What are Warts?

Warts are infectious outgrowths that may appear on any part of the body. For example, the most common warts occur on fingers. They are caused by virus, most typically the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and several of its subtypes. They appear as dense painless rounded nodules of about 0.3- 1 cm in diameter. The mode of transmission of this virus is usually by contact. You can also contract warts by sharing objects like razors, towels or other personal items. They can be sexually transmitted if the warts are present on genitals.

Usually, they are benign outgrowths but sometimes, they may be cancerous if present on genitals.

How To Prevent Warts?

Earlier, the only way to prevent contracting warts was avoiding contact with infected people. But now-a-days, vaccines against HPV are present that are given in teen years to prevent genital warts and cancer caused by them.

How are they diagnosed?

Your doctor can easily tell if the outgrowth is a wart just by having a look at it. If it is not clear, your doctor may take a sample of your skin and look at it under the microscope to ensure that it is a wart.

Treating Warts-

CAUTERIZATION

Cauterization is a medical procedure wherein a part of the body is burnt in order to damage some tissue in order to prevent an outgrowth. Cauterization can be done by medicine, cryotherapy (using localised or general low temperatures to treat benign or malignant tissues), radio frequency cauterization or laser. The method applied depends on size and location of the outgrowth or the choice of you dermatologist as well.

It is recommended to get warts removed at its earliest to prevent spreading of the disease.

Several myths are present in the market that state cure to warts by various homemade remedies but these can do more harm than good. Treating warts must be done by practised medical personnel. Incomplete removal of warts can cause recurrence of warts due to secondary infection.

Warts - How To Get Rid Of Them?

Genital warts refer to small (sometimes invisible), cauliflower shaped bumps, which form around the genital region and severely affect the moist tissues around the concerned region. Genital warts are more common in sexually active people and are one of the most commonly transmitted sexual diseases. The virus responsible for the disease, Human Papillomavirus can also cause other serious disorders such as genital cancers.

Genital warts can occur in both the genders. The virus generally spreads through sexual intercourse. In men, warts appear around the scrotum, the tip of the penis or the anus. In women, warts might form around the vaginal walls, the cervix or around the anal canal. If you had any form of oral contact with the genitals of an already infected person, genital warts can form around your throat or mouth.

The symptoms of genital warts are as follows:
1. Severe itchy sensation and discomfort around the genital areas.
2. Bleeding during sexual intercourse
3. Formation of numerous small, grey bumps around the genital region
Genital warts are caused by genital HPV s, which are transmitted, primarily through sexual contact. In most of the cases, the immune system is able to combat the virus and makes you less susceptible to this disorder.

However, you might be at an increased risk of developing genital warts because of the following reasons:
1. Engaging in unprotected sex, that too with different partners.
2. Past history of other sexually transmitted infection
3. Being sexually active from an early age
4. Having unprotected sexual intercourse without being aware of one s medical history

The treatment for genital warts depends on the severity of the condition. If the warts are causing significant pain and discomfort for you, your doctor might opt for one of the following procedures to get rid of the same:
1. Application of Imiquimod creams around the affected area might help treat the condition.
2. A regulated application of  Trichloroacetic  acid on the affected areas might help to burn off the genital warts.
3. Application of a solution of  Podophyllin  on the affected areas might help destroying the soft tissues around the genital areas.
4. If your warts are significantly large in size or do not respond well to medications, you can also opt for surgical excision or laser therapies to get rid of them

What Can be the Possible Reasons of Gential Warts

Everyone wants to have a bright and radiating skin. But blemishes and skin abnormalities are common and can occur due to lifestyle, diet or hormonal imbalances. Moles and warts are typical skin issues. But how do you tell them apart?

Moles   What are they?

Hardly ever causing pain, they appear in many different colours and can be bumpy or flat. Most often of red, brown or black colour, they occur as a result of skin pigmentation called melanocytes. They can be caused due to direct exposure to sunlight or due to genetic factors as well. They can appear in any part of the body and form slowly, taking a long time to grow.

Warts   What are they?

Small bumps or rough growth on the skin that appear in hands, legs, fingers, soles of the feet, face or in the genital area manifest as warts. They are white or pale. They occur as a result of harmful virus infection of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and hence, can be contagious. As opposed to moles, warts need to be removed quickly since a virus causes them.

How do you differentiate a mole from a wart?
Below are some common characteristics of each that can help you identify the skin problem:

Moles

Either flat or elevated from the skin, they are commonly referred to as beauty marks or birth marks.
At times, they have hair growing from them.
Usually, they have one colour   mostly on the darker side.
It cannot be transmitted between people.
They are generated by a collection of pigment cells in the body and darken during hormonal changes.
They tend to become cancerous and lead to melanoma.
Warts

They are harmless, yet contagious.
They have small black or dark dots in the centre that are tiny blood vessels, which provide them with nutrients.
They grow outwards on the skin with a scaly or bumpy deposit.
They can grow anywhere on the body, but are commonly found in feet, hands or fingers.
How to treat warts and moles?

The good news is that both warts and moles do not pose a grave risk to your health, but they are annoying and can turn dangerous in the long run. Especially with warts, you can give it to someone or acquire from someone, since it is a type of virus infection. So, seek medical assistance if you want them to be removed from your skin.

Be aware of the difference between warts and moles to know what you are dealing with. Consult a dermatologist to decide the right steps to remove it or not.

Warts vs. Moles - All You Need To Know!

Soft growth occurring on the genitals are known as Genital Warts. Genital warts are infections that are transmitted through physical intimacy (STI). These are caused by certain behaviours of the human papillomavirus (HPV). These growths on the skin cause discomfort, pain and itching. They are particularly harmful for women since certain types of HPV might also cause cancer of the vulva and cervix. HPV is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases. Due to this, sexually active people are most vulnerable to various health complications, including genital warts. Prevention of this infection requires essential protection and treatment.

Symptoms:

Transmission of genital warts occurs through sexual activity. Development of warts occurs several weeks after the infection. Sometimes, it is not possible to view them with the naked eye. The top of the growths might resemble a cauliflower and might feel slightly bumpy or smooth while touching. The person who is infected may have a single wart or a cluster of warts.

In males, the genital warts may appear in the following regions.

Groin
Scrotum
Penis
Thighs
Inside or around the anus
In females, they might occur in:

Cervix
Outside the vagina or anus
Inside the vagina or anus
In a case where the person has had oral sexual contact with the infected person, the genital warts might appear on the mouth, lips, throat or tongue of the person. In case the genital warts are not visible, the other related symptoms include:

Itching
Vaginal Discharge
Bleeding
Burning
Treatment

Even though the genital warts disappear with time, it is not possible to eliminate the virus once it is in the bloodstream. This would result in several outbreaks during the entire course of life. This is a vital reason why the symptoms should be managed so that transmission of the disease is prevented. Treatment is possible only for relieving symptoms that are painful or for minimizing their appearance. Some topical wart treatments prescribed by the doctor may include:

Podofilox and Podophyllin (Condylox)
Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA)
Imiquimod (Aldara)
Some surgeries that the physician might conduct to remove genital warts that do not disappear with time include:

Interferon injections
Laser treatments
Cryosurgery, or freezing warts
Electrocautery, or burning warts with electric currents
Excision, or cutting off warts
Periodic Pap smears after the initial treatment is recommended for women with genital warts to monitor changes in the cervix.

Genital Warts - Can They be Treated? 

Have you been noticing bumps on your skin surface? Does the top of this growth resemble a cauliflower and feel bumpy or smooth when you touch it? These are the symptoms of a disease known as warts, which is caused by HPV or human papillomavirus. Generally, warts are not very dangerous, but they are ugly, contagious and may cause pain as well. Warts may be caused by more than 100 types of HPV viruses. A certain type of HPV causes warts around the genitals. In women, these are called genital warts and it is a severe disease.

Treatment
All warts do not require treatment and disappear on their own. This is because over time, the body s immune system can destroy the HPV virus which causes warts. A wart needs to be treated when it is painful, embarrassing, gets irritating easily, spreads to other parts of the body or spreads to other people. The goal of the treatment is to eliminate or remove the wart, avoiding a scar tissue. Creating a scar tissue would cause more pain than the wart. The treatment of warts depends upon the type, location and specific symptoms of the disease.

Self-treatment
Warts can be treated at home using salicylic acid and duct tape. Most warts do not require treatment, but in case the symptoms worsen and do not go away on their own, you require proper care.
Medical treatment

The medical treatment for warts prescribed by a doctor includes the following:

Cryotherapy
Certain medicated creams and ointments
Surgical methods such as electrosurgery or laser surgery
Chemical peels with certain acids
Excision or cutting of the warts
Before going for a treatment, it is important to detect the exact type of wart. Treatment for some types of warts may be quite painful with the chances of a scar tissue. Warts which lie beneath the skin are difficult to treat and the doctor might need to make an incision on the skin over the wart to let the medicine penetrate through it.

An HPV vaccine can be taken to protect men and women from the common warts caused by HPV viruses. This vaccine can be taken up to the age of 26. The vaccine should be taken before getting sexually active and is more effective when taken before being exposed to the HPV virus. In order to prevent transmission of the HPV virus, having protected sex is recommended. In case of any severe symptoms of warts, you must consult a doctor immediately.

Warts - Dermatological Treatments For It!

What causes warts? Can we prevent it?

Warts are small formations that occur on the skin. They appear in the form of dark protruding bumps or brown flat lesion on the skin surface. Sometimes they might also have tiny black specks on them. Warts usually form on the hands, feet, face and genitals, although they may appear on other parts of the body in some cases.

What causes the formation of warts?

Common warts are caused due to infection of the outermost layer of skin that occurs as a result of viral contamination. The virus that is responsible for this condition belongs to the human papillomavirus (HPV) family.

This infection is highly contagious and easily spreads from one person to the next. It is most likely to occur on skin that is cut or damaged as that allows easy access for the virus to enter the skin system.

How to prevent the formation of warts?

Common warts are contagious and spread very easily. Preventing the spread of the HPV virus can be done through simple steps that will help you avoid getting affected by this condition.

Some of the preventive measures that can be adopted are as follows:

- picking and scratching on warts should be avoided

- avoid biting fingernails as gnawing on the skin around the nails makes it more prone to infection

- grooming, brushing and shaving around infected areas should be done with care

- moisture and dampness should be avoided as the virus thrives on it

Do not self-medicate with lime (chuna), garlic, onion or Dettol.

Treatment

Wart removal should be done by a qualified dermatologist. It is simple, safe opd procedure which takes few minutes only and does not leave any scars.

If you would like to consult with me privately, please click on 'consult'.
Related Tip: 6 Effective Ways to Get Rid of Warts - Cauliflower-like Skin Inflammation

What Causes WARTs? Can We Prevent it?

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