Treatment of Warts their cause, cure and prevention
Cause:
Warts are caused by a virus infection the human Papilloma viruses (HPV) of which there are more than 100 viruses in this group which cause different types of warts. The most common areas for warts are the fingers, elbows, knees, and the bottoms of the feet. Some people are more susceptible to warts than other people. Warts are contagious and are spread by contact with the virus,
Children are more prone to warts than in adults, this is partly due to their immune systems being less mature and they spend more time in close play and in wet-floored locker rooms. Prevention of many plantar warts also known as verrucas (verruca plantaris) can be achieved by wearing something on the feet at the pool and in locker rooms. This makes them one of the most common of all childhood skin conditions.
Verrucas or Plantar warts often make jumping, running, and even walking, uncomfortable. The tenderness can cause strain elsewhere in the body and change posture. A little wart can be a big problem. Prompt treatment before they spread will usually cure the problem.
If you are uncertain that it is a wart, you may want to have your doctor or dermatologist examine your skin before trying any treatments. Other skin conditions can look similar and may require different treatments.
Types of wart:
Flat wart are most common on the face, neck, hands, wrists and knees, these can occur in large numbers they are flesh coloured, small smooth flattened warts
Common wart most common on hands and knees and are raised with a roughened surface.
Filiform or digitate wart. These are thread or finger like warts most common on the face, especially near the lips and eyelids.
Plantar wart or verruca found on the soles of the feet as a hard sometimes painful lump, often with multiple black specks in the centre; usually only found on pressure points of the feet.
Mosaic wart commonly on the hands or soles of the feet forming a group of tightly clustered plantar-type warts
Genital wart a wart that occurs on the genitalia
Treatments:
The first question should be. Do your warts need treatment?
Warts on big toe
1. Left untreated they could spread and grow as in the picture some warts warts will clear up within a few months but the virus could lie dormant only to resurface later. Treatment at an early stage with Natural Oils mentioned later will nip it in the bud.
2. It depends what the wart is like and where it is, as mentioned above planter warts can be very painful on the soles of your feet. Hand warts can easily get knocked and bleed causing them to spread so should be treated.
3. Facial warts can be unattractive and treatment could make you feel better about yourself.
4. Genital warts are generally very infectious and should be treated immediately.
Treatments:
There are hundreds of treatments, varying from as simple as Duct tape, Banana skin, Hypnosis, Witchcraft to high-tech laser vaporization.
The medical Profession use the following treatments for warts.
Surgery:
Surgery is not advised for plantar warts on the sole of the foot as any scar tissue can causes as much pain as the original wart.
This treatment is usually recommended for the removal of larger warts. It involves injecting a local anaesthetic at the site of the wart. The wart is then cut away and the wound is then stitched. Surgery is likely to leave scarring and does not always remove the cause like other treatments, meaning re-occurrence is therefore more common.
Chemical cautery:
This treatment uses Chemicals to destroy the wart, the most popular being Salicylic acid which works by slowly destroying the virus infected skin. Salicylic acid alone has been shown to have a 67% success rate in patients with hand warts and 84% in those with plantar warts within 12 weeks. The Salicylic acid can be mixed with other chemicals to form a gel or ointment but this reduces effectiveness down to 25%
Cantharidin:
This treatment is another form of Chemical cautery using a natural chemical found in many members of the beetle family. Aplication of this substance will causes dermal blistering.
Candida:
This Chemical will stimulate the body’s own immune system to attack the virus when it is injected at the site of the wart.
Electrodessication:
This treatment uses an electric needle to burn the wart. A local anaesthetic is usually required. Very large warts may need be scraped off before treatment There is a potential risk of scarring. Success rate 71%
Laser:
Laser treatment is quite painful and can leave some scarring in many cases causes bruising and a discoloration of the skin. Healing time can be 4 – 5 weeks. Success rate 80
Cryotherapy:
Removes warts by Freezing: This process uses Liquid Nitrogen which is the most popular wart treatment, especially with smaller warts, a single aggressive attempt to freeze the wart in one go works but is more painful and much more likely to scar. Where as gentle freezing repeated once a week over a period of usually four weeks is more effective and less painful. Success rate 35-65%
Hypnotherapy:
This is one of the most effective alternative treatment of warts with many of studies showing a Success rate of 80%.
Home treatments:
There are a number of Home Treatments which are readily available these include natural herbal, homeopathic and dietary remedies to treat the wart or to boost your immune system. There are also a number of over the counter treatments from Pharmacies, Drug Stores and supermarkets. The most common of these treatments involves salicylic acid.
Over The Counter Treatments:
1. A bottle of concentrated Salicylic Acid:
2. Salicylic acid gel:
3. Salicylic acid ointment:
4. Adhesive pads treated with salicylic acid.
5. Silver Nitrate in the form of a caustic pencil. Takes three to six daily treatments to be effective.
6. Freezing, an inexpensive home freezing kit 1s available using a Freon refrigerant. Not really suitable for small warts can cause blistering of normal skin with excessive freezing.
7. Tagamet may be on prescription in some countries. How it works is not known it is thought to alert the body about the wart by heightening the state of the immune system. It has been shown to work in the removal of warts, and seems to work better on flat planter warts than others. The highest success rate shown is 80% whilst ingesting 30mg/kg/day from 6-8 weeks.
A strict regimen is required when removing a wart with these methods. This procedure is for your information only, please follow the manufactures instructions.
1. Thoroughly clean the area to be treated,
2. Remove the dead skin with a pumice stone or emery board
3. Applying the salicylic acid,
4. Repeat as instructed
5. It may take up to 12 weeks to remove a stubborn wart.
Alternative Treatments:
1. Organic Natural Oils (Amoils)
2. Duct tape
3. Banana Skin
4. Garlic
5. Onion
6. Homeopathy
7. Aloe Vera
8. Lemon Oil
9. Milkweed
10. Dandelion Sap
Note: A blend of Natural Oils do seem to be a very effective and gentle a treatment, at the same time destroying the virus.
The benefits of these wart treatments are.
• No Professional fees.
• Low Cost.
• No travelling to appointments.
• Easy to use.
• Effective.
• Convenience
Though most of the wart viruses can be destroyed by these techniques the, destruction is only a part of the story. They can reappear especially if we have a week immune system which can be caused by a poor diet and/or lifestyle.
A preliminary study reported that the weekly consumption of two to four alcoholic drinks nearly doubled the risk of developing genital warts.
As can smoking, a study of HIV-infected and HIV-negative women found that smokers were over five times more likely to develop genital warts than non-smokers.
A good diet will be beneficial to improving our immune system and will increase our resistance to infections in general.
Vitamins may also be helpful. In a double-blind study, supplementation with oral Zinc, in the form of zinc sulphate, resulted in complete disappearance of warts after two months in 87% of people treated, whereas none of those receiving a placebo improved.
Prevention:
The main line of defence is not to come into contact with the virus which is spread by physical contact. If a family member has warts they should have there own towel and other toiletries. Never share clothing especially shoes, socks, hats, gloves, underwear etc. When in public swimming pools, changing rooms and showers try to wear foot protection like flip flops.
Professional, Over The Counter or Internet treatments all work to different degrees especialy home treatments as it is very important to follow the manufacturers instructions for a successful outcome.
Pictures of warts with thanks to Dornwarzen
