Warts on the hands are neoplasms that are mostly benign. The appearance of such growths is associated with increased activity of human papillomavirus. The disease is highly contagious and requires special complex therapy.
Causes of warts on the hands
Warts are an unpleasant external manifestation of an infectious skin disease. The culprit is the human papilloma virus.
How HPV infection occurs, which provokes the growth of warts on the hands:
- Contact method. . . Most often, infection with this pathogenic microorganism occurs through direct contact between the skin of a healthy person and an infected person. A simple handshake may be enough. Therefore, the most common occurrence is the appearance of warts on the hands, as the hands are the most contact part of the body. In addition to this option, it is possible to note the possibility of transmitting the pathogen using things and objects that the carrier of the disease has touched. Therefore, you can be infected by relatives at home. Sometimes the virus survives for some time on various wet surfaces, such as bathrooms, locker rooms, public transport and more.
- Autoinfection. . . If such a neoplasm has appeared on one part of the body, then there is a possible risk of self-infection. More precisely, the spread of the virus in healthy tissues. This happens when the growths are traumatized by nails or various objects. If the hygiene of the wound and hands is not done in time, then an increase in the lesion can easily be provoked.
- From mother to child. . . According to this option, the child is infected by the mother during birth.
It should be noted that sexual contact with a carrier of the virus is rarely the cause of warts on the hands. This method of transmission often causes other types of benign neoplasms.
HPV is highly contagious. It is difficult to avoid infection. The disease affects both men and women, both adults and children. Warts on the hands most often appear in children and adolescents.
From the moment the virus enters the body to the appearance of the first external manifestations, it can take from 1 to 6 months. Although in some cases there is only a transport in which the warts never start to grow. This is possible if the person's immunity is strong enough and does not allow the virus to multiply and activate.
Thus, HPV can wait a long time for the right moment - a significant weakening of the immune system.
Different types of mental trauma, improper work and rest regime, drug abuse, unbalanced diet, adherence to bad habits and adverse environmental conditions can affect the immune status in the direction of its reduction.
The predisposing factors for the appearance of these formations are numerous, consider the most obvious reasons for the appearance of warts on the hands:
- Acute and chronic diseases. . . Any disease and lack of timely and competent treatment can significantly weaken the immune system. Increased risk of HPV infection with the development of warts on the hands is in HIV, eczema, psoriasis and others. The risk of the virus penetrating the epidermis increases with the presence of even the smallest cracks in the skin.
- Individual characteristics. . . Hyperhidrosis, ie increased sweating of the palms is a provoking factor, ie encourages the formation of special pathological microflora and high humidity, which are favorable conditions for the reproduction of HPV.
- Failure to follow the rules of personal hygiene. . . Explaining the reasons for the appearance of warts on your hands in the absence of skin care is quite simple. For example, dry skin can provoke the formation of small cracks and irritation, through which the virus can safely penetrate inside. It should be noted that the infection can be prevented even after handling an infected person, if it is common to wash your hands in time.
With strong protective functions, the body can cope with the infection on its own. In the best case, recovery occurs after 2-3 months. According to statistics, this is about 20% of all cases. Sometimes the self-help recovery process takes 2 years.
What do warts look like on your hands?
Many people, after discovering skin neoplasms in themselves, wonder how to cure warts on their hands. However, before starting treatment, you must make sure that you have exactly the warts and therefore you must be able to distinguish these benign growths from others - corns, keratosis, lichen planus and molluscum contagiosum.
The most important difference is that warts on the hands and other parts of the body have small blood vessels. This can be understood by accidentally injuring the growth or by trying to remove it yourself - bleeding of varying intensity occurs.
The color spectrum of benign and safe warts is diverse. The growths can be flesh-colored, light yellow, light brown, gray-brown. Sometimes black dots can be observed on their surface - places of thrombosed vessels. At the same time, the staining of neoplasms caused by human papillomavirus in bright brown, black is not typical. Any change in color should alert the person and promptly go to the hospital to determine how to treat warts on the hands. Fears must also be caused by those growths that become inflamed, purulent, and begin to grow at an accelerated rate.
The size of the warts varies from 1 to 10 mm. They are single or formed in groups of several. With a very weak immune response, the neoplasm's tissues grow rapidly. Individual growths can grow together.
Each type of wart provokes hyperkeratosis - excessive thickening of the upper layer of the epidermis. That is why such growths are easily felt, they stand out clearly against the background of healthy cells with a coarser and stronger structure.
Two types of warts most often appear on the hands:
- Ordinary warts. . . They are also called vulgar. Hands are a favorite place for this type of neoplasm. It can easily spread on the skin of the face. The color is fleshy, yellow-brown or grayish. It is on such warts that blackheads can often be seen. The growths are keratinized elevations above the skin. In shape, such warts on the hands look like a knot or dome papule. Their structure is dense, the surface is uneven with small hairs, characterized by increased dryness of tissues. The size is usually 2 to 7 mm in diameter. Most often they do not cause pain.
- Superficial flat warts. . . Another name is youth. The back of the hands is often affected. Color - from pale yellow to brown. In appearance they look like flat knots with a round or irregular shape. The size is 3-4 mm. They practically do not protrude above the skin.
- Flat warts are deep. . . The second type of flat warts. Representatives of this species grow inward. They are very specific entities. They also have an irregular shape, color from pale yellow to brown. It is not particularly prominent above the skin, but there is a slight depression in the middle of the outer surface of the accumulation. The size of a single neoplasm is 3-4 mm. Most often, deep warts on the hands require treatment. they, as a rule, deliver quite strong painful sensations.
Warts are a source of infection. At the same time, they bring great physical discomfort to their owner and form complexes in him, embarrassment of their appearance, as the hands are almost always visible. Therefore, even without the presence of pain and dangerous changes in the structure of such growths, it is advisable to go to the hospital and learn how to remove warts on the hands.
Ways to treat warts on the hands
Determining the causes of warts on the hands and treatment should be performed by a qualified physician who has not only knowledge and experience, but also all the tools for diagnosis. Thus, with the help of laboratory tests determine the type of human papilloma virus, viral load, assess the risks of adverse effects. Based on the results, a complex therapy is prescribed, which includes not only medication, but also instrumental removal of neoplasms that are dangerous. Self-medication can often lead to a lack of therapeutic effect or the development of complications.
Treatment of warts on the hands with drugs
Dermatologist deals with the treatment of warts on the hands. Its main task is to suppress the activity of the virus and prevent the spread of infection. Therefore, antiviral drugs are used for both external use and oral administration.
The most popular remedies used to treat warty hands are:
- Ointments for disinfection and virus control. . . Topical treatment can reduce the spread of infection through the skin, thus reducing the risk of infection for others. Many drugs effectively suppress the activity of the virus, slowing the uncontrolled growth of neoplasms. They also contribute to the rapid healing of skin lesions, relieve inflammation.
- External means of destroying growths. . . The active substances have an aggressive effect on growth cells, promote their destruction and provoke the complete removal of warts on the hands and other parts of the body. It is desirable to use them in the walls of a medical institution to avoid side effects in the form of injury to healthy tissues. Separately, we can note the spray with dimethyl ether and propane. The drug works on the principle of cryodestruction and effectively removes epithelial tumors caused by HPV.
It should be noted that no specific drug against human papillomavirus has been identified to date. However, there are drugs that can reduce viral activity and stop the growth of warts on the hands, feet and other parts of the body. So, in a separate column it is worth highlighting drugs intended for oral administration. They actively stimulate the immune system, helping the body to produce special immune cells, and are also able to have a visible antiviral effect.
Popular drugs with antiviral and immunostimulatory activity used to treat HPV in the presence of warts on the hands:
- Preparation with inosine. The strong antiviral effect is complemented by a stimulating effect on the immune system. A complete solution to the problem of HPV from different strains provides an increase in the immune response and suppression of viral activity.
- Synthetic analogue of purine nucleoside. It is a direct-acting drug that targets viruses, including HPV. The result of treatment is a visible reduction in viral activity.
- Inducer of endogenous interferon synthesis. The action is specific - it activates the body's defenses, triggering many immune processes. Accelerates interferon production.
- Preparation with meglumine acridone acetate. Increases the body's resistance to the effects of HPV. Reduces viral load and stops the growth of warts on the hands.
- A popular immunostimulating drug. The increase in the immune response leads to the fact that the virus loses its ability to integrate into healthy cells, while its population is significantly reduced.
If there is a strong decline in health, then the doctor will recommend taking vitamin and mineral complexes to restore the balance of nutrients and the work of each structural unit of the body.
After complete treatment of warts on the hands, examinations of patients show that complex therapy has a great effect, and the recurrence rate is much lower than simply removing epithelial tumors by instrumental methods without the use of antiviral and immunostimulatory drugs.
Removal of warts on the hands with instrumental methods
Removal of the affected epithelium is a mandatory procedure if the warts cause discomfort, grow rapidly and change their structure, or are often injured. In addition, any mechanical impact on the growths can provoke bleeding, the addition of secondary infection, the development of the inflammatory process. Therefore, it is strongly recommended not to remove warts on your hands yourself.
There are a number of modern methods for instrumental removal of skin neoplasms. They are characterized by a high degree of efficiency. Most of them are considered minimally invasive. Painlessness during the procedures is provided by local anesthesia.
The most popular methods for instrumental destruction of warts on the hands are:
- Electrocoagulation. . . This method is great for removing vulgar warts that protrude above the level of the skin, although it also helps get rid of deep epithelial neoplasms. A special device with a loop at the end synthesizes high-frequency current and simply cuts off the accumulation. No bleeding occurs during the manipulation. The resulting crust leaves within 5-7 days. Scar after electrocoagulation remains only after deep exposure.
- Surgical excision. . . In most cases, it is prescribed if it is necessary to take a sample of the growth for analysis and in the presence of a large lesion. Removal of warts on the hands is performed with the help of a surgical scalpel. Healthy tissue is often excised during this procedure. After the procedure, cosmetic sutures are applied for 7-10 days. After complete healing of the tissues, scars may remain. The cost of the operation is calculated individually for each patient.
- Laser removal. . . According to many criteria, it is considered the most successful method - a minimum of pain, high safety, accurate effect on education. With the help of a laser, the cells of the wart on the hands are burned. The remaining indentations are tightened after 2-3 weeks.
- Cryodestruction. . . Deep tissue freezing, performed in seconds, provokes the death of treated tissues. Under the influence of liquid nitrogen, the wart on the hands begins to fade slightly and thicken. The tissue around it swells slightly and may turn red. The wart body is then transformed into a bubble that can be filled with fluid. Within a week it shrinks and in its place remains a crust. The skin's recovery time from this point is about 2 weeks.
The crusts, blisters and wounds formed as a result of the procedures should never be torn off. This can lead to infection and a longer recovery time. Also, due to such actions, unattractive scars often remain.
The cost of each procedure depends on the location of the warts on the hands, the number of growths and the total area of the lesion. Also, different clinics may offer the same service at different prices, depending on the type of equipment used and the qualifications of the medical staff.
Treatment of warts on the hands with folk remedies
Many people refuse to see a doctor for various reasons and seek answers to the question of how to get rid of warts on their hands at home.
To remove warts and fight the human papilloma virus, folk healers use many improvised means, food and plants. However, you should understand that the effectiveness of traditional medicine in the treatment of HPV is quite low, so you should not rely on it, refusing to take medication and professional removal of skin growths.
In some cases, your doctor may recommend supplementing traditional methods of treating warts on the hands with folk remedies. Among the tasks are the same - maintaining immunity and increasing the body's antiviral activity, normalizing the balance of nutrients, and local antiseptic treatment.
Recipes for effective folk remedies:
- Herbal infusion. . . For cooking, take 25 g of birch leaves, juniper needles, dandelion root, plantain leaf, chicory root and 30 g of nettle leaves, agina and horsetail grass. All ingredients are poured boiling water in a volume of 1 liter, boil for 10 minutes on low heat, insist 10-12 hours. It should be taken four times a day, half a glass.
- Infusion of herbs. . . For cooking, take wormwood herb (10 g), birch buds (15 g), lemon balm herb (20 g), thyme herb (25 g) and juniper berries (30 g). All ingredients are mixed. For cooking, take 40 g of the herbal mixture, pour 400-500 ml of boiling water, insist for 1-1, 5 hours, filter and take inside. The dose received is calculated in 1 day. The treatment of warts on the hands is from 2 to 5 weeks.
- Hand baths. . . The starting material is tea tree oil (3 drops) and lemon juice (half of the fruit). Both ingredients are diluted in 2 cups of warm water. Put in the palm mixture and hold for 20 minutes. After the procedure, the softened wart particles on the hands should be removed. The tool has an antiviral effect, softens the skin, accelerates tissue regeneration and fights pathogens.
- Lemon-pine mixture for warts. . . It is necessary to mix lemon and pine oil in equal proportions. The resulting mixture is applied to the affected areas 3-5 times a day to soften the growths, have an antiseptic effect and accelerate the regeneration of healthy tissues.
- Applications for warts. . . Patchouli oil is applied to a bactericidal patch and applied to the buildup. Such applications can take several hours. To speed up the therapeutic effect, the procedure should be performed 2-3 times a day until the wart on the hands disappears completely.
- Wormwood tincture. . . Crushed dry wormwood grass in a volume of 60 g is poured with 250 ml of boiling water. Insist 2, 5 hours in a thermos, filter. A gauze bandage is impregnated in the infusion and compresses are made twice a day.
Sometimes it is practiced to remove warts with celandine, onion, potato juice, lemon, kalanchoe, acetic acid.
Real patient feedback for the treatment of warts on the hands
The choice of treatment methods is the prerogative of doctors, but it will not be superfluous to learn about the possible options for HPV therapy and methods of removing neoplasms before going to the hospital. The feedback on the treatment of warts on the hands, left in the Internet forums, will help to pre-evaluate the effectiveness of a particular scheme. We suggest you read some stories to eliminate the external manifestations of HPV:
- "My child has warts on his hands. He was immediately simply smeared with antiseptic, but when they began to grow near the nails, there was pain. We decided to eliminate it in the safest and most effective way, as we were told - by radio waves. The son really did not complain of pain during the procedure, there was no blood. The skin recovered very quickly. Then they took an interferon-based drug. There are no warts now. "
- "I got these growths all of a sudden. They were very sick. At home I tried garlic and applied celandine, but to no avail. They had to be removed with a laser, the warts on my hands were deep, so the scars were deep. It took about two weeks for the scars to heal, the scars gradually healed, but I still took antiviral pills and immune medication.
- "But the people's funds did not help me, they only started a wound. I had to go to the surgeon, because a lot of this dirt has grown. It's good that the doctor didn't disfigure my fingers too much, but sewed them up carefully. It took about three weeks to recover. Now I take pills and make decoctions to regenerate the skin. "
Treating warts on the hands is a responsible business. Prescribing drugs and determining the best method of destruction should be done exclusively by a qualified medical professional to prevent the spread of the disease and reduce the risk of infection to others.