Do You Know About Warts ?
verifier1
Department of General Medicine
Warts are small lumps that usually develop on the skin of the hands and feet, caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). It is a small, rough growth resembling a cauliflower or a solid blister, commonly occurs on human's hands or feet but often in other locations.
Warts are non-cancerous, but can resemble certain cancers. There are as many as ten types of warts, the most common considered to be mostly harmless. It is possible to get warts from others; they are infectious and usually enter the body in an area of broken skin.
Types
Up to 30% of warts are disappeared by themselves within 6 months. Most will vanish without any treatment within 3 years.
Common warts usually grow on fingers and toes but can appear elsewhere. They have a rough, grainy appearance and a rounded top. Common warts are grayer than the surrounding skin.
Flat warts usually grow on the face arms or thighs. They are small and not immediately noticeable. Flat warts have a flat top, as if they have been scraped.They can be brownish,pink or slightly yellow.
Plantar warts are grown on the soles of the feet. Unlike other warts, plantar warts grow into your skin, not out of it , appears to be a small hole in the bottom of foot that is surrounded by hardened skin.Plantar warts can make walking uncomfortable.
Filiform warts grow around the mouth or nose and sometimes on your neck or under your chin. They are small and shaped like a tiny flap or tag of skin.This warts have the same color as your skin.
Genital warts are soft growths that occurs on the genitals. Genital warts are a sexually transmitted infection (STI).They are especially harmful for women because some types of HPV can also cause cancer of the vulva and cervix.
Symptoms of warts
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A small, raised bump may appears on the skin.
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The average size can range from 1 to 10 millimetres.
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The wart may have a rough or smooth surface.
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Sprinkled with black pinpoints, which are small, clotted blood vessels.
Causes
Warts, an infection in the top layer of skin, caused by viruses in human papillomavirus, or HPV, family. It is caused by DNA-containing in the human papillomavirus (HPV). There are at least 63 genetically different types of Human papillomavirus.
The virus is enters the skin after direct contact with recently shed viruses kept alive in moist, warm environments or by direct contact with an infected ones.
The entry site is commonly an area of recent injury.The incubation time is from when the virus is contracted until a wart appears it may be 1-8 months.
Certain forms of the virus are cause skin warts on the hands. Other forms of HPV are cause genital warts, While some strains of the virus can cause both.
Risk factors
People at higher risk of developing common warts includes following:
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Children and young adults
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People with weakened immune systems, such as those with AIDS/HIV or people who have had organ transplants.
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Scratching or shaving of warts, which spread the infection to other areas of your body.
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Skin infections that break the skin surface.
Treatment for warts
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Topical (applied to the skin) chemicals – such as lactic acid or salicylic acid .
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Home care is effective in making the warts go away. No matter what technique you use, warts will disappear 60-70% of the time.
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Adhesive tape therapy : Place some layers of waterproof adhesive tape over the wart region.Do not detach the tape for some days. Then take off the tape and open the area to the air for 12 hours. Reapply the tape for another 6-1/2 days.
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Cryosurgery :Cryotherapy or liquid nitrogen is used to deep freeze the wart infected tissue.When the liquid nitrogen applied to the wart, the water present in the cells expands, thus exploding the infected tissue. The exploded cells can no longer hide the HPV from the body's immune system. The immune system then works to destroy the virus particles.
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Laser Therapy : Lasers are very intense light sources. This light has vast amount of energy that heats the tissue enough that it vaporizes.
Prevention:
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Avoid touching of warts on others or touching them on yourself.
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Wear shower shoes in the gym locker room to lower your risk of picking up the virus that causes plantar warts from the moist environment.
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Children needs to avoid biting or chewing warts.
Reference:
- Warts; From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Common warts ;From Mayo Clinic.
- Skin Conditions and Warts ; From WebMed.
- Warts; From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Warts ; students.umw.edu
- Warts ; from North Dakota.
- Warts ; Medline Plus.
- Warts: Causes, Diagnosis and Treatments ; from medicalnewstoday ; Written by Christian Nordqvist.