Warts – What you need to know
Posted by
Dr. Eden Chang
A wart is a simple growth you may notice in just one part of your body like your hands or feet and that might be caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Although this kind of growth could be contagious, it is commonly seen to be restricted to just one member of the family and even for such a person it might not spread over to other parts of his or her body.
Treatment Options for Warts:
There are a lot of over-the-counter treatment options available for common warts and this could be broadly divided into two categories. Each one comes with limited side effects and can provide you with quite an effective treatment to get rid of the common warts forever. This treatment is not applicable for warts appearing in the genital or venereal areas.
The common type of treatment products used for common warts makes use of salicylic acid. This type of keratolytic medication dissolves the proteins that make up most of such warts and clears off the thick dead skin that covers such warts. The salicylic acid treatment can cause burning or redness on normal skin, yet the effects go away as soon as you stop using them. Also they do not cause any kind of infection or scarring. However, for this reason it is not advisable to use them on sensitive parts of your body like your face or groin area and also people suffering from diabetes should avoid use of it. Application of such acid is withheld in areas where circulation is poor though you need to worry only if there are obvious signs of inflammation in such parts.
The newer non-prescription ones make use of aerosol sprays to freeze such warts just like liquid nitrogen used by dermatologists at minus 320 F (minus 196 C). The aerosol sprays only freeze up to a temperature of minus 70 F (minus 57 C). Similarly non-breathing tapes or duct tapes are used to suffocate warts and do away with them. However, it is difficult to use this therapy effectively since the tape should be kept in place without falling off for days at a stretch, allowing only opening it up for a few hours every week. To make use of such aerosol sprays safely, stick to the instructions on the package of the medication.
Effectiveness of such treatment options:
Treatment of warts takes time and depends upon the severity of your case. Common warts may vary from person to person and also for the same person it may show different symptoms. If it is possible for you to avoid warts, it would be a good idea to ignore them since they would eventually go away. However, no one can predict how much time it would take to get rid of them. Also there is no guarantee that such warts may not appear back once again. Warts are seen to come and go without any cause and also sometimes you do not even need a treatment for doing way with them.
Warts could act tough at different times. While some of them might be painful, others might not hurt at all. Similarly, while some respond to treatment, others might not react even for the same person. Also some warts are seen to send sprouts springing up around them while others don’t. This is exactly why different treatment methods could take you a long period of time for recovery. For simple warts on face or hands you could use the quick freeze or electrical zap method which is simple, painless and also non-scarring.
However, there are many types of warts that do not go away with such simple treatments. ‘Plantar’ warts that appear on the bottom of the feet and the common ‘hand’ warts are non-painful unattractive warts that can be easily treated with salicylic acid drops, nonprescription aerosol sprays and plasters since they are present only in the superficial layer of the skin. For such kind of warts, you can try to use these over-the-counter drugs before you meet the doctor.
However, if such home remedies show no results, there is no point in trying to solve such hard-to-go warts yourself else the treatment could become worse than the disease itself. Common examples of such complicated warts include the warts under the nails which show quite a resistance to any kind of treatment. Similarly ‘mosaic’ warts that appear in dozens and hundreds all around the sole of your feet are difficult to get rid of. However the good thing is that these seed-warts do not hurt at all and for both these varieties of warts, you can try one or two medications from your doctor. Finally, there are the ‘flat’ warts that are small, flat, fresh-colored pimples. They tend to appear in large numbers on your arms, face or groin. As they have a propensity to keep recurring, a simple salicylic acid treatment would be quite good enough to get rid of them.
Warts are not easy to deal with, and yet, patience and proper care can help you to do away with this problem forever. A good advice from your doctor can help you to last to rest all your doubts in this regard.
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