Cause and mechanism of infection
Remember: the cause of the appearance of vulgar warts is the already known human papillomavirus (type 2). Read all the information about HPV.
In the photo - human papillomavirus
Infection occurs in childhood. The virus gets onto injured skin (abrasions and scratches are common in children) and penetrates the skin. While in the body, it gradually multiplies in the basal layer of the skin and after a few months ordinary warts appear.
It should be clarified that not all children develop symptoms in the form of warts. If the child’s immunity is strong enough, then he can cope with the infection without allowing the disease to appear on the skin. The virus will simply be in the body, but there will be no manifestations of the disease.
But, unfortunately, at present there are very few children with high immunity, and almost 90% of children develop such ordinary warts.
Diagnostics
Therapy based on the most effective methods will be recommended to the patient after he has undergone a complete diagnosis of a common tumor. The most common practice is an external examination of the problem area, after which treatment can begin. An experienced specialist can distinguish a number of vulgar warts in a patient from other types of growths.
If a dermatologist cannot diagnose a patient based on the appearance of the tumor, he will refer the patient for diagnostic measures. PCR analysis helps determine the type of virus and the degree of damage to the body. Its cost is in the range of 700-900 rubles.
Symptoms
The clinical manifestations of the disease are simple.
Rounded elevations ranging in size from 3 to 10 mm, no more, appear on the skin of the fingers and on the back of the hands and feet. A characteristic feature of this disease is the multiple nature of the rashes.
That is, next to one simple wart on the hand, a second, daughter wart may soon appear, then another one nearby, etc.
Vulgar warts on the fingers
Another sign characteristic of vulgar warts in most cases is the so-called kissing warts. This is their location when two simple warts appear on two adjacent fingers, opposite each other, touching each other when the fingers are closed.
Exactly the same location may be characteristic of their plantar and palmar localization, when they grow on both sides of some fold of skin, for example, from a fold when bending a finger or toe.
Caution: Plantar warts appear on people's soles and palms. Let’s say right away that this is a variety of ordinary ones, and they are caused by type 1 of HPV and are larger in size.
Read a detailed article about plantar warts.
The duration of the rash is usually several months. After 6-8 months, or even earlier, ordinary warts go away on their own.
Remember: if simple warts do not go away on their own after a year, and their number even increases, this indicates a sharp decrease in immunity! It is imperative to be examined by a general practitioner or immunologist!!!
Read in detail about how to strengthen your immune system.
What are warts vulgaris
A wart looks like a rounded growth with a rough surface on which there is no skin pattern; the color can be very different
Vulgar warts, which can be seen in detail in photographs in medical reference books, are harmless growths on the human body. They are assigned their place in ICD-10. In the international classification of diseases, neoplasms of this type can be found under the code B07.
Vulgar (or ordinary) warts are usually not dangerous to the health and life of the person on whose body they appear. The only discomfort that growths can cause is aesthetic.
According to the results of scientific research, vulgar growths go away on their own some time after their appearance. This means that they do not require mandatory treatment.
An ordinary growth can appear on absolutely any part of the body. They are most often found on the backs of the hands and fingers near the nails. Papillomas can also affect the feet and other areas of the lower extremities. The intimate organs and scalp are at risk.
Types of warts
The following types of warts are distinguished:
- Vulgar (ordinary). Have no more than 10 mm. in diameter. Cover the fingers and can be single or multiple.
- Flat: occur in children and adolescents, size does not exceed 5 mm. The sores have uneven borders and are localized on the neck, face, palms, and legs.
- Pointed. The rash consists of small blisters that form pointed projections, most often located near the mouth, on the genitals, or in the anus.
- Filiform (acrochords) are elongated neoplasms, reaching 1 cm and capable of merging with each other. Appear on the face, neck, and armpits.
- Plantar. They are distinguished by their flat shape, placed on the soles of the feet, similar in appearance to calluses.
- Senile. Formed on the body in old age due to the aging of the body, they are not associated with viral origin.
Treatment
Remember: without treatment, vulgar warts go away on their own within 3-6-8 months, and sometimes after 1-1.5 years.
When should they be treated by a dermatologist in a cosmetic clinic?
1) When they interfere (when walking, when writing, when working with musical instruments, when playing sports, etc.)
2) When there are a lot of them and they bring cosmetic discomfort (it is impossible to say hello, give a hand, etc.)
There are 3 areas of treatment for vulgar warts:
- Removal
- Antiviral therapy (used for multiple warts and high prevalence)
- Strengthening the immune system (used for obvious signs of decreased immunity)
The fastest method of treatment today is surgical, that is, removal.
1) Removal of vulgar warts with laser.
The laser beam gradually evaporates the tissue of the formation, in its place a small crust forms. This crust will then definitely fall off and healthy skin will appear in its place. Laser removal is a cheap and effective modern method.
Read an article about the laser method for removing warts.
2) Removal with liquid nitrogen.
The doctor dips a cotton swab in liquid nitrogen and freezes the wart tissue. In this case, after freezing, a small bubble forms in the skin, like after a burn, which then heals, and the growth falls off, leaving healthy skin.
The method is also cheap and accessible to everyone.
Read detailed material about removing papillomas with liquid nitrogen.
3) Radio wave method using the Surgitron apparatus.
The wart is exposed to high frequency waves that literally evaporate the tissue.
This method is somewhat similar to laser removal, but in comparison it is more expensive and is not available in all clinics.
Read the article about radio wave removal of warts.
4) Electrocoagulation.
After anesthetizing the tissues with novocaine, the surgeon excises the wart using a metal thread under current (the device works using the method of a wood burner - there is also a thread under current).
This method is performed only in surgical clinics under local anesthesia. Currently, it is used very rarely, since laser and radio wave removal are less traumatic and more effective.
5) Removal with a scalpel.
Performed by a surgeon under local anesthesia. Today, this method is also used very rarely, since there are less traumatic and less expensive ones (laser, liquid nitrogen).
6) Removal with cauterizing agents
Local necrotizing agents are used that cause skin burns and death of the wart.
— super celandine (detailed instructions for super celandine)
— solcoderm (read the instructions for the drug)
— verrucacid, or feresol (read about the drug)
— lapis pencil (read about lapis)
— duofilm (read about the drug)
— collomak — acts gently (more details).
Localization Features
A characteristic feature of vulgar papillomas is the formation of paired elements - kissing growths.
Favorite localization is on the back of the hands, palms, soles of the feet, growths on the toes, in the rectal area of the anus, in women - on the labial zone, cervical canal.
Paired papillomavirus kissing formations are often located on adjacent toes in such a way that the warts are in close contact.
With growths on the nail plates, typical butcher's warts, the processes of keratinization of the skin are expressed. Typical location: hands, forearms. The infection that contributes to the appearance of formations penetrates through wounds and cuts. Appears in people who work with raw meat.
Thread-like condylomas on a thin stalk are more often found on delicate skin: on the neck, face, mucous membranes (oral cavity, ears, intimate anogenital zones in men, women, on the eyelids, mucous membrane of the eye apparatus).
Vulgar warts can be located all over the body; rarely, skin growths appear on the scalp, back, or abdomen.
Folk remedies
Can. Especially in cases where warts are just beginning to appear on the skin, only the size of a match head.
1) Lubricating with celandine juice. In the summer, when celandine grows, you should pick it and lubricate the surface of the wart with its orange juice. Do this several times a day. Healing usually occurs within a few weeks.
Grass - celandine
2) Lubricate with garlic juice, or apply a piece of garlic. The plastic is cut from the garlic and applied to the surface of a common wart. On top is a patch. They do this every day. The result is also cure within 1 month.
Other methods and methods of traditional medicine are ineffective. And, speaking seriously, if you don’t touch vulgar warts at all, they will go away on their own in 3-4 months.
3) Applying nail polish.
The method itself is to read
Review
4) Lubrication with BF6 glue. The method itself and review - go
5) Method with dry potassium permanganate. Method and review - read
Complications of warts
The main reason why patients with warts go to the doctor is an aesthetic defect, which can affect the patient’s quality of life, his self-confidence and develop a lot of complexes. Complications may also include cracking of the surface of the wart and infection, and in some types of warts, pain while walking.
Skin warts usually do not degenerate into malignant neoplasms; they are completely harmless, however, in very rare cases, such a complication can still occur in people with suppressed immunity.
Other complications arise when trying to remove tumors yourself. In this regard, inflammation and aesthetic defects in the form of scars may occur, as well as further spread of the virus through the skin, which is why the morning after self-removal of one wart, a person may wake up with several new ones.
Remember that a completely different disease may be hidden under the guise of a wart, which cannot be determined without consulting an experienced doctor.
Prevention
There is no way to prevent the appearance of common warts. Because it is impossible to completely protect a child from playing outside and from communicating.
But it is very necessary to increase the child’s immunity level against a viral infection. Then the degree of clinical symptoms and manifestations will be significantly less.
1) Wear loose shoes (warm in winter, ventilated in summer)
2) Physical education, hardening
3) Vitamins, juices, fruits
4) Less stress for the child, at least at home
5) In the cold season - herbal infusions and decoctions, with honey (if there are no allergies) and frozen berries
6) Teach your child to observe the rules of personal hygiene in public places
Remember: adults should not have vulgar warts!!!
And if they appear, this is a signal of reduced immunity. We must take measures to improve it.
Appearance of neoplasms
Vulgar warts are round growths with clearly defined edges, rising above the surface of the skin. The main places where such neoplasms appear are:
- feet;
- palms;
- face;
- oral mucosa;
- knee joints.
When you touch a wart, you feel its rough surface, and upon careful examination, you can detect thrombosis of the capillaries, which leads to the formation of dark circles. Such neoplasms are colored pink or grayish-yellow, and the tissue on its surface is slightly keratinized. Their sizes can be completely different, but more often they range from a few millimeters to 1-2 centimeters.
On the skin you can find single locations of such warts, and sometimes they appear in small groups. The occurrence of several neoplasms in one place leads to their fusion and, as a result, a large area of affected skin is formed.
Usually there is no pain at the location of the wart, but sometimes discomfort occurs when the edge of the nail or nail fold becomes the site of the growth.
When is it necessary to see a doctor?
A vulgar wart may go away on its own after some time. But if after a year this did not happen, and the number of growths and their size began to increase, the wart began to change shape and color, you should immediately consult a doctor.
Experts usually recommend removal of the formation, but in some cases drug treatment is sufficient.
In the case of children, it is also better not to neglect the pathology, but to consult a specialist. Seeing a doctor does not always mean surgery. A professional will suggest ways to strengthen the child’s immunity, and after some time the growth will disappear.
Strengthening the immune system
Modern medicine has not yet learned to kill viruses. But an important fact is that HPV carriage is not lifelong. In addition, medicine has a small number of means at its disposal that allow it to remove some of the viruses from the body. The use of these drugs is fully compatible with immunomodulatory therapy.
The amount of virus in the body is directly related to the state of the body’s immunity - the better the immunity, the less virus. Therefore, the most promising way to reduce the concentration of HPV in the body is to strengthen the immune system. For this purpose, a separate course of treatment is carried out, after which the person begins to feel much better.
Finally, there are very effective preparations for topical use - creams, gels, sprays that increase local immunity and reduce the concentration of the virus in the affected tissues.
Do I need to remove ugly growths?
Experts distinguish several clinical forms of simple or vulgar warts. Most often, doctors are consulted about the removal of these types of formations. The warts shown in the photo have the shape of a tubercle or cone. They can appear on any part of the skin, less often on the mucous membrane.
Palmar and plantar varieties are the most painful formations, slightly raised above the level of healthy skin. The main part grows inside the epidermis; only the keratin ridge is visible on top. A mosaic wart is a site of severe keratinization on the sole, about the size of a coin. Localization of periungual and subungual formations is the area around and under the nail.
Forecast
If left untreated, warts vulgaris are prone to spreading to other parts of the body. On the surface of the skin, which often comes into contact with the infected area, the appearance of daughter formations is almost guaranteed.
An integrated approach to treatment, aimed at getting rid of the source of infection, cleansing the body of the virus and strengthening the immune system, is considered promising. A healthy lifestyle, nutritious nutrition and the formation of healthy habits will help avoid relapses, and subsequently completely defeat the disease.
