What are Warts and What Causes Warts?

Typically warts are small growth appearing on feet and hands of the person as well as look like solid blisters or small cauliflower. These may appear on various other body parts as well.

Warts have a rough texture and they are caused by viruses mainly one of those many kinds of human papillomavirus also known as HPV.

 

∼ What are Warts? ∼

 

These viruses cause keratin that is hard protein on the skin’s top layer and they grow pretty fast. Warts aren’t the same as moles. This is because moles are usually dark in colour and become much large whereas warts are usually small as well as have similar to a person’s skin colour.

Here in this article, you will get to know about different kinds of warts but genital warts are excluded. You can click here for reading an article on genital warts.

The appearance of warts varies based on which part of your body they have developed as well as what is the thickness of their skin. Warts that are located on the sole of the foot are called verruca.

Information page of Medical News Today will provide you essential details regarding warts- it will describe what kind of warts are there, how they can be diagnosed, what causes warts, offer an introduction to treatment options available for people with warts in addition to providing details on prevention measures and complications.

You would also see introductions at the end of a few sections to any kind of recent developments that have been included by news stories from MNT. You can also search for links to details about related conditions.

 

Facts about Warts

Typically wart is small growth appearing on feet or hands of the person and appears like small cauliflower or a solid blister. Warts are caused by the virus and have a rough texture. Several kinds of wart are there including verrucas, mosaic, filiform, and plane warts. Maximum warts don’t require medical treatment as they disappear on their own. Virus causing wart can pass on by close contact of skin to skin and through contact with shoes or towel of an infected person. Individual whose skin is wet, damaged, or has come in contact with any rough surface is much likely to get this infection. Few treatments that can be used to treat warts are antigen shots, cantharidin, chemical treatments, photodynamic therapy, electrocautery, laser treatment, surgery, cryotherapy, duct tape, and salicylic acid. Few individuals having many warts primarily on their face find their self-confidence highly affected. Few treatments can lead to pain as well as irritation on the skin around the wart infected area. You can cover verruca or wart with waterproof band-aid while you are going for swim.

 

∼ Types of Warts ∼

 

As per experts, several different types of warts are there. As per NHS (National Health Service), the United Kingdom, a survey conducted on 1000 children suffering from warts found that:

• 74% of those children were infected with common warts
• 24% has verrucas
• 3.5% of those has plane warts
• 2% of those has filiform warts

 

Common warts (verruca vulgaris)

Common warts will be found with a rough surface. These are raised and form as well as can have cauliflower surface type of look. They have somewhat thickened bumps known as plaques or papules. Common warts can appear in any area of the body but much commonly on knees, elbows, fingers, and knuckles. Usually, they come with tiny dark spots that are from the blood vessels that developed a clot.

Verrucas (plantar warts)

Verrucas appear on feet sole at times in toes and heel. Usually, they grow back into the skin as a weight of the individual pushes them onto the sole of their foot. These can be painful at times. For verrucas, it is common to have a black dot in the middle with surrounding white, hard area. Dark dots are blood supply of warts.

Plane warts (verruca plana)

Plana (plane) means flat. Plane warts are smooth, flat, and round. These generally are skin, brownish, or yellowing in colour. These are also called flat warts as well as are much common among young kids. These usually are found on face, legs, and hands. Adults can develop plane warts but it is unusual.

Verruca Filiformis (filiform warts)

Filiform warts generally are long as well as can be found on armpits, neck, and eyelids.

Mosaic warts

Mosaic warts are seen growing in clusters. Palmar warts basically are mosaic warts growing on the palm of feet and hands.

 

 

When should one see their doctor?

• Those who are sure that it is wart should tell their doctor next time when they visit them. Maximum warts don’t require being medically treated. Maximum warts will disappear themselves. In case, individuals aren’t sure and are wondering whether or not it is some other thing, should go as well as see their doctor to get it checked.
• They must see their doctor if wart leads to pain, easily bleeds, changes appearance easily spreads to other areas of the body, or comes back. Those who want getting their warts removed for cosmetic reasons should definitely see their doctor. Foot specialists (podiatrists) can provide better advice about verrucas.

 

∼ What are Warts Causes? ∼

 

Different kinds of human papillomavirus (HPV) strains to lead to a growth of warts. These wart-causing warts will be passed on to close skin in contact as well as via contact with shoes or towels.

Wart-causing viruses can spread to different parts of your body by following the ways given below:

• When individuals scratch or bite wart
• Sucking fingers
• Fingernails biting can lead to warts spreading on fingertips as well as around nails
• Shaving of legs or face

Individual whose skin has damaged, or became wet, or has come in contact with some rough surface is much likely to catch this infection. For example, individuals with cuts or scratches on soles of their feet will easily catch verrucas in as well as around public swimming pools.

As each individual has a different immune system, few of them can develop warts while coming in contact with HPV whereas others don’t.  Risks of catching warts from some other inpidual are less but it does exist. Genital warts are increasingly contagious.

How are verrucas and warts diagnosed?

Verrucas and warts are simple for doctors to identify simply by looking at them. Your doctor would ask you whether any other member of your family is suffering from warts. They occasionally may take few tissues from wart for examining it under the lens.

 

Complications:

Some people may face complications related to warts and these are given below

• Few inpiduals having several warts primarily on the face would find their self-confidence getting affected
• Few treatments can lead to pain as well as irritate the skin around the wart
• Though scarring is possible, it is not usual
• It is tough to treat warts successfully if the patient is having a weakened immune system
• Inpiduals with the weak immune system are at higher risk of warts becoming malignant for them. This is though rare.

 

Prevention methods include:

• Don’t touch warts of other people.
• Don’t make use of flannels, towels, or any other personal items of people who are suffering from warts.
• Don’t share socks and shoes with people who have verucas.
• Don’t scratch your verucas or warts. In case people do this, it is much likely to spread.
• Wear sandals when you are going out or into communal showers.
• Wear sandals while walking around commercial pools.
• Cover verruca or wart using waterproof band-aid while swimming.
• Special socks are there that one can purchase for covering verrucas.
• Wear gloves when in the gym in case you are suffering from warts on hands.
• Don’t brush, clip, shave, or comb areas having warts.
• While cutting or filing nails don’t make use of the same utensil on an infected nail as well as on healthy nails.
• Don’t bite fingernails in case you are having warts near to them.
• Maintain dry hands to a maximum possible extent.
• Wash hands thoroughly post touching wart.

∼ How to Get Rid of Warts? ∼

 

Most of warts will clear up without needing any treatment. Time taken by them to clear up will vary considerably from inpidual to inpidual. These tend to clear up faster among small kids. Few warts would take many years for clearing up. Warts less commonly would clear-up without requiring treatment within a few weeks.

 

Warts: How to Get Rid of Ugly Outgrowths

 

Few treatments can cause the skin around wart to get irritated whereas others can lead to blistering and even pain.

The kind of treatment given depends on where exactly your wart is located as well as how many in the count are there

• Salicylic Acid
• Duct Tape
• Cryotherapy
• Surgery
• Laser treatment
• Electrocautery
• Photodynamic Therapy
• Chemical Treatments
• Cantharidin
• Antigen Shots

In case warts haven’t responded to any of the standard treatments available, a physician can refer primary care to a skin specialist. Dermatologists can make use of some of the below-given treatments:

•  Immunotherapy – here the aim is making the immune system of the patient to destroy warts
•  Blenoxane (Bleomycin) – it is injected into wart wherein it kills a virus. Bleomycin also is used for treating a few kinds of cancer.
•  Retinoids – these help in disrupting skin cell growth of warts. These are derived from Vitamin A
•  Common flower helping in wiping out garden insects displayed promising results in eradicating stubborn warts.

Antibiotics aren’t effective in warts treatment. Antibiotics are utilized mainly for bacterial infection and not for viral infections. Viruses cause warts. Common warts can be tough to eliminate permanently or completely primarily the ones that are located around or under toenails and fingernails. Several individuals who are prone to warts regularly will have them even when they treat them successfully. As per experts, sometimes more than a single treatment approach can be required for better managing warts.