Why Do Warts Appear and How to Treat Them?

Warts are the nodular growths that affect the hands, fingers and toes, armpits and some other parts of the body. As a rule, the cause of these benign neoplasms is the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is highly contagious, though may not reveal itself for many years.

What you need to know about HPV

Today, HPV is understood as a whole group of viruses, which live in the tissues of the human body. From time to time they can emerge into ordinary, flat or genital warts.

HPV is most often transmitted through contact with the skin of an infected person, towels, shared clothes, and sexual intercourse. Such a virus can easily be picked up in a sauna, a pool, a locker room of a fitness club and other public places with high humidity and dubious sanitary conditions. If the virus enters the body, it stays there forever and, unfortunately, cannot be completely cured.

If a person has a strong immune system and no chronic illnesses, the papilloma virus can remain in a state of dormancy, not showing itself in any way. However, in the case of a weakening of immunity, HPV can manifest itself in the form of wards, an increase in body temperature, and general discomfort.

The most troublesome are plantar warts, which appear on the feet in the zone of greatest friction while walking. These warts are grayish, callous lumps that are extremely painful when walking. Genital warts are also extremely unpleasant, the removal of which is quite problematic due to the thin skin in the area of ​​their localization.

HPV can be treated with special antiviral drugs and immunotherapy. Although, it is not possible to get rid of acquired viruses forever.

Medical methods for removing warts

Complete wart removal can be achieved with several techniques :

Cryodestruction. A wart is burned out with liquid nitrogen. Just a few procedures are enough to completely remove the growth. The procedure is quite painful, as nitrogen contacts the skin at a temperature of -320°F. It is difficult to control the level of freezing. And there’s a possibility that a scar will be left after wart removal.

Laser burning. Layer-by-layer the ward gets removed with medical lasers. The procedure is performed under local anesthesia, so it’s painless at all. This method is the least traumatic, therefore, cosmetic defects at the site of the wart do not occur.

Curettage and electrodessication. The growth gets destroyed with a high-frequency current. The roots of the wart are deeply burned, that’s why after the wound has healed, a scar may appear.

Surgical removal. It is used quite rarely, usually when the roots of the growth are deep. After excision of the wart body, the surgeon applies stitches. Unfortunately, when the stitches are removed, a visible scar remains in most cases.

Medical methods are quite effective, as the wart is removed immediately. Treating a growth at home may last from several days to three months. It depends on the remedy chosen.

How to remove warts at home

You should remember that it is dangerous to cut out the wart by yourself. Firstly, this is painful and scars may remain. Secondly, you may leave the roots of the wart in the tissue and a new growth will appear.

You need to choose carefully home remedies, if you wish to remove a wart. At home, people often use vinegar or garlic, which are unable to burn the roots and cause a relapse of the disease.

One of the most effective methods is salicylic acid. In a pharmacy you can find special anti-wart remedies, such as gels, creams and even band-aids. Before applying the medication, protect the skin around the wart with petroleum jelly or some nourishing creme. The results will be better if you soften the wart by keeping it in water for 5 minutes. Do not use this method to treat warts on a face.

Despite the wide list of methods to remove warts caused by HPV, no specialist will guarantee the absence of wart recurrence in the future. In order to protect yourself from relapses, you need to take care of your immune system, take vitamin supplements, monitor the integrity of the skin, avoid tight shoes and treat calluses on soles of the feet.