Warts, as you already know, are caused by the human papilloma virus. They can be located on almost any part of the body, often warts appear on the hands. When are warts dangerous and require medical attention? How to prevent warts on your hands? You will find the answers to these questions in the next article.
Warts on the hands
A verruca is a benign infectious skin lesion that looks like a papule or papilloma.
Ordinary and flat warts and genital warts are caused by a common virus - Tumefaciens verrucarum. The incubation period is long (2-5 months). Histologically, depending on the clinical form, different severity of papillomatosis, acanthosis, hyperkeratosis is established; in the cells of the styloid layer - perinuclear vacuoles.
The common wart (verruca vulgaris) is a dense, non-inflammatory nodule, from a pinhead to a pea, grayish or yellowish in color, with a rough surface. Most often localized on the hands. Ordinary 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, with rounded or polygonal outlines, dense or yellowish-pink in color, with a matte, sometimes shiny surface. Flat warts are usually multiple, pouring on the face, back of the hands in young people, mainly in school age.
Plantar wart (verruca plantaris) - a callus-like variety of common wart - is located in the places with the greatest pressure, mainly in the head of the metatarsal bone and in the heel area. Painful under pressure. After scraping the horny masses from the surface of the wart, papillary growths are found.
Genital warts (condyloma acuminatum) appear in the form of a tiny pink papule and then grow into a papillary shape. When the papules merge, extensive vegetation is formed. It is characterized by a soft texture, narrow base in the form of a foot. They more often develop on the genitals, in the inguinal and intergluteal folds with dirty maintenance and maceration of the skin.
Characteristics 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 fingers. In addition, most of these formations belong to vulgar growths, which 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 that are prone to fusion.
Distinctive signs of warts on the palms are the following manifestations:
- Lack of pain and itching;
- The site of the skin defect does not have an epidermal pattern, which usually recovers after removal of the wart;
- Black dots, which are coagulated vessels, may appear on the surface of the formation.
Based on all of the above, we can conclude that warts on the palms are more of an aesthetic defect, which, however, in the absence of timely treatment, can lead to a significant spread of tumors and a high risk of 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 once. At the same time, the localization can be very diverse: from the palms of the hands and the face to the feet (plantar warts). A wart may appear on the palm and even under the nail! The formation is rough to the touch or vice versa, smooth and flat.
Papillomas, which appear in groups, are capable of fusion.
Vulgar (common) warts usually appear on the fingers. Vulgar wart resembles a growth of no more than a centimeter, its color is brownish or gray and is dome-shaped. Black dots can be seen inside the formation. Flat small warts often appear on the hands and are characterized by the appearance of groups. Their color is pink or yellowish.
Reasons for the appearance
Warts on the fingers and other parts of the body have an extremely viral nature, which is associated with the penetration of human papillomavirus into the patient's blood. Based on this, the treatment of warts on the fingers, palms and elbows should be aimed at eliminating the root cause. Unfortunately, to date, no medical technique has been able to completely rid the patient's blood of 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 fatigue, malnutrition or an infectious process. Given the fact that HPV is able to enter the bloodstream by damaging the epidermis, it is worth noting the role of microtraumas, scratches and small wounds, which are not uncommon for the skin of the hands. Based on all of the above, you can re-evaluate the importance of maintaining personal hand hygiene.
Despite all of the above, HPV infection is not critical. Statistics claim that about 90% of all people are carriers of the virus, which may not manifest itself for a long time and is in the blood in a latent state.
As already mentioned, these neoplasms occur due to the penetration of the HP virus into the body, which has more than a hundred species. This virus is quite common and common warts occur in twenty percent of students.
It is important to remember that the attack multiplies quite intensively - through the germination of the upper layers. What's more, the person from whom you caught the wart virus may not have the warts themselves. HPV is particularly fond of skin microcracks and microtraumas, so most of them are "carried" by people from public pools and reservoirs.
If you do not take treatment measures and do not remove such rashes, complications can occur: they can spread throughout the body and even 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 trouble. In addition, they are contagious and can be transmitted to new and new victims by a simple touch.
By the way, the appearance of such rashes should be a reason to think about your own immunity, because people with reduced immunity are at risk. Many stresses weaken our immunity and therefore such people also become open to such a virus.
How to recognize a wart? Around the papilla or nodule, which rises above the skin, the skin will be characteristically light or, conversely, dark. The bump appears more than once, usually on the forehead, cheeks, arms and legs, small warts appear, thick and fleshy, smooth and flat. Rough growths appear around the nails or under the nails, and on the feet you can notice such neoplasms, which are oval or round in shape and which are painful to step on. They are slightly rough to the touch or smooth and flat, they can merge into groups into one neoplasm.
The wart virus can sleep 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 ordinary, flat, plantar, as well as filamentous and genital varieties. Common warts are those that appear on the legs and arms, elbows and knees, and fingers and toes. These are small growths, no more than a centimeter, hard to the touch, brownish or gray in color. Their shape is usually domed.
The surface of the plain or vulgar can be rough, resembling a cauliflower in appearance, and black dots can be distinguished inside. The flat type includes those up to five millimeters in size with a smooth flat surface as well as pink, yellowish or light brown color. These growths usually appear on the face, but can grow in groups on the arms or knees.
The most unpleasant are plantar warts: they cause a lot of problems when walking, causing the sensation as if a stone has fallen into a shoe. They are usually quite tough, dirty gray in color. The filamentous type grows on the face - around the nose, neck, around the mouth. They are elongated and look like soil in shape and color.
Warts also include genital warts, which are also called genital warts: they develop on the genitals as well as in the groin and buttocks and are a direct result of unclean treatment of your body. Externally, they look like pink nodules, often merge, 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 an uneven color;
- if the boundaries of the wart are unclear (in this case it is most likely not a wart);
- if the wart hurts or is permanently injured (this increases the risk of it becoming more serious);
- if the number of warts gradually increases;
- if the wart bleeds or itches;
How to get rid of papilloma on your hands
Warts cause us a lot of discomfort in everyday life. In prominent places they do not look aesthetically pleasing; with inconvenient localization, they quickly injure 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.
Because the appearance of warts is associated with provoking factors, treatment is often supplemented by the intake of vitamin-mineral complexes, sedatives and immune boosters. 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 yourself sometimes leads to bad consequences. Different folk remedies offered by different counselors may not only fail to remove the wart, but also contribute to its malignancy. You have to be extremely careful here. Treatment of warts at home should not include the use of traditional medicine, but the use of special drugs purchased at the pharmacy.
It is even easier to trust professionals from private clinics. Or make an appointment with a doctor at a skin clinic, oncology clinic.
Methods for papilloma removal
Today, private and public clinics can offer a wide range of methods for removing 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. In particular, these are:
- Cryodestruction. . . It involves 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, applicators have been developed that are easy to use at home. They can be purchased at a reasonable price in pharmacies.
- Electrocoagulation.Cutting the papilloma with a thin metal loop under high frequency current. Before the operation, local anesthesia is performed. Complete healing occurs after a week.
- Laser coagulation. . . It is similar to electrocoagulation, only a laser is used instead of a laser.
- Surgical intervention. . . Under local anesthesia, the wart is cut with a scalpel, the site of the surgical wound is sutured with a cosmetic suture. It is used only for the removal of large papillomas.
- Chemical methods. . . They are used extremely rarely because the risk of damage to nearby tissues is too great.
What to do to dissolve warts on your hands
A woman's son was only four years old when warts began to appear on his hands. There were so many of them that in kindergarten the mother was asked not to even take him there. And what just did not do with this misfortune! Doctors recommended burning warts with acid. But the woman still decided to turn to folk remedies for the treatment of warts.
Cut a branch of thuja (palm size) into pieces 3-7 mm long. Put in a glass vial, for example hydrogen peroxide, pour alcohol. Close with a stopper and simmer for 12 days, shaking occasionally. After 12 days, open and keep the bottle open for 1-2 days. The tincture is then ready for use.
You should dip a cotton ball on a match in it and lubricate the warts several times a day. Lubrication up to six times a day is recommended. And after such treatment, the warts finally began to disappear without a trace from the boy's skin. However, do not expect immediate results. So, because 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. She tried to burn it with liquid nitrogen, but the wart continued to grow. She even went to the oncologist because she had already begun to think it was a malignancy.
But at the hospital, her fears were not confirmed, and the doctor offered to take a piece of propolis the size of a wart, put it in her mouth and soften it with saliva. At this time, in slightly warm water - clean, without any additives - hold your finger with a wart for 30-40 minutes to soften it. Then you need to wipe your finger and apply propolis on the wart, which has just softened in your mouth.
It should be secured with adhesive tape for three or four days. It is 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 treatment until the full moon and start again on the full moon.
It is with such a folk method of treating warts that she painlessly gets rid of this unpleasant misfortune. If you have smaller warts, you may be able to get rid of warts on a full moon to a new moon.
Prevention of warts
It is known that it is easier to prevent the disease than to cure it later. This applies entirely to warts. First of all, you must follow the basic rules of personal hygiene.
You should not walk barefoot in common areas, especially wet ones - such as showers, changing rooms, swimming pools; do not abuse such shoes in which the feet are constantly sweating, or at least find an opportunity to dry them well; do not unnecessarily touch your or other people's warts or objects that the patient has touched with you.
You should also pay attention to your general health and especially to the immune system - eat a balanced diet and lead a healthy lifestyle.
It would also be good to learn how to relax and avoid stress - by doing this, you are guaranteed to get rid not only of the possible appearance of warts, but also a whole bunch of possible diseases.