Many people are ready to put up with wrinkles, get along with age spots, patiently wait for acne to pass, and even love not too beautiful moles on their own body, but if a wart appears on their skin, the only verdict is to get rid of it immediately.
Warts are benign skin neoplasms (in most cases) caused by various types of human papillomavirus. This is an extremely common problem that usually makes itself felt in childhood and adolescence. Skin tumors look like a nodule or papilla, are non-inflammatory in nature, and their diameter is from several millimeters (commensurate with a pin head) to several centimeters (like a two-ruble coin). Warts help reduce the immunological reactivity of the body, increase sweating of the hands and feet. The incubation period in case of virus infection is from 2 to 5 months.
Varieties of warts.
- Ordinary (simple) warts are dense, painless, rounded nodules (0.3 to 1 cm in diameter) with a rough surface. Their color ranges from natural skin tones to grayish brown. Tumors are located on the back of the hands, on the fingers and face, in the scalp. In general, they often appear in easily injured areas of the body, such as the knees. Occur in both children and adults.
- Plantar warts (horny, palmar-plantar) are yellowish-gray plaques with a rough uneven surface. They are located on the soles, heels, pads of the fingers and other supporting areas of the foot. Outwardly they resemble corn, as they are surrounded by a roller of powerful horny layers. These formations are painful, especially in the case of pressure on them with shoes.
- Flat (juvenile, juvenile) warts are clearly delimited nodules with a smooth surface, with a diameter of up to 5 mm, rising 1-2 mm above the surrounding skin. The color is more often light brown, pink or normal skin. Localization – face, back of the hands, legs. In most cases, adolescents suffer from them.
- Genital warts (condylomas, papillomas) are sometimes called “sexually transmitted”, as infection occurs through sexual contact. Such a wart has the appearance of an acute papilla of a pale pink color on a thin stalk, its elements can merge, forming vegetation resembling cauliflower. Often develop on the genitals, in the inguinal and intergluteal folds with unclean skin content.
- Viral warts of the oral cavity are usually located in its front, at the corners of the mouth, on the side surface and tip of the tongue. Much less often they are found on the red border of the lips or on the outer surface of the corners of the mouth. In many cases, these tumors are combined with other types of growths (ordinary, plantar). It is also important to know that, despite the unusual localization, in essence it is either flat or peaked warts.
Since warts may be similar to some other skin neoplasms, which sometimes have an unfavorable course, a dermatologist should be consulted when a nodule appears. However, it is not necessary that when a wart is recognized in your case, the doctor will advise you to remove it, because sometimes this can cause more harm to the body than leaving it in place. The main indicators to get rid of the growth are a noticeable change in its color and size, bleeding, overgrowth and pain. Of the surgical methods for removing warts, the most popular are:
- Surgical operation (using a scalpel)
- Cryodestruction, cryotherapy (freezing a wart with liquid nitrogen, dimethyl ether, a mixture of dimethylether and propane or “dry ice”)
- Radio wave surgery, electrocoagulation (use of high-frequency currents, galvanic current, d’Arsonval current)
- Laser technology (laser wart removal)
The first two methods are considered painful, suggest a long healing period, do not exclude the formation of a scar (scar) and the reappearance of a wart. The last two methods, on the contrary, suggest a bloodless, quick and painless operation, and the recovery period of the skin is shorter, most often there are no traces of intervention at the site of the wart. In complex therapy, a number of medical methods of treatment are also used.