Warts are skin growths in the form of nodules or papillae. This is the most common skin pathology, occurring in more than 90% of the world's population. Warts can appear on any person, at any age, in absolutely all areas of the skin, from the face to the feet. The disease is often contagious, it all depends on the person's immune system.
What causes warts
There is a common belief that touching a frog causes warts to appear. It is an illusion. The causative agent of the disease, which results in the formation of warts, is the human papillomavirus infection. According to statistics, this infection causes about 20% of all types of cancer.
The risk of HPV infection increases significantly:
- when you use other people's personal hygiene items and items of common use;
- in public places (swimming pool, bathroom, etc. ), especially when walking barefoot;
- in case of skin damage;
- with increased sweating of hands and feet;
- during contact with an infected person (shaking hands, sexual contact, etc. );
- when walking in tight and uncomfortable shoes that cause friction on the skin of the foot;
- when using non-sterile instruments (in a beauty salon, etc. ).
Are warts always dangerous?
Most warts are completely harmless and can theoretically disappear within a few weeks or at most a month. In this case, patients are more likely to worry about a serious cosmetic defect, which causes psychological distress and interferes with leading a full lifestyle.
Warts are often painless unless they are on the soles of the feet or another part of the body that is subject to constant impact or contact. But there are cases of itching and discomfort in the affected area.
How to recognize warts: symptoms and signs
An inexperienced person may confuse warts with other skin growths, for example, moles, calluses, melanoma.
The main differences between warts and moles:
- moles have a dark or black shade, while warts have a light color;
- warts grow firmly together with the skin, moles are separate structures, as if attached to the body;
- moles are soft and smooth to the touch, warts are firm, hard and rough.
It is also easy to tell a wart from a callus. When the growth is pressed, painful sensations will appear, and if it is peeled off, traces of hemorrhages will be visible under it. Beneath the callus is new, soft skin.
You can tell a wart from a melanoma by color and shape. This dangerous disease is characterized by heterogeneous shades of red and black, spreading and an uneven contour.
It is not difficult for a dermatologist to make the correct diagnosis using a visual examination. But a good specialist will not be satisfied with just a simple inspection. He will definitely use a special magnifying device - a dermatoscope. If there is suspicion of a pathogenic process, scraping of the superficial layer will be required.
In the case of anogenital warts (located around the anus and on the genitals), consultation with a gynecologist or proctologist is necessary.
What is the structure of benign neoplasms?
Growths consist of cells that have partially retained their original functions and are capable of slow growth. They are similar in structure to the tissues from which they originate. They can put pressure on nearby tissues, but do not penetrate them, since they have a capsule in their structure. They respond well to hardware and surgical treatment and, as a rule, do not cause relapse.
There are always inborn formations on the skin - moles or warts, as well as acquired ones. The latter are formed on the surface or in the subcutaneous layer as a result of metabolic disorders, decreased immunity or under the influence of a virus.
Common warts (simple, vulgar).
Common warts are dense, dry growths characterized by an uneven surface and rough to the touch, variable size and rounded shape. They appear as a hard, keratinized blister up to 1 cm in diameter, rising significantly above the surface of the skin.
The surface of common warts is often covered with grooves and projections, which is why the new growth vaguely resembles a cauliflower or raspberry with black dots inside.
This is the most common type of warts, accounting for up to 70% of all such skin neoplasms. Simple warts can appear on the skin at any age, but most often affect children and young people. This is due to the fact that they have weaker immunity than adults.
Common warts usually appear on the hands (fingers and backs of the hands), knees and elbows, sometimes on the face or feet, and extremely rarely on the mucous membranes of the mouth.
A scattering of small growths may form near the large "parent" wart. Young neoplasms usually remain flesh-colored; over time, they take on a dirty gray or gray-brown shade, less often yellow or pink. This is due to their uneven porous surface, which collects dirt.
Vulgar warts usually do not cause discomfort: they do not cause unpleasant symptoms, do not hurt or itch. However, they can cause pain if they are in areas subject to impact or in contact with clothing. Growths can heal on their own over time, especially if they occur in childhood.
Why do benign formations appear on the skin?
Cosmetologists and dermatologists do not know the exact mechanism of their formation. Most often the cause is:
- injuries;
- viruses;
- systemic diseases of the body, for example xanthoma, occur due to an excess of fat in the blood;
- long-term skin diseases;
- exposure to aggressive substances;
- excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation;
- X-Ray;
- heredity (for example, seborrheic dermatosis).
Most skin lesions are benign
Plantar warts (spike).
Plantar warts are a type of vulgar warts. The manifestation of the disease is observed more often in children and at the age of 20-30 years. Of all skin warts, plantar warts appear in 30%.
Plantar warts appear as hard, round bumps with papillae in the middle. Inside the wart, the characteristic black dots are visible - many small thrombosed capillaries. Along the edges is a small roll of keratinized skin. The visible part, which rises above the surface of the skin by only 1-2 mm, can reach 2 cm in diameter and is only a quarter of the total size of the plantar wart, which is mainly formed in the deep layers of the epithelium (skin). .
Outwardly, the spine resembles a callus. A plantar wart can be differentiated (distinguished) from a callus by the visible disruption of the skin pattern consistent with the wart.
This type of neoplasia usually affects the feet (feet, sides and toes), and less often the palms. They appear on the skin as small white, visible skin lesions, sometimes itchy. Over time, their surface becomes rougher and changes color - from yellow to dark brown.
Plantar warts themselves do not pose a threat to health, but when walking they cause a person considerable discomfort, cause pain, which often intensifies and can even bleed. This is due to the location of the tumor and the specifics of its growth. Since the spine grows inward, the weight of the body while walking compresses the pain receptors.
The incubation period of the disease varies from several days to several years. The infection enters the body and goes into waiting mode for the activation of a favorable environment. Plantar warts regress without treatment in 50% of cases. But this process takes from 8 months to a year and a half.
Without treatment, plantar warts will enlarge and multiply, even to the point of producing large clusters of tumors. This can even lead to a temporary loss of a person's ability to work due to excruciating pain that prevents walking.
Based on the characteristics of the lesion and its location, plantar warts are divided into 3 types:
- simple;
- periungual;
- mosaic.
Do benign formations hide danger?
Benign neoplasms are unpredictable structures that can appear at any time or not at all. The process of their transformation into malignancy has not been fully studied. There is no clear answer to the question of what exactly activates this process. It is believed that mechanical trauma, excessive ultraviolet radiation, metabolic disorders and other factors contribute to degeneration. One way or another, if you have a benign skin lesion, you should not experiment and rely on chance. Moreover, today the removal does not cause difficulties.
Periungual plantar warts
Periungual warts are small formations, rough with cracks on the surface, located on the hands and feet of a person, respectively close to the nail plate or deep under it. Outwardly, they resemble heads of cauliflower.
They can be flat, pointed or hemispherical. As a rule, periungual warts are gray, but they can also be flesh-colored. They are not very dense, like simple plants, but they have a deep enough root.
This disease mainly affects children and young people. The main factor in contracting the infection are microtraumas of the skin around the nail. At particular risk are those who bite their nails and pet stray animals, as well as people who carelessly remove cuticles, use unsanitized tools and work in water without gloves.
This type of neoplasia does not pose a threat to human health, it is mostly just a cosmetic defect. Periungual plantar warts do not cause discomfort or pain when pressed. However, a wart under the nail is not so harmless - over time, the neoplasm provokes the depletion of the nail plate and its further destruction.
In addition, various bacteria and viruses enter through cracks on the surface of growths, which are easily created by frequent hand work, causing reinfection. Also, as the warts grow, the cracks can cause pain. The cuticle is often lost and a tendency to become inflamed (paronychia) develops.
Removal of the tumor is necessary to stop the spread of growths, which easily spread to healthy fingers. The localization of the wart under the nail plate makes it very difficult to treat and remove. When it appears in childhood or adolescence, it may go away on its own.
Where do warts come from - they are contagious!
Like herpes, warts are the result of a virus. More than a hundred types of viruses are responsible for the development of warts, most of which are HPV. Since there are oncogenic types of HPV, some formations can be particularly dangerous in terms of cancer, for example, those that develop around the genitals.
No matter what the warts are or where they are, do not pick, rub or scratch them, as they can transmit millions of viruses to other areas of the skin where new growths can appear!
It is very easy to catch wart viruses. For example, infected human epithelial cells end up in swimming pool water. They swim in the water and easily find their prey. The wart virus can also be spread through direct physical contact, simply by shaking hands. The penetration of viruses into the body is facilitated by small lesions on the skin.
In children, warts often appear under the nails as a result of sucking or chewing on the finger, which can be painful and difficult to treat. Children can easily catch viruses while playing. As a result, every fourth child has viral warts on hands or feet.
Whether we get infected by the virus or not depends on how strong our immune system is. A strong immune system suppresses the infection that causes warts.
Mosaic plantar warts
Mosaic warts are a special type of neoplasia. They are plaques, so-called clusters, formed as a result of the fusion of many small plantar warts firmly pressed together. The arrangement of the tiles resembles a mosaic (hence their name).
This formation is usually observed in a small and localized area. It can reach a diameter of about 6-7 cm. In the early stages of development, mosaic warts look like small black holes. As they develop, they take on the appearance of a white, yellow or light brown cauliflower with dark spots in the middle. These points are formed due to thrombosis of blood vessels.
This type of warts is quite rare. They usually affect the hands or soles of the feet and are especially common under the toes. Unlike simple plantar warts, mosaic warts cause little or no pain when walking because they are flatter and more superficial.
Mosaic warts are very contagious. They are difficult to treat due to multiple foci of viral infection. The success of treatment is facilitated by its timely initiation. As a rule, mosaic growths tend to recur even after surgical removal.
Benign and malignant skin neoplasms: what are the differences?
Benign pathologies do not pose a threat to human life. If they reach large sizes, they can interfere with the proper functioning of various body systems. In contrast, malignant ones grow quickly and aggressively, penetrate the surrounding tissues and form metastases over time. Some damage vital organs and cause death.
Sometimes benign skin tumors change due to external or hereditary causes. They acquire the ability to degenerate into malignant pathology. Such conditions are called borderline or precancerous, they pose a great risk to health and life, although they do not always have pronounced symptoms.
Flat warts (juvenile).
Flat warts are a fairly common and less problematic type of tumor. They present as small lenticular lesions (a few mm in diameter) or smooth papular lesions. They can grow either separately, which is quite rare, or in large numbers, close to each other.
There are several stages of the disease:
- mild - one or several painless warts;
- medium - from 10 to 100 increases without pain;
- severe - more than 100 neoplasms.
If they are located in places that experience excessive pressure (friction from clothing, shoes, etc. ), they cause pain.
Flat warts are easy to spot and have a white, brown, yellow, or pink tint, similar to the color of the flesh. They are the size of a pinhead and, compared to other types of warts, are smoother and flatter. In fact, at the point where a flat wart develops, the skin rises slightly (to a height of about 5 mm), forming a kind of raised circular area.
Growths usually appear on the face, knees, elbows, back, legs and arms (especially the fingers). People of absolutely any age become victims of this disease. But it most often affects children and adolescents (20% of schoolchildren have it), hence the second name for warts - juvenile.
In a narrow group of students, 80% show resistance (resistance) to the virus. In adults, irritation and inflammation after shaving contribute to the spread of tumors.
The incubation period of the infection can last up to 8 months. Mostly the disease is just a cosmetic defect. Juvenile warts are painless unless caused by mechanical pressure or injury and can sometimes itch, but are extremely contagious.
The virus is practically not transmitted through shared objects; the main route of infection is skin contact. Flat warts multiply so easily that it is enough to touch a healthy part of the body to cause the birth of a new formation.
The peculiarity of this type of warts is that in most cases no treatment is required: they can disappear as suddenly as they appeared, especially in children. In adults, the disease must be treated and the virus is highly resistant to drug treatment.
Transmission of warts through direct contact
Minor trauma or maceration leads to dysfunction in the epithelial barrier and subsequent loss of skin integrity, which paves the way for viral infection and wart formation. The incubation period ranges from 3 weeks to 8 months after exposure. In most cases, spontaneous regression is observed.
Laser wart removal
Today, laser surgery is one of the best ways to get rid of warts. This is a painless and safe procedure that can be used in areas of maximum sensitivity. Laser removal of tumors is very effective: the likelihood of recurrence is minimal. This is significantly affected by the severity of the disease.
Warts are removed by layer by layer cauterization of the affected area, thanks to which the doctor controls the depth of the effect. At the same time, the laser beam cauterizes the blood vessels, thus preventing bleeding at the exposure site.
Three methods of laser coagulation are common:
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) laser. Procedures with this laser are more painful. Although the CO2 laser closes the blood vessels, it also kills the wart tissue. In this process, there is a possibility of damaging healthy tissues. Wound healing usually takes longer, and scar formation is possible. The efficiency is about 70%.
- Erbium laser. It is characterized by a shorter wavelength. The possibility of scar formation after healing is significantly reduced.
- Pulsed color laser. This laser more effectively closes the blood vessels that feed the wart. It doesn't do much damage to healthy tissue like the CO2 laser. It is also the only type of laser approved for use in children. The effectiveness of this treatment method is about 95%.
| strengths | Shortcomings |
| Minimal possibility of scar formation (depending on the degree of neglect of the pathology) | High price |
| Fast tissue healing | |
| High efficiency of the method | |
| Minimal damage to healthy tissue | |
| The speed of the procedure |
Wart removal is performed under local anesthesia. A crust remains at the cauterization site, which disappears within 14 days. After the procedure, the patient quickly returns to his normal lifestyle, provided that all the doctor's recommendations are followed.
Treatment of filamentous papillomas
In 90% of cases, filamentous warts do not heal on their own (as, for example, juvenile or vulgar warts in childhood can heal on their own).
They must be treated. Especially if these formations are damaged.
For example, if the papilloma is on the neck, it can be injured by a chain or clothing collar. If on the face - from glasses, under the chest - from a bra. You should be aware that such a permanent injury can lead to inflammation of this formation and its pain.
Official methods and methods of treatment
Laser removal of filamentous warts - read a detailed article about laser removal.
The simplest and fastest, but also the cheapest way to treat this type of papillomas. The doctor directs the laser beam at the skin formation, which vaporizes and burns it. First, the skin should be numbed with novocaine so that the patient does not feel pain. And wear safety glasses on your eyes.
The whole procedure takes no more than 1 minute per wart. The consequences are a small crust on the wound. After 3-5 days, this crust breaks off and a healthy and clean skin is formed in this place.
Removal using the radio wave method - read the article about radio wave surgery.
The principle of operation is as follows: a device for radio wave surgery ("Surgitron") creates a high-frequency radio wave, which destroys wart tissue in the same way as a laser, that is, vaporizes it.
The entire procedure is performed in the same sequence as the laser treatment method - first (necessary! ) local anesthesia, then exposure for 1 - 2 minutes (it all depends on the size of the formation to be removed). The consequences of radio wave treatment are exactly the same as those from laser.
Removal of filamentous papillomas with liquid nitrogen - read information about liquid nitrogen.
This method is popular because of its simplicity. No need to numb the skin with injections, no need for the presence of a doctor. The procedure can be performed by any nurse or employee of the cosmetic clinic.
The principle of operation: liquid nitrogen, with a temperature of minus 195 degrees, freezes the wart tissue. A doctor or nurse, dosing the effect on the skin over time, does not allow freezing to occur in the adjacent healthy areas of the skin around the pathological formation.
After the end of the procedure, in 90% of cases, papillomas disappear by themselves within 3-4 days.
Electrocautery of filamentous warts.
Nowadays, this method is used much less often, as it is a more traumatic method. Papillomas are removed using an electric knife. In this case, a burn and scar is created on the skin, which then takes more time to heal.
Radio Knife Removal
The most effective modern method to get rid of warts is removal by radio waves. First of all, this is due to the fact that in this procedure the instruments do not contact the patient's body: they are produced at a frequency of radio waves.
Other advantages of radio wave wart removal should be noted:
- complete pain-free;
- the speed of the procedure;
- exclusion of edema and infiltration;
- absence of postoperative complications;
- absence of scars at the site of wart removal;
- rapid rehabilitation period.
The procedure is also performed under local anesthesia. After exposure, a crust forms on the affected skin area, which disappears by itself within 7-10 days.
Prevention of skin tumors
Unfortunately, medicine has not yet learned to prevent the appearance of various formations on the skin. But dermatologists give their patients the following preventive recommendations:
- do not delay to contact a doctor if a tumor appears on the skin;
- remove formations only after a specialist and diagnostics confirm their benign nature;
- avoid excessive exposure to the open sun;
- use sunscreen, especially if you are prone to moles and hyperpigmentation;
- do not come into contact with chemically active and carcinogenic substances;
- do not eat foods that contribute to the development of cancer (smoked meat, sausages, animal fats, meat products with food stabilizers).