Warts, as you already know, are caused by the human papillomavirus. 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 the appearance of warts on the hands? You will find the answers to these questions in the next article.
Warts on hands
A 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, different severity of papillomatosis, acanthosis, hyperkeratosis is found; in the cells of the styloid layer - perinuclear vacuoles.
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. Common 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, rounded or polygonal outlines, flesh or yellowish-pink in color, with a matte, sometimes shiny surface. Flat warts are usually multiple, pour out on the face, the back of the hands in young people, mainly of school age.
Plantar wart (verruca plantaris) - a callus-like variety of an ordinary wart - is localized in places of greatest pressure, mainly at the head of the metatarsal bone and in the heel area. Painful to pressure. After scraping the horny masses from the surface of the wart, papillary growths are exposed.
Genital warts (condyloma acuminatum) occurs in the form of a tiny pink papule, then grows, taking a papillary shape. When papules merge, extensive vegetation is formed. Characterized by a soft consistency, a narrow base in the form of a leg. More often develop on the genitals, in the inguinal and intergluteal folds with unclean maintenance and maceration of the skin.
Features 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 area of the fingers. Moreover, most of these formations belong to vulgar growths that 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 soreness and itching;
- The site of the skin defect does not have an epidermal pattern, which is usually restored after the removal of the wart;
- Black dots may appear on the surface of the formation, which represent coagulated vessels.
Based on all of the above, we can conclude that warts on the palms are more an aesthetic defect, which, nevertheless, in the absence of timely treatment, can lead to a significant proliferation of neoplasms and a high risk of their 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, localization can be very diverse: from the palms of the hands and face to the soles of 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.
The papillomas that appear in groups are capable of fusion.
Vulgar (common) warts usually appear on the fingers. A vulgar wart looks like a growth no more than a centimeter in size, its color is brownish or gray, and is dome-shaped. Black dots may be visible inside the formation. Flat small warts often appear on the hands, and they are characterized by the appearance of groups. Their color is pinkish or yellowish.
Reasons for the appearance
Warts on the fingers and other parts of the body are of an exclusively viral 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 be aimed at eliminating the underlying cause. Unfortunately, to date, no medical technique is capable of completely freeing the patient's blood from 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 overwork, malnutrition or an infectious process. Considering the fact that HPV is able to enter the bloodstream through damage to 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 once again appreciate the importance of maintaining personal hand hygiene.
Despite all of the above, HPV infection is not critical. Statistical data claim that about 90% of all people are carriers of the virus, which may not manifest itself for a long time, being in the blood in a latent state.
As already mentioned, these neoplasms appear due to the penetration of the HP virus into the body, which has more than a hundred types. This virus is quite common, and common warts are found in twenty percent of schoolchildren.
It is important to remember that the attack multiplies quite intensively - through the germination of the upper layers. Moreover, the person from whom you caught the "wart" virus may not have the warts themselves. HPV is especially fond of microcracks in the skin and microtraumas, so most of them people "bring" from public pools and reservoirs.
If you do not take measures for treatment and do not remove such rashes, then complications can arise: they can spread throughout the body, and even if they disappear, they can return again. When removing warts at home, keloid scars can form.
Symptoms of warts on hands and fingers
Of course, warts, for all their harmlessness, should not be ignored, because they can cause quite a lot of trouble. Moreover, they are contagious and can pass on to new and new victims through a simple touch.
By the way, the appearance of such rashes should be a reason to think about your own immunity, because it is people with reduced immunity who are at risk. Numerous 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 that rises above the skin, the skin will be characteristically light or, on the contrary, dark. The bump does not appear alone, usually small warts appear on the forehead, cheeks, arms and legs, dense and fleshy, smooth and flat. Rough growths appear around the nails or under the nails, and on the legs you can also notice such neoplasms that are oval or round in shape and which are painful to step on. To the touch, they are a little rough or smooth and flat, they can merge in groups into one neoplasm.
The wart virus can dormant in your body for years, and its incubation period can last up to six months, so do not be surprised if they suddenly appeared for no apparent reason.
Warts can be different: there are vulgar or common, flat, plantar, as well as filiform 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 growths, no more than a centimeter, hard to the touch, brownish or gray in color. Their shape is usually domed.
The surface of ordinary or vulgar can be rough, resembling cauliflower in appearance, and black dots can be distinguished inside. The flat type includes those that, with sizes up to five millimeters, are distinguished by a smooth flat surface, as well as pink, yellowish or light brown. Typically, these growths appear on the face, but can grow in clusters on the hands or knees.
The most unpleasant are plantar warts: they cause a lot of trouble when walking, causing the sensation of a pebble in a shoe. They are usually quite tough, dirty gray in color. The filiform type grows on the face - around the nose, on the neck, around the mouth. They are elongated and resemble a finger in shape and color.
Warts also include genital warts, which are also called genital: they develop on the genitals, as well as in the groin and buttocks, and are a direct consequence of an unclean attitude towards your body. Outwardly, they look like pink nodules, often merge, have a base that looks like a leg.
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 vague (in which case, most likely, it is not a wart);
- if the wart hurts or is constantly injured (this increases the risk of its transformation into something 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 conspicuous places, they do not look aesthetically pleasing; with inconvenient 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 are also involved in warts.
Since the appearance of warts is associated with provoking factors, treatment is often supplemented by the intake of vitamin-mineral complexes, sedatives, as well as agents that increase immunity. 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 on your own sometimes leads to bad consequences. Various folk remedies offered by various advisers may not only fail to remove the wart, but also contribute to its malignancy. You should be extremely careful here. Treatment of warts at home should not involve the use of traditional medicine, but the use of special drugs purchased at the pharmacy.
It is even easier to trust the professionals from private clinics. Or make an appointment with a skin clinic doctor, an oncological dispensary.
Papilloma removal methods
Today, private and public clinics can offer a fairly wide range of methods for eliminating warts. Before choosing a removal technique, listen to the doctor's recommendations. The doctor will advise you on the most suitable intervention based on your individual characteristics. In particular, these are:
- Cryodestruction. . . Assumes the use of liquid nitrogen to destroy 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 off the papilloma 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 a laser is used instead of current.
- Surgical intervention. . . Under local anesthesia, the wart is excised with a scalpel, the site of the surgical wound is sutured with a cosmetic suture. It is used only when removing large papillomas.
- Chemical methods. . . They are used extremely rarely, since the risk of damaging nearby tissues is too great.
What to do to dissolve warts on your hands
One woman's son was only four years old when warts began to appear on his arms. There were so many of them that in the kindergarten the mother was asked not to even take him there. And whatever they did with this misfortune! Doctors recommended burning the warts with acid. But the woman still decided to turn to folk remedies for the treatment of warts.
Cut a branch of a thuja (the size of a palm) into pieces 3–7 mm long. Place in a glass vial, for example, hydrogen peroxide, pour alcohol. Close with a stopper and let it brew 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 on a match into it and lubricate the warts several times a day. It is recommended to lubricate up to six times a day. And after such treatment, the warts finally began to disappear from the boy's skin without a trace. However, don't 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 - one woman could not get rid of a wart on her finger. She tried to burn it out with liquid nitrogen, but the wart continued to grow. She even went to the oncologist, because she had already begun to think that it was a malignant neoplasm.
But at the hospital, her fears were not confirmed, and the doctor told her 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 a finger with a wart for 30-40 minutes so that it also softens. Then you need to wipe your finger and apply propolis to the wart, which has just softened in your mouth.
It should be secured 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.
On the day before the new moon, remove all bandages and stop the treatment until the full moon, and start again on the full moon.
It was with such a folk method of treating warts that she painlessly got rid of this unpleasant misfortune. If you have smaller warts, you may be able to get rid of the warts in one full moon to new moon treatment.
Prevention of warts
It is known that it is easier to prevent illness than to cure it later. This fully applies 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 constantly sweat, or at least find an opportunity to dry them qualitatively; do not touch unnecessarily your own or other people's warts or objects that the patient touched with you.
You should also pay attention to your general health and, especially, the immune system - eat a balanced diet and lead a healthy lifestyle.
It would also be nice to learn how to relax and avoid stress - by doing this, you are guaranteed to get rid of not only the possible appearance of warts, but also a whole bunch of possible diseases.