Warts: All About It

Warts are small, rough patches on the skin (resembling cauliflowers) that are caused due to the human papillomavirus (hpv- a dna virus that can infect humans). In this condition, only the topmost layer of your skin gets infected and acquires a rough texture. Warts are not fatal (they do not cause cancer), but they are contagious in nature and do not vanish easily.

Causes of 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 other. 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.

Most effective ways to get rid of warts:

1. Laser treatment: Very useful for wart removal is pulsed-dye laser treatment. An ablative co2 laser acts by cutting and burning the wart. In this type of treatment the affected blood vessels are burnt, leading to the death of the infected tissue, following which the wart too disappears. However, this method is not commonly used if other treatment methods tend to work as it is painful and may leave behind scars.
2. Vaccine: Sometimes your dermatologist may recommend the use of human papillomavirus (hpv) vaccine to successfully eliminate warts.
3. Over-the-counter wart removers: Over-the-counter wart treatments containing salicylic acid (a type of fungicide) as an active ingredient are commonly used for effective removal of warts. These medications generally eliminate warts by removing the topmost layer of the skin, following the peel-off process.
4. Immune therapy: When warts refuse to vanish after the use of all common treatments, this method is put into use. This type of treatment involves the use of medications or solutions, which strengthens your immune system so that it can repel warts. In this case your warts may be injected with an antigen or a solution or cream may be applied on them.