Warts, as you already know, are caused by the human papillomavirus. They can be found on almost any part of the body, often warts on the hands. When are warts dangerous and require medical attention? How to prevent the appearance of warts on your hands? You will find the answers to these questions in the next article.
Warts on the hands
Wart (verruca) is a benign contagious skin lesion that looks like a papule or papilloma.
Common and flat warts and genital warts are caused by a common virus for them - Tumefaciens verrucarum. The incubation period is long (2-5 months). Histologically, depending on the clinical form, there is a different severity of the papilloma, spasm, hyperkeratosis. in the cells of the styloid layer - perinuclear cavities.
Common wart (verruca vulgaris) is a dense, non-inflammatory nodule, from a pin to a pea, grayish or yellowish in color, with a rough surface. It is most often found on the hands. Common warts can occur in large numbers.
The wart is flat or youthful (verruca plana, s. Juvenilis) - a flattened papule, protruding slightly above the level of healthy skin, rounded or polygonal contours, flesh or yellowish-pink, with a matte, sometimes shiny surface. Flat warts are usually multiple, spreading to the face, back of the hands in young people, mostly school-age.
Plantar wart (verruca plantaris) - a variety that resembles calluses of a common wart - is found at points of greater pressure, mainly in the head of the metatarsal bone and in the heel area. Painful under pressure. After scratching the horny masses from the surface of the wart, papillary growths are exposed.
Genital warts (condyloma acuminatum) appear in the form of a tiny pink papilloma, then grow to a papillary shape. When the tubers merge, extensive vegetation forms. It is characterized by soft consistency, narrow base in the form of a foot. They most often develop in the genitals, groin and interglottic folds with impure maintenance and wetting of the skin.
Characteristics of warts on the hands and palms
Warts can affect absolutely any part of the skin of the hands, but most often form on the back of the hand or in the area of the fingers. In addition, most of these formations belong to the vulgar growths that do not differ in color from healthy skin and are relatively small in size - 0, 1-1 cm.
In terms of the number of such tumors, there are both individual skin defects and multiple warts that are prone to fusion.
The hallmarks of warts on the palms are the following manifestations:
- Lack of pain and itching
- The location of the skin defect has no epidermal pattern, which is usually restored after the wart is removed.
- Black dots may appear on the surface of the formation, which represent vessel clots.
Based on all the above, we can conclude that warts on the palms are a more aesthetic defect, which, however, in the absence of timely treatment, can lead to a significant proliferation of tumors and a high risk of mechanical damage.
How to identify a wart
The wart looks like a mass that rises above the skin, a different color from the skin. Most of the time, many warts appear at the same time. At the same time, the localization can be very different: from the palms of the hands and the face to the soles of the feet (plantar warts). Warts can appear on the palm and even under the nail! The formation is rough to the touch, or vice versa, smooth and flat.
Nipples that appear in groups are capable of fusion.
Rough (common) warts usually appear on the fingers. A vulgar wart looks like a growth that does not exceed one centimeter in size, its color is brown or gray and has the shape of a dome. Black dots may be visible inside the formation. Flat small warts often appear on the hands and are characterized by the appearance of clumps. Their color is pink or yellowish.
Reasons for appearance
Warts on the fingers and other parts of the body are purely 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 has been able to completely rid the patient's blood of the virus, which probably explains the symptomatic treatment of neoplasms.
An important concomitant factor that causes warts on the hands is the reduction of the body's immune response, which can occur in the context of overwork, malnutrition or an infectious process. Given the fact that HPV is able to enter the bloodstream through damage to the skin, it is worth noting the role of small wounds, scratches and small sores, which are not uncommon on 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. Statistics show that about 90% of all people are carriers of the virus, which may not be present for a long time, as it is dormant in the blood.
As already mentioned, these neoplasms occur due to the penetration of the HP virus in the body, which has more than a hundred types. This virus is quite common and common warts are found in twenty percent of students.
It is important to remember that the attack multiplies quite intensively - through the vegetation of the upper layers. In addition, the person from whom you caught the "wart" virus may not have the warts. HPV especially loves small cracks in the skin and small wounds, so most of them "bring" from public pools and tanks.
If you do not take steps to treat and remove such rashes, complications can occur: they can spread throughout the body and even if they disappear, they can come back. When warts are removed at home, keloid scars can form.
Symptoms of warts on the hands and fingers
Of course, warts, despite their harmlessness, should not be ignored, because they can cause many problems. In addition, they are contagious and can be transmitted to new and new victims with a single touch.
By the way, the appearance of such rashes should be a reason to consider your own immunity, because people with reduced immunity are at risk. Many pressures weaken our immunity, and therefore these people become open to such a virus.
How to recognize a wart? Around the nipple or nodule that rises above the skin, the skin will be typically light in color 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 feet you may also notice such neoplasms that are oval or round in shape and which are painful to press. To the touch, they are slightly rough or smooth and flat, they can merge into groups in a tumor.
The wart virus can linger in your body for years and the incubation period can last up to six months, so do not be surprised if they appear suddenly for no apparent reason.
Warts can be different: there are vulgar or common, flat, plantar, as well as hilly and genital varieties. Common warts are those that appear on the feet and hands, on the elbows and knees, and on the fingers and toes. These are small increases, not more than one centimeter, hard to the touch, brown or gray. Their shape is usually vaulted.
The surface of the joint or vulva can be rough, look like cauliflower in appearance and black dots can be seen 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. Usually, these growths appear on the face, but can develop in groups on the hands or knees.
The most unpleasant are the plantar warts: they cause many problems in walking, causing sensations as if a pebble had been inserted into a shoe. It is usually quite hard, dirty gray color. The philomorphic type develops on the face - around the nose, in the neck, around the mouth. They are elongated and look like a finger in shape and color.
Warts also include genital warts, which are also called genital warts: they grow on the genitals as well as the groin and buttocks and are a direct consequence of an impure attitude towards your body. Externally, they look like pink nodules, they often merge, they have a base that looks like a foot.
When to see a doctor
- if the wart quickly changes shape, color or all together.
- if the wart has a non-uniform color.
- if the wart borders are blurred (in this case, most likely, they are not warts).
- if the wart is in constant pain or injury (this increases the risk of turning it into something more serious).
- if the number of warts gradually increases.
- if the wart is bleeding or itching.
How to get rid of papillomas on your hands
Warts cause us a lot of discomfort in daily life. In conspicuous places, they do not look aesthetically pleasing; with unpleasant localization, they are quickly injured and cause pain. Therefore, very often people go to a dermatologist when warts appear. Due to the possibility of their malignancy, oncologists also deal with warts.
Since the appearance of warts is associated with provocative factors, treatment is often supplemented by the intake of vitamin-mineral complexes, sedatives and immune-boosting agents. Otherwise, the mechanical removal of the papillae may not give the desired results and after a while they will start to grow again.
The desire to get rid of warts on your own sometimes leads to bad consequences. Various folk remedies offered by various counselors can not only not remove the wart, but also contribute to its malignancy. You have to be extremely careful here. Treatment of warts at home should not involve the use of traditional medicine, but the use of special medicines purchased at the pharmacy.
It is even easier to trust professionals from private clinics. Or make an appointment with a dermatologist, an oncology clinic.
Methods of papilloma removal
Today, private and public clinics can offer a fairly wide range of methods to eliminate warts. Before choosing a removal technique, listen to your doctor's recommendations. The doctor will advise you on the most appropriate intervention based on your individual characteristics. Specifically, these are:
- Freezing. . . It assumes the use of liquid nitrogen to destroy the papilla. Nitrogen is applied to the wart, usually with an applicator, and the formation freezes for fifteen to twenty seconds. To date, applications have been developed that are easy to use at home. They can be purchased at a reasonable price in pharmacies.
- Electrocoagulation.Cutting the papilla with a thin metal loop 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 laser is used instead of current.
- Surgery. . . Under local anesthesia, the wart is cut with a scalpel, the site of the surgical wound is sutured with a cosmetic suture. Used only when removing large papillae.
- Chemical methods. . . They are used extremely rarely, as the risk of damage to nearby tissues is very high.
What to do to dissolve the warts on your hands
A woman's son was just four years old when warts began to appear on his hands. There were so many that in kindergarten the mother was asked not to even go there. And what exactly did they not do with this misfortune! Doctors recommended burning the warts with acid. But the woman decided to turn to folk remedies for the treatment of warts.
Cut a twig from a thuja (the size of a palm) into 3-7 mm long pieces. Place in a glass vial, for example, hydrogen peroxide, pour alcohol. Close with a lid and let it boil for 12 days, shaking occasionally. 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 in a match in it and lubricate the warts several times a day. Lubrication up to six times a day is recommended. And after such a treatment, the warts finally started to disappear from the boy's skin without a trace. However, do not expect immediate results. So, as the course of treatment for the boy was quite long. And by the way, the tincture can be stored for a very long time.
Propolis for warts on the fingers
For a very long time - over six years - a woman could not get rid of a wart on her finger. He tried to burn it with liquid nitrogen, but the wart continued to grow. He even went to the oncologist, because he had already begun to believe that it was a malignant tumor.
But in the hospital, her fears were not confirmed and her doctor suggested she take a wart-sized piece of propolis, put it in her mouth and soften it with saliva. Right now, in slightly warm water - clean, without additives - hold your finger with warts for 30-40 minutes to soften it as well. Next, you need to wipe your finger and apply propolis to the wart, which has just softened in your mouth.
It should be fastened with adhesive tape for three or four days. It was written in the lunar calendar that it is best to start removing warts during the full moon and continue until the new moon.
The day before the new moon, remove all bandages and stop the treatment until the full moon and start again with the full moon.
Such was with such a popular method of treating warts that he painlessly got rid of this unpleasant misfortune. If you have smaller warts, you may be able to get rid of the warts on a full moon for a new moon treatment.
Wart prevention
It is known that the disease is easier to prevent than to cure later. This is especially true for warts. First of all, you need to follow the basic rules of personal hygiene.
You should not walk barefoot in public areas, especially wet - such as showers, locker rooms, swimming pools. do not abuse such shoes in which the feet sweat constantly or at least find the opportunity to dry them properly. Do not touch your own warts or other people's objects that the patient has touched with you.
You should also pay attention to your general health and, above all, to your immune system - follow a balanced diet and follow a healthy lifestyle.
It would also be nice to learn how to relax and avoid stress - this way, you are guaranteed to get rid of not only the possible appearance of warts, but also a whole bunch of possible diseases.