Today, there are various ways to get rid of warts, allowing you to eliminate tumors without pain, blood and scars. Skin tumors appear when the body is infected with papillomavirus and can increase in size, so it is necessary to promptly consult a doctor for treatment. The most common methods for removing warts are laser or nitrogen: which is better in each case depends on the nature of the tumor.
Indications and contraindications for wart removal
The appearance of a wart on the body causes psychological discomfort. I want to get rid of this skin defect as quickly as possible, so many are looking for ways to do this at home. Doctors recommend being careful. There are about a hundred strains of HPV, among them there are those that have a low risk of oncogenicity, and there are those whose infection can lead to the growth of benign tumors on the body with a high risk of malignancy. You cannot treat them yourself. This is why it is so important to seek medical help and undergo a full diagnostic examination.
A person who has warts growing on his body is dangerous to others. The growths contain a high concentration of live virus, so close contact with the patient’s skin is dangerous. Sometimes warts grow in places where they are constantly exposed to friction or pressure from clothing, jewelry, or shoes. An injured wart begins to hurt, it can easily become inflamed, and then a bacterial component will join the viral infection. That is why the growth of papillomas on the feet, neck, groin and armpits is a direct indication for removal.
When the immune system is weakened, the virus actively multiplies, so self-infection becomes possible. With it, the number of neoplasms increases significantly in a short time. It happens that a person grows more than 10 warts on one area of the body. If he misses the moment, large-scale seeding will occur. It increases the risk of malignancy significantly.
Sometimes warts disappear on their own. This happens when the immune system is strengthened. The human body begins to produce antibodies that can suppress and control the activity of HPV. As a result, the papillomas first dry out and then fall off. Self-medication is a long process, it can take months, not everyone is able to wait, so he tries to find out which warts can be cauterized at home using traditional methods.
The right thing to do is to seek help from a dermatologist and receive an answer to the question posed from him. The doctor may allow the use of traditional recipes if the wart is located in a closed area of the body, if its growth does not cause pain, if there is no swelling or other alarming manifestations around it. You can remove a wart at home if there are no scratches, superficial wounds, or herpetic eruptions near it.
There are benign neoplasms that are strictly prohibited from being removed at home. These include those growths that have grown on the body as a result of infection with strains that have high oncogenic risks. A person will not be able to recognize them on his own, which is why it is so important to seek medical help if you want to remove a wart. There are indirect symptoms that may indicate the onset of malignancy. This:
- a sharp increase in the size of the tumor;
- changing its color;
- soreness that is constantly present;
- redness and swelling;
- discharge of ichor or pus;
- the appearance of severe itching;
- violation of the integrity of the upper part;
- the appearance of a white halo on the skin around the wart.
Such papillomas cannot be cauterized yourself. If these symptoms appear, you should immediately make an appointment with a dermatologist. Only he will be able, after conducting laboratory tests, to decide what effect on the pathological tissue to choose, how best to burn off the wart: with a laser or liquid nitrogen.
The procedure for removing warts with a laser and liquid nitrogen cannot be performed on people with a history of cancer, blood diseases, diabetes, pregnant women, or those who have just had a cold. Warts cannot be removed if there is a herpetic rash on the body, or if the person has recently sunbathed in the sun or in a solarium.
Danger of papillomas for the body
Most skin growths caused by papillomavirus are benign, so they do not pose any particular danger to human health. However, such tumors should not be ignored, as they tend to increase in size, are often injured and bleed. In rare cases, doctors misdiagnose diseases, considering warts to be various malignant tumors that must be immediately removed and appropriate chemotherapy administered.
It has also been established that warts caused by a certain type of papillomavirus and localized in the female genital area can lead to ovarian and uterine cancer, and the treatment of such pathologies is very difficult and in some cases simply impossible. The consequence may be death.
Concerns should be caused by the rapid spread of papillomas throughout the body, enlargement or darkening of the wart, painful sensations when pressed, and frequent bleeding. An experienced doctor will be able to determine the type of papilloma,, if necessary, perform a puncture and identify the presence of cancer cells.
Description of the laser therapy method
To carry out laser therapy, a device capable of reproducing a laser beam is used. The duration of one session is 15-20 minutes, the removal of a wart begins with local anesthesia, the skin around the wart is injected with novocaine or lidocaine. Only after this the doctor takes the device in his hands and dissects the affected areas of the skin, trying to separate its edges. This opens up convenient access, allowing you to grab the wart and pull it up along with the roots. The laser beam allows you to pull out the tumor and free it from surrounding tissues. Therefore, it is possible to completely clean the epidermis and remove the roots of the growth.
Laser exposure allows you to coagulate (seal) blood vessels. Therefore, during surgery, the risks of bleeding are minimized. The use of a laser ensures a dry surgical field. It makes the doctor’s work as efficient as possible.
If the wart is small, there is no need to stitch the wound after removal. The doctor simply applies a sterile bandage and secures it with a bandage. After completion of anesthesia, the patient may experience pain, in which case he is prescribed painkillers.
Advantages and disadvantages
There are many advantages to choosing laser therapy. With its help, you can remove the wart well, destroy its roots, which means the risk of relapse is minimized. The doctor has the ability to control the site of exposure. The beam is very thin, so after removing the papilloma, no scars remain on the skin. The session time is 15 minutes. The speed of execution and the absence of severe pain are the main advantages of laser therapy. She has no age contraindications.
However, much depends on the technical characteristics of the equipment used and on the qualifications of the doctor. He must be able to choose the correct penetration depth. Using a laser beam, you can remove the wart layer by layer. During the operation, it is not possible to obtain material for a biopsy, therefore, if there is suspicion of the development of malignancy processes, surgical removal of the tumor is chosen. After the removal procedure, a crust forms on the treated area. It disappears on its own after only two weeks. Occasionally, after the crust falls off, a dark spot forms on the skin, but it also goes away on its own and completely disappears after six months.
Which method is less painful?
Cryodestruction does not require the use of anesthesia . This method is considered painless, although the possibility of burning during the procedure cannot be ruled out. During the recovery period, pain also possible . It all depends on the body and your own pain threshold.
Laser removal initially requires pain relief , albeit local. Anesthesia ensures the procedure is completely painless. It turns out that laser exposure is more painful if the procedure is carried out without anesthesia.
But even in this case, the pain of sensations is determined by the degree of sensitivity and individual sensations.
Description of the cryodestruction method
During cryodestruction, the wart is exposed to liquid nitrogen. It is located in a container with thick walls, and is removed from there with a staple, at the end of which there is a cotton swab. The instrument is applied to the wart for a few seconds. Contact with it occurs through gentle pressure.
After the procedure, the formation changes its color and becomes white. To achieve results in one session, the doctor applies the instrument several times. As soon as the wart is covered with a coating similar to snow, cauterization stops. During cryodestruction, the patient experiences a strong burning sensation. It may intensify, but the pain goes away after cauterization is completed. If the patient has a high sensitivity threshold, local anesthesia must be performed before the session. It can be carried out using anesthetic gels or using novocaine (lidocaine) injections.
Advantages and disadvantages
Cryodestruction methods have their pros and cons. Speaking about the advantages, experts note the following factors:
- It takes four seconds to cauterize one tumor; during a session, an experienced doctor can treat forty tumors in a short time, so manipulations with liquid nitrogen are chosen when it is necessary to cure the papillomatosis virus.
- Cryotherapy demonstrates high efficacy with low relapse rates. It is intuitive for the patient, so the person experiences less anxiety before performing it.
- When liquid nitrogen is used correctly, scars will not form on the body after rehabilitation and recovery.
- Low temperatures cause the blood in the vessels to instantly solidify and crystallize, blocking the vessels, so bleeding does not occur after cauterization.
- There is no need to prepare specially for the session.
The price is quite reasonable, it is available to everyone without exception, so this method is most often used to remove warts.
When talking about the shortcomings, experts recommend paying attention to the following points:
- Using a stick and a cotton swab does not allow the specialist to control the depth of penetration of the main component into the layers of the wart. Therefore, several repeated sessions are often required to remove one growth.
- After repeated exposure, the recovery period is prolonged.
- If not completely removed, the wart can grow back in the same place. As a rule, it appears not alone, but in the company of similar growths.
- If the cryodestruction method is chosen to remove plantar warts, the site of treatment then hurts for a long time and makes it difficult to walk.
- After cauterizing a wart with liquid nitrogen, it is impossible to study the morphology of the neoplasm, therefore this method of removing papillomas is not used if there is a suspicion of the development of malignancy processes.
In specialized centers, installations have long been available that make it possible to remove warts using a nozzle and a tip. Using such equipment, the doctor can easily dose the reagent and is able to control the depth of penetration, which means that the risks of relapse can be minimized. But the use of hardware techniques significantly increases the cost of the procedure. And this circumstance can also be included in the list of disadvantages of cryodestruction.
People's opinions about laser removal of growth
Laser wart removal receives mostly positive reviews. People like the fact that the manipulation itself is quick. Some people, however, are confused by the fact that local anesthesia must be used. People are satisfied with the results of laser removal of warts: there are no scars left, and the area heals quickly. True, some people note that they have had relapses. That is, growths appeared again in the same place. But this in no way indicates that the procedure is ineffective. The fact is that a wart is a consequence of the impact of the papillomavirus on the body. And if it is present in the body, then growths may appear again. But no method of getting rid of a wart frees you from the virus. To do this, it is necessary to additionally take drugs that boost immunity.
Removing warts in children
There is no medical need to remove warts in children. Papillomas most often appear on the arms and palms. They cause severe psychological discomfort, so the issue of removal may also be acute. Both laser therapy and the cryodestruction method are suitable for solving the problem. The choice of removal method depends on the size of the tumor, its shape and location. For example, it is quite difficult to remove a wart located in the hollow between the fingers with a laser; for this it is better to use the cryotherapy method.
The use of both methods can ensure the absence of scars, the safety of removal (the absence of inflammatory processes and the risk of bacterial infection), and the painlessness of the operation. Both methods have no age restrictions.
What is better, according to doctors?
Before getting rid of growths, you should consult a doctor who will help you decide on the choice of technique. No one will give a clear answer as to whether nitrogen or laser is better.
Doctors first look at contraindications. If the patient's skin is prone to the formation of keloid scars, then preference should be given to cryodestructuring.
You should not choose a laser if your herpes is worsening. Liquid nitrogen is contraindicated for pregnant women. New growths are not cauterized with nitrogen during exacerbation of skin or chronic diseases. And, of course, the location of the wart is of no small importance.
Consulting a specialist and studying the characteristics of the methods will allow you to make the right choice, suitable for a particular situation.
Do not forget about other methods of papilloma removal if for some reason these two methods are not suitable. Any decision should be made thoughtfully, weighing the pros and cons.
Possible consequences and complications
Despite the fact that laser therapy is considered the most advanced way to remove warts, its use can cause unwanted complications.
- If the postoperative wound is treated incorrectly, it takes a long time to heal, and the addition of a bacterial component becomes possible.
- If the equipment is set up incorrectly, thermal injuries occur, which take a long time and are difficult to treat.
- Some patients develop severe allergies after photo exposure. It can also occur during the use of local anesthesia.
A highly qualified doctor can minimize such complications.
Complications after cryodestruction are also possible. The most common of them is a burn of healthy tissue. It occurs when the doctor is not able to independently control the processes of cauterization of the wart, when a stick with a cotton swab is used to perform the procedure. Cotton wool after dipping in liquid nitrogen is easily deformed and becomes limp, so it is difficult to blame the doctor performing the procedure for lack of qualifications.
If any complications occur, you should contact your doctor. He will tell you what to do with the bubble, how to process it correctly, and what means to use for this.
If the appearance of a bubble is accompanied by severe pain, the dermatologist will definitely suggest opening it and releasing the liquid that has accumulated underneath it. There is no need to be afraid of this procedure. If treated correctly, the wound heals very quickly after opening. If the opening of the bladder occurred independently at home, it is important to treat the opening site with any antiseptic, lubricate the top with antibacterial ointment and apply a sterile bandage to the wound.
Skin care after the procedure
Skin care after laser therapy involves treating the area with an antiseptic. After exposure to the laser, a crust forms on it. There is no need to remove it yourself. The natural healing process takes place underneath. After two weeks, the crust falls off on its own, revealing slightly pigmented skin underneath. If the removal procedure was carried out correctly, the color should even out after two days. Fast rehabilitation makes laser medicine very popular.
Cryodestruction cannot provide instant results. After freezing, the neoplasm cells die, and the process of their rejection takes a certain time. After the procedure, severe swelling forms around the wart. There is no need to be afraid of this. After five hours, a large papule forms. It can be filled with serous content inside, if there is a blood vessel under the roots of the wart, exposure to cold can destroy it too, then the papule will be filled with hemorrhagic content.
After opening the papule, an open wound remains. You need to take proper care of it (treat it daily with an antiseptic and antibacterial ointment, apply a sterile bandage). On the seventh day, a crust should appear, natural healing processes take place under it, they begin in the center and move to the edges of the periphery. The crust disappears on its own after four weeks, and a pink scar appears in its place. It disappears without a trace within two to three months.
By comparing the advantages and disadvantages and features of the rehabilitation process, certain conclusions can be drawn. Laser machines allow high-quality removal of papillomas and rapid recovery, but only one small tumor can be removed in one procedure. Cryotherapy allows you to treat papillomotosis and remove forty growths of varying sizes in one session. But the quality of the procedure depends on the experience of the doctor. When making a choice in favor of one method or another, it is important to weigh the pros and cons.
