Warts | Marshall Health

What are warts?

Warts are common skin growths. They are not cancer. And they don’t turn into cancer. They are caused by a virus called human papillomavirus (HPV). Warts can spread to other parts of the body and to other people by contact. Most warts go away with no treatment, over a long time.

There are more than 150 types of papillomavirus, and many kinds of warts. The most common types of warts are:

• 
  Common warts. These grow on the fingers, elbows, knees, or the face.

• 
  Filiform warts. These often appear on eyelids, lips, or the face or neck.

• 
  Flat warts. These form in clusters on the face, backs of the hands, or legs.

• 
  Genital warts. These can appear on or around the genitals.

• 
  Periungual warts. These appear as thickened skin around the nails.

• 
  Plantar and palmar warts. These are warts on the soles of the feet (plantar) or the palms of the hands (palmar).

What causes warts?

Warts are caused by a type of virus called human papillomavirus (HPV). There are more than 100 types of HPV. Different types of warts are caused by different types of HPV. Warts can spread from person to person by contact.

Who is at risk for warts? 

Warts are can happen at any age. You are more at risk for warts if you have either of these:

People who bite their nails are also more at risk for periungual warts.

What are the symptoms of warts?

Symptoms depend on the type of warts. The symptoms can occur a bit differently in each person. They can include:

• 
  Common warts. These often have a rough surface. They are grayish-yellow or brown in color. They may be on the fingers, elbows, knees, or the face.

• 
  Filiform warts. These are small, long, narrow growths with finger-like projections. They often appear on eyelids, lips, or the face or neck.

• 
  Flat warts. These are small, smooth growths. They tend to form in clusters on the face, backs of the hands, or legs.

• 
  Genital warts. These can appear on or around the genitals. These warts can spread and are linked to cervical, anal, and other cancers. It is important to have them treated quickly and to discuss these with sexual partners.

• 
  Periungual warts. These appear as thickened skin around the nails. They can cause painful splits in the skin (fissures).

• 
  Plantar and palmar warts. These are warts on the soles of the feet (plantar) or the palms of the hands (palmar). When you stand or walk, the pressure makes plantar warts hurt. When they form in clusters, these warts are called mosaic warts.

The symptoms of warts can look like other health conditions. See your healthcare provider for a diagnosis.

How are warts diagnosed?

Your healthcare provider will ask about your symptoms and health history. He or she will give you a physical exam. The physical exam will include closely looking at your skin. He or she may use a small blade to scrape away the top layers. There may be black dots beneath the top layers. These are tiny blood vessels that have clotted.

Your healthcare provider may advise you to see a skin doctor (dermatologist). The dermatologist may do a shave biopsy. A very small amount of the wart is shaved and sent to the lab to be examined.

How are warts treated?

Genital warts should always be treated. They can spread to other people through sexual contact. HPV is a known cause of genital or cervical cancer.

Most other warts go away in weeks or months with no treatment. Common warts can often be treated with over-the-counter products. Treatment of warts depends on:

• How long they have been in place

• Where they are on the body

• What type of wart they are

• How many of them are growing

Treatment may include one or more of the below:

• Putting salicylic acid or other medicine such as imiquimod on the warts to help remove them

• Freezing warts with liquid nitrogen

• Applying an electrical current to warts (electrocautery)

• Cutting out (excising) warts

• Removing warts with laser surgery

• Using immunotherapy by causing an allergic reaction

Some treatment methods may cause pain and burning in the area treated. After treatment, the warts may grow back. New warts may appear. This is common. Talk with your healthcare providers about the risks, benefits, and possible side effects of all treatments.

What are possible complications of warts?

Genital warts are linked to cervical, anal, and other types of cancer. It is important to have them treated quickly and to discuss these with sexual partners. Warts can be painful and hard to treat.

What can I do to prevent warts?

Warts can spread to other parts of the body. And they can spread to other people. They can be spread by skin to skin contact. The virus may be spread by towels or other personal items. You can help prevent warts from spreading by:

• Not letting the warts come into contact with other parts of your body

• Not letting the warts touch other people’s skin

• Not sharing personal items, such as towels

• Wearing socks or slippers if you have warts on the bottom of your feet

When should I call my healthcare provider?

Call the healthcare provider if you have skin growths that:

Key points about warts

• Warts are common, harmless skin growths caused by a type of virus called human papillomavirus (HPV). There are more than 100 types of papillomavirus. Different types of warts are caused by different types of papillomavirus.

• Warts can spread to other parts of the body and to other people.

• Genital warts should always be treated. They can spread to other people through sexual contact. And the virus may cause genital or cervical cancer.

• Most other warts go away in weeks or months with no treatment. Common warts can often be treated with over-the-counter products.

• After treatment, the warts may grow back. New warts may appear. This is common.

Next steps

Tips to help you get the most from a visit to your healthcare provider:

• Know the reason for your visit and what you want to happen.

• Before your visit, write down questions you want answered.

• Bring someone with you to help you ask questions and remember what your provider tells you.

• At the visit, write down the name of a new diagnosis, and any new medicines, treatments, or tests. Also write down any new instructions your provider gives you.

• Know why a new medicine or treatment is prescribed, and how it will help you. Also know what the side effects are.

• Ask if your condition can be treated in other ways.

• Know why a test or procedure is recommended and what the results could mean.

• Know what to expect if you do not take the medicine or have the test or procedure.

• If you have a follow-up appointment, write down the date, time, and purpose for that visit.

• Know how you can contact your provider if you have questions.

Warts vs. Skin Cancer | Can a Wart Be Skin Cancer?

Can a wart be skin cancer? Although these two ailments are technically distinct, skin cancer can certainly be mistaken for a wart, and vice versa. For this reason, it’s very important to distinguish warts vs. skin cancer and learn when to take action. If you see a blemish that resembles a wart, and it starts to grow or change in any way, you may be dealing with basal cell skin cancer, a highly treatable form of skin cancer.

Learn more What Does Skin Cancer Look Like?

Wart vs. Cancer: Identifying Basal Cell Skin Cancer

Basal cell skin cancer is the most common form of skin cancer, and it’s also the most likely to resemble common or plantar warts. Let’s take a closer look at the characteristics of each skin condition:

• Basal cell skin cancer usually resembles an open sore, a small pink growth, a shiny bump, a red patch of irritated skin, or a growth that resembles a scar. Although basal cell skin cancer is less common in people with darker skin tones, here the raised bump may range in color from tan to dark brown.
• Common warts are the well-known raised circular bumps that often appear on hands and joints. While they may bleed or cause pain, they are usually harmless. Many people have them removed for aesthetic reasons.
• Plantar warts appear on the balls of the feet and the heels, where they resemble harder, grainy growths that develop into the foot, rather than out from it. This type of wart may cause discomfort while walking, and it’s important to note that they are caused by HPV, but they will usually go away without treatment after some time. Since skin cancer usually appears in areas with higher amounts of sun exposure, distinguishing plantar warts vs. skin cancer is usually not very difficult. However, it’s still a good idea to see a dermatologist.

Wart vs. Cancer: When to See a Doctor

Basal cell skin cancer growths may occasionally bleed or cause pain. While warts may also cause pain, especially if they are on a fingertip, common warts should not bleed unless they are scratched or scraped. If your wart starts to bleed, it may be skin cancer. See a doctor at the earliest opportunity.

It can be extremely difficult to distinguish warts vs. cancer with visual cues alone, especially because there are many types of basal cell skin cancer. For this reason, it’s a good idea to see a dermatologist for any and all of the following symptoms:

• A round, raised growth that is the same color (or nearly the same color) as your skin
• A white or waxy scar-like area on your skin
• Red or pink growths with a depressed center
• Scaly skin near the ear, or another area that is often exposed to sun
• Sores that don’t heal, or recur after healing
• A raised patch of irritated skin that is usually red or pink

Basal cell skin cancer often develops on parts of the skin that see a lot of sun exposure, like the face, neck, ears, and scalp. However, it may also develop on the hands, where warts are also common. So, keep a close eye on this area.

Basal cell skin cancer may not be accompanied by any noticeable symptoms aside from the bump or the rough patch itself. However, basal cell skin cancer may be accompanied by numbness, pins and needles, itching, or extreme sensitivity. If your wart is causing any of the above, take action. It may not be a wart at all. It’s also worth noting that what looks like a wart or a small lump may also turn out to be a cyst.

Consider Image-Guided Superficial Radiotherapy for Common Skin Cancer Treatment

Image-Guided Superficial Radiotherapy (Image-Guided SRT) is as effective as Mohs surgery where the treatment of common skin cancer is concerned—but unlike Mohs surgery, Image-Guided SRT carries no risk of surgical scarring. If you are diagnosed with a common skin cancer like basal cell skin cancer, ask your doctor if Image-Guided SRT is right for you. Find out how it works today.

From warts to cancer: why is papilloma dangerous? HPV is a disease caused by a viral infection that affects the skin and mucous membranes.

The virus manifests itself in the form of warts, papillomas, condylomas of various shapes. The tumor consists of nodules and resembles cauliflower inflorescences or cockscombs. Skin papilloma can be both small (no more than 1 mm) and quite large (up to 2 cm). At the beginning of its development, the formation has a flesh color, but over time it acquires a brown tint. Most often, warts appear on the neck, in the inguinal folds, armpits, elbows, knees, head, and around the eyes. Also, growths can be in inconspicuous places, for example, on the cervix, in the vagina, on the external genitalia.

Under no circumstances should papilloma be reduced by home methods! You will not get rid of it, because separate fragments will remain, from which the tumor develops again. Cauterizing a papilloma with hot objects or tying a leg with a thread, you can introduce an infection, create a threat of degeneration of a benign tumor into a malignant one. It is dangerous to reduce growths with celandine juice: it contains aggressive organic acids that cause severe burns, after which coarse keloid scars and scars remain.

This disease was known in ancient Greece. To date, statistics say that only 1 out of 10 people is not a carrier of any type of HPV. There are over 70 types of papillomavirus. It is impossible to determine just by appearance what kind of carrier you are.

The manifestation of the virus can be various types of warts (plantar warts, flat warts and common warts), certain types of HPV include those types of virus that affect the groin. HPV is also isolated separately, which is associated with a state of precancerous disease.

To determine what type of virus you have, you need to see a doctor and take the necessary tests.

The papillomavirus needs special conditions to infiltrate the body. Infection occurs from person to person through direct contact. The greatest danger of transmission is through sexual contact, since the alkaline environment is beneficial for the virus, and there are often microcracks on the genitals.

It is more difficult to get infected with the papilloma virus in everyday life, but there is a risk of transmission of the virus if the sick and the healthy use the same bath towel, washcloth. If someone in the family is sick with HPV, then personal hygiene and precautions should always be observed.

The only manifestation of the papilloma virus are warts and flat papules, although there may not be visible manifestations of the virus.

Do not try to pick off the growth on the body! This will only spur the development of the virus. The complex therapy includes taking drugs for the treatment of concomitant infections, correction of immunity, removal of the growths themselves.

Physical methods are used for treatment: cryodestruction, electrocoagulation, laser coagulation. Often, after physical methods of treatment, long-term non-healing wounds are formed, therefore, agents are prescribed that contribute to their rapid healing.

Treatment of papillomas should be complex, lengthy and often performed by several specialists at once.

Also, in the presence of an infection, it is necessary to stop smoking, drinking alcohol and monitor nutrition. It is important to exercise and maintain personal hygiene.

But infection with papilloma does not necessarily lead to cancer. There are viruses of low oncogenic risk – these are subtypes 6, 11, 42, 43, 44 (more often they appear in the form of pointed outgrowths – genital warts). Subtypes 16, 18, 31, 33 – have a high oncogenic risk, they form flat papules – warts. But from infection to malignant degeneration of cells, on average, 10–20 years pass. Human papillomavirus is a risk factor for the development of cancer. First of all – cancer of the cervix, as well as external genital organs: the vulva in women, the head of the penis in men.

Smoking, alcohol, obesity, hormonal disorders that reduce immunity can accelerate the pathological process. Sometimes a virus that has been dormant in the body for years can suddenly wake up from sleep.

Papilloma to destructive changes push sexually transmitted infections: cytomegalovirus, genital herpes, chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis.

Also, banal inaccuracy can become a risk factor. Papillomas in the armpit, on the neck and face are often injured, after which they bleed and can become inflamed.

Frequent trauma to the papilloma may contribute to its degeneration into a malignant tumor.

If you have large papillomas on your body that you often touch, this is a direct indication for their removal.

Phones of the Surgery Center of the Arktika Medical Center: 8453 55-55-66, 8-962-620-20-35, 8-987-334-51-58.

complete description, symptoms and causes

Warts are not dangerous, but they are contagious: warts can spread to nearby areas of the body or to other people through physical contact.

According to some reports, warts occur in 10% of the population. The highest prevalence among children of school age – up to 20%. Some sources indicate that girls have warts more often than boys, and some say that there is no difference between the sexes in this regard. The peak incidence occurs at the age of 12–16 years. These skin lesions are approximately twice as common in Caucasian children as in Asians and blacks.

Many warts in children disappear on their own within a few years without any treatment.

Fighting them is quite a difficult task. After removal, relapses often occur.

Reasons

A viral wart in a child occurs when human papillomaviruses, abbreviated as HPV, penetrate the skin. Currently, more than a hundred types of these viruses are known. Most of them are not dangerous and cause only benign neoplasms, but some can lead to malignant degeneration of cells.

Only certain types of HPV can cause skin warts. Each type of virus tends to infect certain areas of the body, but in general any type of wart can occur anywhere.

The virus is transmitted through direct (skin-to-skin) or indirect (sharing objects such as towels) contact. The most favorable entry gates for the pathogen are cuts and scratches. The virus infects the cells and causes them to grow, but it usually takes several months before the wart becomes visible.

Some children are at higher risk of warts:

• for congenital or acquired immunodeficiencies
• if a child bites his nails, often picks burrs – this leads to the fact that warts appear on the child’s fingers
• frequent close contact with a person who has warts
• frequent visits to public baths, pools and showers, especially if the child walks there with bare feet
• individual characteristics of the body and the functioning of the immune system: there are people who are more likely to get colds, and there are those who are more prone to infection caused by HPV
• papillomavirus infection can spread sexually – because of this, the so-called genital warts in adolescents occur, some of which increase the risk of developing cancer.

According to a common myth, warts on the hands are caused by touching a frog or toad. In fact, this is not at all the case. You should not believe in the power of many folk methods for treating papillomavirus skin infections: most of them are useless, and some are dangerous.

Pathogenesis

Human papillomaviruses can infect any part of the skin and mucous membranes. Pathogens infect the epithelium and do not spread throughout the body. They penetrate cells and turn them into “factories” for the production of new viral particles. Because of this, the work of cells, their appearance changes. A benign tumor is formed.

Some types of HPV turn normal cells into cancerous ones. The most famous oncogenic viruses are HPV types 16 and 18, they are responsible for most cases of cervical cancer. Some other types contribute to the malignant transformation of skin cells.

In most cases, the incubation period after HPV infection lasts from 1 to 6 months. There are cases when symptoms appeared 3 years after infection.

Classification

There are several types of warts. Each of them is characterized by a certain type of pathogens:

• Common (vulgar) warts (verrucae vulgaris) are most often caused by HPV types 2 and 4, less often – 1, 3, 27, 29 and 57 types. HPV types 75, 76, and 77 are sometimes found in immunocompromised people. Warts of this type in most cases measure from 2 to 10 mm, their color can be gray-black, brown, yellow or light gray. They look like nodules, have clear contours, rounded or irregular shape. Most often, such neoplasms occur in places where the skin is most often injured: on the fingers, face, elbows, knees. They usually do not cause symptoms. If the warts are on the soles of the feet, pain may be bothering you.
• Filiform warts (acrochords) are elongated and usually small. Most often they are caused by HPV types 1, 2, 4, 27 and 29. In most cases, these neoplasms are localized on the face and neck, skin of the eyelids, lips. They are characterized by fern-like growth and usually do not cause symptoms.
• Flat warts in children – in most cases, the result of infection of the skin with HPV types 3, 10 and 28, sometimes 26, 27, 29 and 41. They look like red, pink or yellow-brown nodules with a smooth flat surface. Their favorite places of localization are the skin of the face along the scratches. Often such warts spread to neighboring areas when the child combs himself. They do not cause symptoms, but they are very difficult to treat.
• Palmar and plantar warts are most commonly caused by HPV type 1. Less common pathogens are HPV types 2, 3, 4, 27 and 57. These warts often experience pressure, which causes them to become flat, and keratinized epithelium grows around them. They are painful and interfere with walking. If several plantar warts merge together, then together they are called a mosaic wart.
• Warts occur when the skin is infected with HPV types 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 27, and 57. They are most commonly diagnosed in people who constantly work their hands in water or bite their nails. A neoplasm is a thickening of the skin adjacent to the nail plate, covered with cracks. Symptoms are usually not bothersome, but pain may occur.
• Cystic warts (plantar epidermoid cysts) are soft, fissured nodules on the skin. When they are opened, white contents are released from them, resembling cottage cheese in consistency. The cause of such neoplasms is usually HPV type 60.
• Genital warts develop in the genital area. They can be considered as a sexually transmitted infection. In pediatric practice, such neoplasms are rare.

Symptoms

Depending on the type, warts can have a different appearance. Some of them look like smooth, even nodules, others look like elongated filamentous structures, others have a nervous tuberous surface, reminiscent of cauliflower. Most often, there are no other symptoms. In some cases, the neoplasms are painful, most often when localized on the soles of the feet and under the nails.

Not every skin nodule is a wart . Often other formations have a similar appearance:

• Calluses may resemble plantar and palmar warts. It is quite easy to distinguish them: if you cut off part of the wart, then small bleeding points will appear at the cut site.
• Molluscum contagiosum is also a skin infection. It is caused by a virus of the same name. The disease manifests itself in the form of formations on the skin with a diameter of 2 to 5 mm, pink, white or flesh-colored, with ё in the center. Usually the symptoms disappear on their own in 6-12 months, sometimes they last for several years.
• Seborrheic keratosis – benign pigmented lesions on the skin, often with an uneven warty surface. The cause of the development of the disease is unknown, in some cases genetic mutations have been found.
• Lichen planus is an autoimmune disease that causes itchy, scaly purple plaques on the skin.
• Squamous cell skin cancer is a malignant tumor. It is rare in children.
• Keratoacanthoma is a reddish round nodule on the skin with a crater-like depression in the center. Most often, over time, it disappears on its own, but sometimes it turns into squamous cell carcinoma. In children, this pathology is also rare.

An accurate diagnosis can be established by the doctor after examination and examination. If an incomprehensible formation has appeared on the skin of a child, you need to contact a pediatric dermatologist.

Seek medical attention as soon as possible if the wart is accompanied by symptoms such as:

• soreness
• redness
• bleeding
• quick increase in size
• pus discharge

Possible complications

HPVs are highly contagious viruses – they easily infect skin, especially damaged skin. Therefore, getting rid of warts is often not so easy. Viruses may remain in the skin around the formation, which looks normal, and in the future they will lead to a relapse.

Warts on the soles of the feet can become so painful that they interfere with walking, interfere with the child’s physical activity, and make it uncomfortable to wear shoes. Neoplasms in open areas of the skin and especially on the face spoil the appearance, lead to psychological complexes.

Malignant degeneration of cells in non-genital warts is very rare. Sometimes HPV causes a malignant tumor called verrucous carcinoma. It grows slowly and is a type of squamous cell skin cancer. Outwardly, it is almost impossible to distinguish it from a benign wart. As we have indicated above, malignant tumors of the skin in childhood are rare.

Diagnostic methods

During the appointment, the doctor asks the child about complaints, asks how long ago a neoplasm appeared on the skin, how the picture changed over time. Then, a skin examination and dermatoscopy are carried out – the study of a pathological formation under magnification using a special instrument (dermatoscope). This makes it possible to assess in more detail the nature of the surface of the wart, the vascular pattern.

Most often this is enough: the diagnosis is established on the basis of the clinical picture. In rare cases, it is required to conduct a differential diagnosis with other pathologies using a biopsy. The neoplasm is removed and sent to a pathology laboratory for examination under a microscope.

From laboratory tests, the doctor may prescribe tests for syphilis, viral hepatitis B and C, and HIV infection. If the warts occupy an area of ​​more than 2 cm2 in total, constantly recur after multiple removals, or are accompanied by signs of disorders in the immune system, then the child is referred for a consultation with an allergist-immunologist.

Methods of treatment

There are no effective antiviral drugs to fight HPV. The main method of treating warts in children is 9 of them0075 destruction in various ways . Typically, such interventions are performed under local anesthesia on an outpatient basis – hospitalization in a hospital is not needed. You can remove warts from a child in the following ways:

• Conservative method – external preparations. They are selected by a dermatologist.
• Electrocoagulation – destruction of the neoplasm using a special tool to which an electric current is applied. The electrocoagulator cauterizes and destroys the pathologically altered tissue, while stopping the bleeding.
• Laser destruction – destruction of warts with a laser. It also cauterizes tissues, stops bleeding and disinfects the wound.

• Radio wave destruction – destruction of the wart with a special tool that generates high frequency radio waves. They lead to heating and death of pathologically altered tissue.
• Cryodestruction – freezing of neoplasm with liquid nitrogen. Very low temperature leads to cell death.

On the Internet you can find a lot of information on how to remove a wart from a child using folk methods. Various home remedies can be purchased at pharmacies. Such self-medication is not the best solution, especially for a child. Incorrect actions can lead to severe burns, infection, and the formation of a rough scar. The doctor will remove the neoplasm as efficiently and accurately as possible. You can contact a pediatric dermatologist or pediatric surgeon.

Forecast

Half to 65% of all warts disappear on their own within two years. The efficiency of various destruction methods ranges from 50 to 80%. Warts often recur. The risk of relapse is increased if:

• neoplasm larger than 2 cm2
• warts present for a long time
• the process progresses, new elements appear on the adjacent skin areas

Prevention

Specific prophylaxis exists only against four types of HPV – 6, 11, 16 and 18. Vaccinations are made against these viruses. Vaccination is recommended for all girls and boys from the age of 9. In Russia, only girls are vaccinated under compulsory medical insurance in some regions. Against other papillomaviruses, only household methods of prevention work. They do not always help, but it is still important to remember them:

• teach your child to wash their hands regularly and thoroughly
• if there is a scratch or cut on the skin, immediately wash the area well with soap and water
• when a child visits a swimming pool or public bath, they should wear flip flops or sandals made of waterproof material – this helps protect the skin not only from HPV, but also from fungal infections

Main

• Warts are benign skin growths.
• The cause of these neoplasms is an infection caused by human papillomaviruses (HPV).
• More than 100 types of HPV are currently known. Certain types are more likely to affect certain areas of the skin, but in general, warts can appear anywhere on the body.
• Infection occurs through direct or indirect contact. Especially vulnerable is the skin on which there is a cut, scratch.
• There are several types of skin warts. Most often, they only spoil the appearance and do not cause other symptoms. But some of them are accompanied by pain.
• The diagnosis is established by examining and examining the skin under magnification – dermatoscopy.
• There are different methods of destruction (destruction) of warts. But viruses often persist in surrounding tissues, and subsequently relapse occurs because of this.
• The prognosis is favorable. Many warts disappear spontaneously without treatment. Some HPVs can cause skin cancer, but this is very unlikely in children.

Sources :

https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/dermatologic-disorders/viral-skin-diseases/warts
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/warts-in-children
https: //kidshealth.org/en/parents/wart.html
https://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/Warts/
https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments /features/warts-on-children
https://www.