Warts

Medical Service Name – Warts

Warts constitute benign/noncancerous uneven clumps that appear on the surface of the skin. They emerge if HPV (human papillomavirus) enters a wound or cut in the skin and creates an infection. Any individual can get warts, but children tend to be susceptible to warts since they get many injuries. In addition, people with an autoimmune illness or impaired immunity, such as the elderly, are more vulnerable to this infection.

Types of Warts

Wart types differ based on the afflicted body part. Types of Warts include:

• Hands: These are also referred to as common warts as they are the most prevalent kind.
• Face: These warts affect the face and temples.
• Feet: Plantar warts develop on the bottoms of the feet. They resemble calluses with small black spots in the middle. They are usually unpleasant and appear in groups.
• Genitals:  Genital warts are those warts that develop around the penis, vagina, or rectum. They are a type of sexually spread infection. 
• Periungual and subungual: They develop around the finger and toenails.

Possible Causes

When HPV penetrates a wound in the skin, it generates a skin contagion that develops warts. Warts are highly infectious. Its virus can transmit from person to person or from various parts of the body via:

• Immediate contact with a spot
• Touching stuff, like towels, doorknobs, or shower floors, tainted by a virus
• Sexual coition
• Nail-biting and skin scratching.
• Shaving.

Sign & Symptoms

Warts differ in how they appear or develop. They may take the shape of the following:

• Dome-shaped
• Plane
• Coarse
• Skin, brown, grey, or black coloured

Diagnosis

Warts can be diagnosed by merely glancing at the lumps. To test for HPV, the doctor may take a sample of the skin growth (biopsy).

Treatment Options at 7DMC

Our aesthetic dermatologists would examine abnormal developments on your skin and assign a dermatologist according to your condition. The dermatologist will diagnose warts just by checking the bumps. Seldom, they may take a specimen of the skin lumps to test for HPV. Often, warts disappear after your defense system fights against the virus. However, since warts can induce pain and be hideous, your doctor may prescribe the following treatment:

• At-home wart removal: Over-the-counter (OTC) wart eliminating medications, like Compound W®, contain salicylic acid that terminates warts one layer each time. Our experts may advise you to use the drug regularly for several months to remove the lump completely.
• Freezing: During cryotherapy, the doctor smears the liquid nitrogen to freeze the growth. After freezing, a blister appears, which would disappear along with warts eventually. You may require many treatments.
• Immunotherapy: For persistent lumps that never react to conventional treatments, immunotherapy assists the immune system in fighting the virus. It involves a topical chemical, including diphencyprone (DCP). DCP induces a moderate allergic response that can clear the wart. 
• Laser treatment: The doctor at 7DMC utilizes laser light to heat and damage small blood vessels within the wart. It cuts off the blood supply, thus eradicating the wart.
• Topical medication: Our dermatologist may utilize a liquid compound comprising the chemical cantharidin. A blister appears beneath the wart and stops its blood supply. You must come back again in a week to have the stagnant wart eliminated.