What are warts?
Warts are non-cancerous skin growths caused by a viral infection in the top layer of the skin. Viruses that cause warts are called human papillomavirus (HPV). Warts are 
usually skin-colored and feel rough to the touch, but they can be dark, flat and smooth. The appearance of a wart depends on where it is growing. Warts are usually acquired from person-to-person contact. The virus is not highly contagious but can cause an infection by entering through a small break in the skin. In the same way, warts can be spread to other places on your own body. The virus is rarely transferred by touching an object used by an infected person.
Who’s At Risk ?
Warts can affect people of any age, but they are most common between the ages 12–16. It is estimated that 20% of schoolchildren and about 10% of the general population have warts. Those with HIV, organ transplants, or on chemotherapy have a higher incidence of warts due to their weakened immune system.
How are warts spread?
Warts are easily spread by direct contact with a human papillomavirus. You can infect yourself again by touching the wart and then another part of your body. You can infect another person by sharing towels, razors, or other personal items. After contact with HPV, it can take 2 to 9 months of slow growth beneath the skin before you notice a wart. It is unlikely that you will get a wart every time you come in contact with HPV. Some people are more likely to get warts than others.
Signs and Symptoms
Warts may occur singly or in multiples and often have multiple small black “dots” at the surface from tiny blood vessels. Types of warts are as listed below :
| Picture | Type | Description |
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Common warts | Usually found on fingers, hands, knees, and elbows, a common wart is a small (1-10mm in size) , hard bump that’s dome-shaped and usually grayish-brown. It has a rough surface that may look like the head of a cauliflower, with black dots inside. |
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Plantar warts | grow on the soles of the feet. They look like hard, thick patches of skin with dark specks. Plantar warts may cause pain when you walk, and you may feel like you are stepping on a pebble. Since they are painful, they are often thought to be corns. |
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Flat warts | usually grow on the face, arms, or legs. They are small (1-5mm), have flat tops, and can be pink, light brown, or light yellow. They can also grow on arms, knees, or hands and can appear in clusters. |
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Filiform warts | Usually long and narrow, like tufts of thread, grow around the mouth, nose, or beard area. They are the same color as your skin and have the size between 1-3mm. |
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Periungual warts | grow under and around the toenails and fingernails. They look like rough bumps with an uneven surface and border. They can affect nail growth. |
Wart infection can be described as:
- Mild – just one or a few painless lesions
- Moderate – 10–20 lesions that are painless
- Severe – pain that limits normal life activities, bleeding, or over 20 lesions, except for flat warts, which can be numerous, yet not bothersome
How are warts treated?
First of all, it’s important to know that warts on the skin (such as on the fingers, feet and knees) and warts on the genitals are removed in different ways. Don’t try any home remedies or over-the-counter drugs to remove warts on the genital area. You could hurt your genital area by putting certain chemicals on it. You also shouldn’t treat warts on your face without talking to your doctor first.
In children, warts can disappear without treatment over a period of several months to years. However, warts that are bothersome, painful, or rapidly multiplying should be treated. Warts in adults often do not disappear as easily or as quickly as they do in children.
The following are some ways to remove common warts from the skin:
- Applying salicylic acid. You can treat warts on places such as the hands, feet or knees by putting salicylic acid on the warts. To get good results, you must apply the acid every day for many weeks. After you take a bath or shower, pat your skin dry lightly with a towel. Then put salicylic acid on your warts. The acid sinks in deeper and works better when it is applied to damp skin. Before you take a shower or a bath the next day, use an emery board or pumice stone to file away the dead surface of the warts.
- Applying cantharidin. Your doctor may use cantharidin on your warts. With this treatment, the doctor “paints” the chemical onto the wart. Most people don’t feel any pain when the chemical is applied to the wart. You’ll experience some pain and blistering of the wart in about 3 to 8 hours. After treatment with cantharidin, a bandage is put over the wart. The bandage can be removed after 24 hours. When mixtures of cantharidin and other chemicals are used, the bandage is removed after 2 hours. When you see your doctor again, he or she will remove the dead skin of the wart. If the wart isn’t gone after one treatment, your doctor may suggest another treatment.
- Applying liquid nitrogen. Your doctor may use liquid nitrogen to freeze the wart. This treatment is called cryotherapy. Applying liquid nitrogen to the wart causes a little discomfort. To completely remove a wart, liquid nitrogen treatments may be needed every 1 to 3 weeks for a total of 2 to 4 times. If no improvement is noted, your doctor may recommend another type of treatment.
- Immunotherapy, which attempts to use the body’s own rejection system is another method of treatment. Several methods of immunotherapy are being used. With one method the patient is made allergic to a certain chemical which is then painted on the wart. A mild allergic reaction occurs around the treated warts, and may result in the disappearance of the warts.
- Warts may also be injected with interferon, a treatment to boost the immune reaction and cause rejection of the wart.
- Another treatment is to inject each wart with an anti-cancer drug called bleomycin. The injections may be painful and can have other side effects.
- Other treatments for warts on the skin. Your doctor can also remove warts on the skin by burning the wart, cutting out the wart or removing the wart with a laser. These treatments are effective, but they may leave a scar. They are normally reserved for warts that have not cleared up with other treatments.
Talk to your doctor about which treatment is right for you.
When to Seek Medical Care
- Painful or bleeding warts.
- Warts on the face and those interfering with daily life that do not respond to self-care measures.
- Diabetics with warts of the feet should be treated by a physician.
At home treatment for warts
1. Banana peel
How it works? Loads of pottasium in the banana peel. How to use ? Rub the inside of a little piece of a banana peel on a wart every night. You should see results within one to two weeks.
2. Apple cider vinegar
How to use? Soak a tiny bit of cotton ball in the apple cider vinegar and place it on the warts. Cover it with a bandaid. Keep it like that until the wart is gone. Just change the bandaid and cotton ball each day or each time it falls off.
3. Duct tape -> Simply put the duct tape around the warts. Change the tape each day When it falls off.
4. Vinegar-> Take the tip off a Q-tip and soak it in the vinegar. Put it on the wart and secure it with a bandaid. Leave it on till the wart is gone.
5. Garlic-> Slice off a piece of garlic and put over your wart. Cover with Bandaid overnight and in the morning take the bandaid off.
6. Castor oil-> This remedy is not only for warts but for any skin growth that is raised from the skin,even moles. Mix some castor oil and baking soda till it’s like a paste. Put some of the paste onto the wart, mole or other growth you have. do it daily. You should cover it with a bandaid when you have applied it. Within a couple of week it’ll start to go red, swell and get a bit sore, but keep adding the paste each day till it’s gone.
7. Dandelion-> Pick a dandelion and squeeze the white milky liquid from the stem and put it onto your warts. Do it until they disappear.
8. Vitamin C -> Take one vitamin C tablets and crush it between two spoons. Put the crushed tablet on your wart and cover with a bandaid. Do this each time you have a shower so you always have a clean bandaid on the warts.
9. Aloe Vera-> Apply the aloe vera gel to your warts every morning and evening.
10. Orange peel-> A few times each day, rub orange peel onto the wart or cut a small piece of peel and place directly onto the wart. If using a piece make sure to cover it using a bandaid. The wart will eventually change color and fall off.
1. http://www.skinsight.com/adult/commonWart.htm
2. http://www.naturesnaturalhealing.com/
3. http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/skin/disorders/209.html
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