Where do warts come from and how to get rid of them

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Spoiler alert: Scotch tape can really help.

What are warts?

Warts Warts symptoms & treatments - Illnesses & conditions are small bulging growths on the skin. They look like rounded grains with a dry, rough to the touch surface.

Black dots can be seen inside the wart: these are small clogged blood vessels.

See what warts look like Close

Where do warts come from?

These small growths are manifested by Common warts - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic itself, the human papillomavirus (HPV), which has penetrated into skin cells.

HPV has many subtypes - over 150. Each leads to different types of warts on different parts of the body. Most often, warts occur on the hands, including fingers, knees, elbows, and the soles and toes. Simply because these areas are constantly traumatized.

Are warts contagious?

Yes. You can get HPV through direct contact. For example, shaking hands with someone who has a wart on their finger or the back of their hand. But more often, infection occurs indirectly. Warts: HPV, Causes, Types, Treatments, Removal, Prevention by:

• through personal hygiene items used by an infected person. These can be towels, washcloths, linen, shoes (for example, reusable bath slates), scissors or nail clippers, razors;
• through infected surfaces: doorknobs, floors in showers, changing rooms, pools.

As a rule, the virus clings to the affected (with scratches, burrs, tiny wounds) or wet Warts and Verrucas skin (for example, sweating feet).

However, it can be difficult to establish the moment of infection due to the fact that, on average, Common warts - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic passes from 2 to 6 months between infection and the appearance of a wart.

Who is at risk?

Not everyone who wipes off with contaminated towels, slaps barefoot on the floor of the shared shower, or shakes hands with infected friends have warts. Most often, the immune system easily copes with the invasion of the papillomavirus. But this is not always the case.

The risk of warts is higher than Common warts - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic:

• in children and adolescents. This is due both to age-related imperfections of the immune system, and to the fact that young people are less careful and more often have microtrauma on the skin;
• in people with autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis;
• in people with weakened immune systems. These may be those who have HIV / AIDS or have had organ transplants.

Why are warts dangerous?

Most often, nothing Warts and verrucas - NHS. By themselves, these neoplasms do not cause any harm - except perhaps for aesthetic experiences.

In some cases, people feel that the wart is in the way, itches, or aches. Plantar warts are most often blamed for soreness, which account for the load when walking.

Do I need to remove warts?

Not necessary. Warts often clear up when the immune system defeats the virus. True, this can take a year or two. Common warts - Diagnosis and Treatment - Mayo Clinic.

But if the wart is causing you inconvenience, it is definitely worth getting rid of. And not only for aesthetic reasons. The fact is that you will probably try to tear off the interfering tubercle. This can lead to inflammation and even blood poisoning if an infection gets under the skin.

When should I see a doctor?

A dermatologist deals with the removal of warts. It will also help determine if you have a wart or this growth is something else.

Be sure to show your specialist about skin growths if Common warts - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic they:

• hurt or itch;
• change shape or color;
• bleed;
• spread over the skin;
• do not disappear or reappear over and over again, although you have been trying to get rid of them for a long time.

You also need to consult a dermatologist if you are an adult and warts suddenly began to appear on your regular basis. This may indicate a possible malfunction of the immune system.

How to get rid of warts?

There are many ways Common warts - Diagnosis and Treatment - Mayo Clinic to remove a wart. A dermatologist will examine you and recommend the option that is most effective in your case.

• Salicylic acid treatment. With each application, the acid will dissolve the wart layer by layer. Your doctor will prescribe a cream or ointment with a suitable concentration of the compound. Depending on the concentration, the product can be sold either over the counter or with it.
• Cryotherapy. It is also frozen with liquid nitrogen. When frozen, skin tissues, including a wart, die off and then peel off on their own in about a week. This is not the most pleasant procedure: because of its pain, it is not recommended for young children.
• Treatment with other acids. This method is used if salicylic acid or cryotherapy did not work. The doctor will apply a more powerful remedy, trichloroacetic acid, to the stubborn wart. It will not help the first time either, so you will have to go through the procedure several times at intervals of about a week.
• Surgery. The doctor will simply cut out the wart under local anesthesia. This is a reliable method, but it can leave a scar.
• Laser therapy. The specialist will use a laser to press on the blood vessels that feed the wart. As a result, the infected tissue will die and fall off by itself. However, this method is not always effective. In addition, laser cauterization is sometimes painful, and a scar may remain at the site of the removed wart.

How to get rid of warts at home?

If you just have a wart and do not have threatening symptoms, try one of the remedies that, according to Common warts - Diagnosis and Treatment - Mayo Clinic physicians, can work.

• Peeling with salicylic acid. Pharmacies sell over-the-counter acidic products (lotions, ointments, patches) to remove warts. For the drug to work better, first steam the area with the build-up in warm water and only then apply the medicine. Then carefully remove the dead skin with a disposable file or pumice stone. Keep in mind that you won't be able to remove the wart in one go: you will have to use lotion or ointment every day for several weeks.
• Home cryotherapy. Over the counter liquid nitrogen products are available in pharmacies. They are usually sold as a liquid or spray. They are applied to the wart in accordance with the instructions, wait a certain time, and the neoplasm disappears by itself.
• Scotch. Use a silver tape that is tighter to your skin. Cover the wart for at least six days, then remove the tape and steam the build-up in warm water for 20 minutes. After the bath, the wart can be rubbed lightly with a pumice stone or a disposable file. Leave the skin exposed for 12 hours, then reapply the tape until the wart disappears.

Remember: the effectiveness of all of these methods is ambiguous, and in your case, they can fail. Then you still have to go to the doctor.

Do folk remedies help?

On forums and social networks, you can find many recommendations on how to get rid of warts. Someone advises smearing them with apple cider vinegar. Can You Remove Warts with Apple Cider Vinegar?, others suggest raw garlic, banana or orange peel, and raw potatoes.

And indeed: sometimes after such procedures, the warts go away. The only problem is that after does not mean due. It is impossible to figure out if the vinegar and garlic worked or if the immune system strained itself and destroyed the HPV on its own.

As for evidence-based medicine, it remains silent about folk recipes. There are no studies that have convincingly confirmed or refuted the effectiveness of home remedies.

What shouldn't be done?

Do not try to cut off the wart, because you can put the infection deep under the skin. Or get hurt and end up with a scar. In addition, by inaccurately cutting off the growth, you can spread the papillomavirus to other areas of the skin.

Remember that any local treatment (prescribed by a doctor or self-administered) can cause allergies. If the skin is red, itchy, stop using the drug and consult a dermatologist.

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, do not self-medicate. The funds contained in anti-wart creams, ointments, lotions are absorbed into the bloodstream through the skin and can enter milk or penetrate the placental barrier. This is the name of the barrier between the blood of the mother and the fetus, which protects the child from various infections and harmful substances. Not all of these drugs are safe for children. Therefore, the method of removing warts in your case can only be determined by a qualified doctor.

Can warts be cured once and for all?

Unfortunately they are coming back. And no one can say whether the warts are gone forever or one day they will reappear.

What can you do to prevent warts from appearing again?

Once again, there is no way to 100% protect yourself from warts. But you can reduce the risk of their occurrence. Here's what the experts at the American Academy of Dermatology advise on How to heal warts more quickly and prevent new ones.

• Don't touch other people's warts.
• Watch your personal hygiene items. Do not use other people's towels, washcloths, razors, nail clippers.
• Monitor the condition of the epidermis. Try to avoid irritation and microtrauma. If there are scratches or burrs on the skin, protect these areas: cover them with adhesive tape or do everything possible to avoid touching the damaged area to door handles, elevator buttons, handrails in public transport, shower taps. Note that HPV is fairly common.
• Wash your hands often. Washing with warm water and soap helps to remove papillomavirus from the skin.
• Use a moisturizer or sunscreen. It will protect the skin from drying out and the appearance of irritations and cracks.
• Wean yourself off the habit of biting your nails or pulling off cuticles. All this injures the skin near the nails. Damage can be very tiny and invisible, but the papillomavirus easily penetrates through them.
• Do not go barefoot in public locker rooms, showers, or poolside. Be sure to wear flip-flops or other custom shoes.
• Get rid of hyperhidrosis if you have one. Hyperhidrosis is a condition in which people sweat a lot. And constantly damp skin increases the risk of HPV infection.

This material was first published in December 2016. In April 2021, we updated the text.