Warts, as you know, are caused by the human papilloma virus. They can be found 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 your hands? You will find the answers to these questions in the next article.
warts on hands
A wart (wart) is a benign, contagious skin lesion that resembles 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, papillomatosis of different severity, acanthosis, hyperkeratosis are found; in the cells of the styloid layer - perinuclear vacuoles.
The common wart (verruca vulgaris) is a dense, non-inflamed nodule with a rough surface of grayish or yellowish color ranging from pinhead to pea. Most often it is localized on the hands. Common warts can appear in large numbers.
The wart is flat or juvenile (verruca plana, s. Juvenilis) - a flattened papule with a dull, sometimes glossy surface, protruding slightly above the level of healthy skin, with rounded or polygonal outlines, flesh or yellowish-pink color. Flat warts are usually numerous, especially in school-age youth, on the face, on the back of the hands.
Plantar wart (verruca plantaris) - a callus-like variant of an ordinary wart - is localized in places of greatest pressure, especially on the head of the metatarsal bone and in the heel area. Pressure hurts. Papillary growth appears after the horny masses are scraped from the wart surface.
Genital warts (condyloma acuminatum) form in the form of a tiny pink papule, then enlarge, taking a papillary shape. When the papules merge, extensive vegetation is formed. It is characterized by a soft consistency, a narrow base in the form of legs. More often it develops on the genitals, in the inguinal and intergluteal folds, with dirty care 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 \u200b\u200bthe fingers. Also, most of these formations belong to coarse growths, the color of which does not differ from healthy skin, and relatively small in size - 0. 1-1 cm.
As for the number of such neoplasms, there are both single skin defects and multiple warts prone to fusion.
Signs of obvious warts on the palms are the following symptoms:
- Lack of pain and itching;
- The area of the skin defect usually does not have an epidermal pattern, which is restored after removal of the wart;
- Black dots may appear on the surface of the formation, which represent coagulated veins.
Based on all of the above, we can conclude that warts of the palms are more of an aesthetic defect, however, in the absence of timely treatment, it can lead to a significant proliferation of neoplasms and a high risk of mechanical damage.
How to recognize a wart
The wart looks like a mass rising above the skin, with a different color from the skin. Often, several warts appear at the same time. At the same time, the localization can be very diverse: from the palms of the hands and the 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.
Papillomas appearing in groups are capable of fusion.
Gross (common) warts usually appear on the fingers. A rough wart looks like a growth no more than a centimeter, brownish or gray in color and dome-shaped. Black dots may appear inside the formation. Flat small warts usually appear on the hands and are characterized by the appearance of groups. Their color is pinkish or yellowish.
Reasons for appearance
Warts on the fingers and other parts of the body have 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 can completely rid the patient's blood of the virus, which explains the symptomatic treatment of neoplasms.
An important concomitant factor leading to 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. 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 minor wounds, which are not uncommon for the skin of the hands. Based on all of the above, you can once again understand 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 is in the blood in a latent state, which may not manifest itself for a long time.
As already mentioned, these neoplasms appear due to the penetration of the HP virus into the body, of which there are more than a hundred species. This virus is quite common, and 20 percent of school children have common warts.
It is important to remember that the attack reproduces quite intensively through the germination of the upper layers. Also, the person you infected with the "wart" virus may not have warts. HPV is especially fond of microcracks and microtraumas of the skin, so most people "bring" it from public pools and reservoirs.
If you do not take measures for treatment and do not remove such rashes, complications may arise: they can spread throughout the body and return again, even if they disappear. 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 be passed on to new and new victims with 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 that are at risk. Countless stresses weaken our immunity and therefore such people also become susceptible 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 in color or, conversely, dark in color. The bump often appears multiple times on the forehead, cheeks, arms and legs, small warts appear, dense and fleshy, smooth and flat. Rough formations appear around the nails or under the nails, and on the legs you may also notice such neoplasms that are oval or round in shape and painful to step on. They are somewhat rough or smooth and flat to the touch, in groups they can merge into a single neoplasm.
The wart virus can lie dormant in your body for years and have an incubation period of up to six months, so don't be surprised if they appear suddenly for no apparent reason.
Warts can be different: coarse or common, flat, plantar, there are also 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 of no more than a centimeter, hard to the touch, brownish or gray in color. Their shape is usually domed.
Ordinary or rough surface can be rough, resembles cauliflower in appearance, and black dots can be distinguished inside. The flat type includes those with sizes up to five millimeters, with a smooth flat surface, as well as those of pink, yellowish or light brown color. Typically, this growth occurs 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, they cause sensations as if a pebble got into a shoe. They are usually quite hard, 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, also called genitals: they develop on the groin and buttocks as well as on the genitals and are a direct result of an unclean attitude towards your body. Outwardly, they look like pink nodules, often merge, have a leg-like base.
When to see a doctor
- if the wart quickly changes in shape, color or all together;
- if the wart has an uneven color;
- if the wart's borders are unclear (in this case, it's most likely not a wart);
- if the wart hurts or is constantly injured (this increases the risk of developing into something more serious);
- if the number of warts gradually increases;
- if the wart is bleeding or itchy;
How to get rid of papillomas on your hands
Warts give us a lot of inconvenience in everyday life. They do not look aesthetically pleasing in conspicuous places, with improper localization they quickly injure and cause pain. Therefore, people often go to a dermatologist when warts appear. Oncologists also get involved in warts because of the possibility of malignancy.
Since the appearance of warts is associated with provoking factors, treatment is often supplemented with the intake of vitamin-mineral complexes, sedatives and immuno-enhancing agents. 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 consultants not only fail to remove warts, but also contribute to their malignancy. You have to be extremely careful here. Home treatment of warts should include the use of special drugs purchased at the pharmacy, and not the use of traditional medicine.
It is even easier to trust professionals in 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 wide range of methods to remove warts. Listen to your doctor's recommendations before choosing a lifting technique. The doctor will recommend the most appropriate intervention according to your individual characteristics. Specifically, these are:
- cryodestruction. . . Assumes liquid nitrogen is used 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 in pharmacies at a reasonable price.
- Electrocoagulation.Cutting the papilloma with a thin metal ring under high-frequency current. Local anesthesia is given before the operation. Full recovery occurs within a week.
- laser coagulation. . . Similar to electrocoagulation, only laser is used instead of current.
- Surgical intervention. . . Under local anesthesia, the wart is excised with a scalpel, the surgical wound is sutured with a cosmetic suture. It is used only when removing large papillomas.
- chemical methods. . . They are used very rarely, as the risk of damage to nearby tissues is too great.
What you need to do to get rid of warts on your hands
A woman's son was just four years old when warts began to appear on his arms. There were so many of them that in kindergarten the mother was even asked not to take her there, she said. And what did they do with this misfortune! Doctors recommended burning the warts with acid. But the woman still decided to resort to folk remedies for the treatment of warts.
Cut a thuja branch (palm sized) into pieces 3-7 mm long. Put, for example, hydrogen peroxide in a glass bottle, pour alcohol. Cover with a stopper and let it steep for 12 days, shaking it occasionally. After 12 days, open the bottle and keep it open for 1-2 days. After that, the tincture is ready for use.
You need to dip a cotton ball on the match and lubricate the wart 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 skin of the child without a trace. But don't expect immediate results. Therefore, 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 fingers
For a very long time - more than 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 was starting to think it was a malignant neoplasm.
At the hospital, however, his fears were not confirmed, and the doctor suggested that he take a wart-sized piece of propolis and put it in his mouth and soften it with saliva. At this time, hold a warty finger for 30-40 minutes in slightly warm water - clean, without any additives - so that it becomes soft. Then you need to wipe your finger and apply propolis to the newly softened wart in your mouth.
It should be fixed with adhesive tape for three or four days. It is written on the lunar calendar that it is best to begin at the full moon to remove warts and continue until the new moon.
Remove all bandages the day before the new moon and stop the treatment until the full moon and start again at the full moon.
With such a folk method of treating warts, painlessly got rid of this unpleasant misfortune. If you have smaller warts, you can get rid of warts from full moon to new moon treatment.
prevention of warts
It is known that it is easier to prevent the disease than to treat it later. This totally applies to warts. First of all, you should follow the basic rules of personal hygiene.
You should not walk barefoot in common areas such as showers, changing rooms, swimming pools, especially wet ones; do not abuse such shoes, in which the feet constantly sweat or at least have the opportunity to dry them qualitatively; Do not touch your own or others warts or objects that the patient has touched you unnecessarily.
You should also take care of your general health and especially your immune system - you should 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 number of possible diseases.