Warts, as you already know, are caused by the human papillomavirus. They can be located on almost any part of the body, warts often appear on the hands. When are warts dangerous and need medical attention? How to prevent the appearance of warts on the hands? You will find the answers to these questions in the next article.
Warts on the hands
A wart (verruca) is a benign contagious skin lesion that looks like a papule or papilloma.
Common flat warts and genital warts are caused by a virus common to them - Tumefaciens verrucarum. The incubation period is long (2-5 months). Histologically, depending on the clinical form, a different severity of papillomatosis, acanthosis, hyperkeratosis is found; in the cells of the styloid layer - perinuclear vacuoles.
The common wart (verruca vulgaris) is a dense, non-inflammatory, pinhead to pea-sized, greyish or yellowish lump with a rough surface. Most often localized on the hands. Common warts can appear in large numbers.
The wart is flat or juvenile (verruca plana, s. Juvenilis) - a flattened papule, slightly protruding above the level of healthy skin, rounded or polygonal contours, flesh or yellowish pink, with a dull, sometimes shiny surface. Flat warts are usually multiple, they spread on the face, on the back of the hands in young people, mainly in school age.
Plantar wart (verruca plantaris) - a callus-like variety of an ordinary wart - is located at the points of greatest pressure, mainly at the head of the metatarsal bone and in the heel area. Painful on pressure. After scraping the horny masses from the surface of the wart, papillary growths are exposed.
Genital warts (acute warts) appear in the form of tiny pink papules, then grow into a papillary shape. When the papules merge, extensive vegetation is formed. Featuring a soft texture, a narrow leg shaped base. Most often they develop on the genitals, in the inguinal and intergluteal folds with uncleaned maintenance and maceration of the skin.
Features of warts on the hands and palms
Warts can affect absolutely any part of the epidermis of the hands, but most often they form on the back of the hand or in the finger area. In addition, most of these formations belong to vulgar growths that do not differ in color from healthy skin and are relatively small in size - 0, 1-1 cm.
As for the number of such neoplasms, there are both single skin defects and multiple warts prone to fusion.
Distinctive signs of warts on the palms are the following manifestations:
- Lack of pain and itching
- The skin defect site does not have an epidermal pattern, which is usually restored after the wart is removed;
- On the surface of the formation, black dots may appear, representing coagulated vessels.
Based on all of the above, we can conclude that warts on the palms are more of a cosmetic defect, which, however, in the absence of timely treatment, can lead to a significant proliferation of neoplasms and a high risk of their mechanical damage.
How to recognize a wart
The wart looks like a mass that rises above the skin, different in color from the skin. Most often, several warts appear at the same time. At the same time, the localization can be very diverse: from the palms of the hands and face to the soles of the feet (plantar warts). A wart can appear on the palm and even under the nail! The formation is rough to the touch, or vice versa, smooth and flat.
Papillomas appearing in groups are capable of fusion.
Vulgar (common) warts usually appear on the fingers. A vulgar wart looks like a growth no larger than one centimeter, its color is brownish or gray, and it is dome-shaped. Black spots may be visible within the formation. Small flat warts often appear on the hands and are characterized by the appearance of clusters. Their color is pink or yellowish.
Reasons for the appearance
Warts on the fingers and other parts of the body are exclusively viral in nature, which is associated with the penetration of the human papillomavirus into the patient's blood. Based on this, the treatment of warts on the fingers, palms and elbows should aim to eliminate the underlying cause. Unfortunately, to date, no medical technique is able to completely free the patient's blood from the virus, which rather explains the symptomatic therapy of neoplasms.
An important concomitant factor that provokes the appearance of warts on the hands is a decrease in the body's immune response, which can occur against the background of overwork, malnutrition or an infectious process. Considering the fact that HPV is able to enter the bloodstream through damage to the epidermis, it is worth noting the role of microtrauma, scratches and small wounds, not uncommon for the skin of the hands. Based on all of the above, you can once again appreciate the importance of maintaining personal hand hygiene.
Despite all of the above, HPV infection is not critical. Statistical data state that about 90% of all people are carriers of the virus, which may not manifest itself for a long time, being in the blood in a latent state.
As already mentioned, these neoplasms appear due to the penetration of the HP virus into the body, which has more than a hundred types. This virus is quite common, and common warts are found in twenty percent of schoolchildren.
It is important to remember that the attack multiplies quite intensively - through the germination of the upper layers. Also, the person you got the "wart" virus from may not have the warts themselves. HPV is particularly fond of skin microfractures and microtraumas, so most of them "carry" from public pools and reservoirs.
If you do not take measures for treatment and do not remove such rashes, complications can arise: they can spread throughout the body, and even if they disappear, they can come back again. When removing warts at home, keloid scars can form.
Symptoms of warts on the hands and fingers
Of course, warts, despite all their harmlessness, should not be ignored, because they can cause a lot of problems. In addition, they are contagious and can pass on to new and new victims with a simple touch.
By the way, the appearance of such rashes should be a reason to think about their own immunity, because it is people with reduced immunity who are at risk. Numerous stresses weaken our immunity, and therefore these people also open up to such a virus.
How to recognize a wart? Around the papilla or nodule that rises above the skin, the skin will characteristically be light or, conversely, dark. The bump appears more than one, usually on the forehead, cheeks, arms and legs, small warts appear, dense and fleshy, smooth and flat. Rough growths appear around the nails or under the nails and on the legs you may also notice such neoplasms that are oval or round in shape and which are painful to step on. To the touch, they are a little rough or smooth and flat, they can merge into groups into a single neoplasm.
The wart virus can lie dormant in your body for years, and its incubation period can last up to six months, so don't be surprised if they suddenly appear for no apparent reason.
Warts can be different: there are vulgar or common varieties, flat, plantar, filiform and genital. Common warts are those that appear on the feet and hands, elbows and knees, and fingers and toes. These are small growths, no more than one centimeter, hard to the touch, brownish or gray in color. Their shape is usually domed.
The surface of the common or vulgar may be rough, cauliflower-like in appearance, and black dots can be distinguished inside. The flat type includes those that, up to five millimeters in size, are distinguished by a smooth flat surface, as well as pink, yellowish or light brown in color. Typically, these growths appear on the face, but they can grow in clusters on the hands or knees.
The most unpleasant are plantar warts: they cause a lot of problems when walking, causing sensations as if a pebble had entered a shoe. They are usually quite hard, dirty gray in color. The filiform type grows on the face - around the nose, on the neck, around the mouth. They are elongated and resemble a finger in shape and color.
Warts also include genital warts, which are also called genitals: they develop on the genitals, as well as in the groin and buttocks, and are a direct consequence of an unclean attitude towards your body. Outwardly, they look like pink nodules, often merge, have a base that looks like a leg.
When to see a doctor
- if the wart changes shape, color or all at once;
- if the wart has an uneven color;
- if the boundaries of the wart are vague (in this case, most likely, it is not a wart);
- if the wart hurts or is constantly injured (this increases the risk of it turning into something more serious);
- if the number of warts gradually increases;
- if the wart bleeds or itches;
How to get rid of papilloma on the hands
Warts cause us a lot of discomfort in everyday life. In conspicuous places, they don't look aesthetically pleasing; with an uncomfortable localization, they quickly injure themselves and cause pain. Therefore, very often people go to a dermatologist when warts appear. Due to the possibility of their malignancy, oncologists are also involved in warts.
Since the appearance of warts is associated with provoking factors, treatment is often supplemented by the intake of vitamin-mineral complexes, sedatives and immunity-enhancing agents. Otherwise, mechanical removal of papillomas may not give the desired results, and after a while they will begin to grow again.
The desire to get rid of warts on their own sometimes leads to negative consequences. Various folk remedies offered by various consultants may not only fail to remove the wart, but also contribute to its malignancy. You should be extremely careful here. Treatment of warts at home should not involve the use of traditional medicine, but the use of special drugs purchased at a pharmacy.
It is even easier to trust the professionals of private clinics. Or make an appointment with a doctor from the skin clinic, an oncology dispensary.
Papilloma removal methods
Today, private and public clinics can offer a fairly wide range of methods for getting rid of warts. Before choosing a removal technique, listen to your doctor's recommendations. Your doctor will recommend the most suitable surgery based on your individual characteristics. In particular, it deals with:
- cryodestruction. . . It assumes the use of liquid nitrogen to destroy the papilloma. Nitrogen is applied to the wart, usually with an applicator, and the formation is frozen for fifteen to twenty seconds. To date, easy-to-use applicators have been developed at home. They can be purchased at a reasonable price at the pharmacy.
- Electrocoagulation.Cut the papilloma with a thin metal ring under high-frequency current. Local anesthesia is performed before the operation. Complete healing occurs in a week.
- Laser coagulation. . . It is similar to electrocoagulation, only a laser is used instead of the current.
- Surgical intervention. . . Under local anesthesia, the wart is excised with a scalpel, the site of the surgical wound is sutured with a cosmetic suture. It is used only when removing large papillomas.
- Chemical methods. . . They are used very rarely, as the risk of damage to neighboring tissues is too great.
What to do to dissolve warts on the hands
A woman's son was only four years old when warts started appearing on his arms. There were so many that in kindergarten the mother was asked not to take him there either. And what have they not done with this misfortune! Doctors advised to burn warts with acid. But the woman still decided to turn to folk remedies for the treatment of warts.
Cut a thuja branch (about the size of a palm) into pieces 3-7 mm long. Put in a glass vial, for example, hydrogen peroxide, pour alcohol. Close with a cap and leave to infuse for 12 days, shaking from time to time. After 12 days, open and keep the bottle open for 1-2 days. After that, the tincture is ready for use.
You need to dip a cotton ball on a match and lubricate the warts several times a day. It is recommended to lubricate up to six times a day. And after such treatment, the warts finally began to disappear from the boy's skin without a trace. However, don't expect immediate results. So, since the course of treatment for the boy was quite long. And by the way, the tincture can be stored for a long time.
Propolis for warts on the fingers
For a long time - over six years - a woman could not get rid of a wart on her finger. She tried to burn it with liquid nitrogen, but the wart continued to grow. She also went to the oncologist, because she had already begun to think it was a malignant neoplasm.
But in her hospital her fears were not confirmed and the doctor suggested that she take a wart-sized piece of propolis, put it in her mouth and soften it with saliva. At this time, in slightly warm water - clean, without additives - hold a finger with a wart for 30-40 minutes so that it softens. Then you need to clean your finger and apply propolis to the wart, which has just softened in the mouth.
It should be taped for three to four days. It was written in the lunar calendar that it is best to start removing warts on the full moon and continue until the new moon.
The day before the new moon, remove all bandages and stop treatment until the full moon, and start again with the full moon.
It was with such a popular method of treating warts that she painlessly got rid of this unpleasant misfortune. If you have smaller warts, you may be able to get rid of the warts in a full moon to new moon treatment.
Prevention of warts
It is known that it is easier to prevent the disease than to cure it later. This fully applies to warts. First of all, you need to follow the basic rules of personal hygiene.
You shouldn't walk barefoot in common areas, especially wet ones - such as showers, changing rooms, swimming pools; do not abuse such shoes in which the feet constantly sweat, or at least find the opportunity to qualitatively dry them; do not unnecessarily touch your own or other people's warts or objects that the patient has touched with you.
You should also pay attention to your overall health and, in particular, the immune system: eat a balanced diet and lead a healthy lifestyle.
It would also be nice to learn how to relax and avoid stress - in this way, you are sure to get rid not only of the possible appearance of warts, but also of a lot of possible diseases.