Warts are considered to be small growths on the skin that normally don’t cause pain. Where some Warts might itch and hurt, especially the ones on the feet. Generally, there are five kinds of warts, that would be warts that appear on the skin, where flat warts usually appear on the face or the forehead, genital warts that appear on the genitals, in the pubic area or between the thighs, plantar warts are generally found in the bottoms of the feet, subungual and periungual warts are found under or around the fingernail or toenails. Warts are normally caused due to the rough-surfaced fleshy growth on the skin.

Causes of the warts

The warts are a type of infection caused by the viruses of the human papillomavirus(HPV) family. There are more than 100 types of HPV, warts can flow on all the parts of your body. They can grow on your skin on the side of the mouth, on the genitals, or the rectum. The common types of HPV tend to cause warts on the skin or on the other HPV types tend to cause warts on the genital area. Some people are more naturally resistant to the HPV viruses and don’t seem to get the warts as easily as other people.

How can the warts be diagnosed?

Most of the time doctors will be able to identify the warts just by looking at them. In some cases, they might scrape the wart to look for the tiny dots. These are telltale signs of clotted blood vessels and are common in some warts. In most cases, the doctor might be uncertain if the skin growth is a wart and might send the sample to the laboratory to identify it.

Can warts be provided or avoided?

Some warts can be prevented while others cannot, warts may be naturally occurring, depending on what’s causing them. But warts also may be passed from person to person by touch. It is also possible to get warts from using towels or other objects that were used by a person who has warts. Warts on the genitals are very contagious and can be passed to another person during oral, vaginal or anal sex. It is important not to have unprotected sex if you or your partner have warts on the genital area. Warts also can grow on the cervix(Inside the vagina) without the person knowing it. They can also pass the infection to the sexual partner.

Wart treatment

The warts often disappear on their own, although it might take months, or years to do so. But warts generally don’t go on their own and need to be treated. The treatment might decrease the chance that the warts would spread to other areas of the body or other people.

Warts on the skin

There are many ways to remove common warts from the skin (such as on the fingers, feet, and knees). Consult Best Aesthetic Dermatologist about which treatment is right for you. Also, talk with your doctor before treating warts on your face.

Applying salicylic acid.

You can treat warts in places such as the hands, feet, or knees by putting salicylic acid (one brand name: Compound W) on warts. After you take a bath or shower, pat your skin dry with a towel. Then apply the salicylic acid. The acid sinks deeper and works better when it is applied to damp skin. Before you take a shower or a bath the next day, use an emery board or pumice stone to file the dead surface of warts. Apply the acid every day for many weeks as directed.

Applying cantharidin.

Your doctor may “paint” the chemical cantharidin on your warts. Most people don’t feel any pain when the chemical is applied. However, you may experience some pain and blistering of the wart about 3 to 8 hours later. Follow doctor’s instructions for at-home care. When you return to doctor for your follow-up visit, they will remove the dead skin of the wart. If the wart isn’t gone after one treatment, your doctor may suggest another treatment.

Warts on the genital area

Genital warts must be treated by dermatologists . Warts in the genital area can be removed, but there’s no cure for the viral infection that causes the warts. This means that the warts may come back even after they have been removed.

Note that warts on the skin and warts on the genitals are removed in different ways. Don’t try any home remedies or over-the-counter drugs to remove warts on the genital area. You could hurt your genital area by putting certain chemicals on it.

One should take all necessary actions to get rid of warts and also has to have the necessary consultation on the specific condition of warts.

For more information talk to experienced dermatologists at Noa Skin and Hair Clinic in Kadapa and Bengaluru.

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