time, prophylaxis must be performed. How to do it?
Vitamin therapy. Take a course lasting two to three months, focusing on the high concentration of zinc in the accepted vitamin and mineral complexes. Zinc inhibits the multiplication of viral particles. In this way, the human papillomavirus dies once and for all.
- Good personal hygiene. Good skin care.
- Avoid stress, fatigue, normalize everyday life. Sleep should take at least eight hours a day.
- Eat well.
- Try not to overcool, avoid colds after removing warts in the first three months and better - six months.
- Check for intestinal dysbiosis. If possible, take a course of probiotic treatment.
- See an infectious disease specialist or immunologist. Your doctor will prescribe antiviral medicines that stimulate your immune system.
When thinking about removing a wart, first visit a competent specialist.
Papillomas suspected of having a malignant disease are best removed at an oncologist's appointment.
Such formations are best subjected to histological control.
Prevention
To prevent the appearance of warts, dermatologists recommend the following:
- do not injure the warts;
- wear sandals or other special shoes when visiting the pool, as well as in public showers and changing rooms;
- do not touch other people's warts;
- Wipe dry feet with warts, moisture tends to spread the warts.