According to www.foxnews.com, more than two-thirds of healthy Americans have an HPV infection on some part of the body, leading some researchers to call it a hidden epidemic. That includes 61 percent on the skin, as well as in the vagina, the mouth and the gut. The good news, according to www.cdc.gov, is that the body’s immune system clears up HPV infections on its own in 90 percent of cases. But other warts require medical attention.
DIFFERENT TYPES
A wart is a hard, rough lump that grows on the skin and is caused by infection with certain viruses. Warts typically grow on the hands or feet but can sprout just about anywhere. According to the Mayo Clinic, common warts are small, grainy growths most often found on the hands. They often feature a pattern of tiny black dots, sometimes called seeds, which are small, clotted blood vessels. Transmitted by touch, common warts usually disappear on their own.
Children and young adults, along with people who have a weakened immune system, are most susceptible. But they aren’t the only ones. The American Academy of Dermatology cites another group of people prone to warts – those who bite their fingernails or pick at their hangnails.
It is easy to get warts with a cut or scrape on the skin, which is why so many children get them. You can spread warts from one place on the body to another. Transmission can occur by touching a wart on someone’s body or even by touching something that another person’s wart has touched, like a towel. Often it takes a few months for a wart to grow large enough to see.
TYPES OF WARTS
Below are some common types of warts.
Plantar warts: Plantar warts appear on the soles of the foot and can be hard to treat. They can grow in clusters (known as mosaic warts) and may have black dots. Often, they are flat or grow inward, as walking creates pressure on them, which causes them to grow this way. They can hurt and feel like you have pebbles in your shoe.
Flat Warts: Flat warts can be anywhere. Most often, they manifest in children on the face, in men in the beard area and women on the legs. They are noticeably smaller than other types of warts.
Genital Warts: Genital warts can be harbingers of some reproductive cancers, so seek help from a dermatologist. They are contagious and spread through sexual contact. Genital warts can be so tiny that they are often not even visible. Most people with them have no symptoms.
Filiform Warts: Filiform warts grow on the face and around the mouth, eyes and nose. They resemble long threads or thin fingers that stick out. They often grow quickly.
In most cases, diagnosis is done on sight by a dermatologist. In rare cases, a skin biopsy may be used to get to the root of the issue. The wart is removed by the doctor and sent for study under the microscope.
TREATMENTS
Unfortunately, there is no cure for the wart virus. Even when you get rid of a wart, it can return to the same site or be found on another part of the body. Professional treatment is necessary for people with extensive, spreading or symptomatic warts or warts that have been present for more than two years, according to Medscape. It is important to note that the vaccine Gardasil does not treat active genital warts or cure an HPV infection, but it can help prevent genital warts.
Salicylic acid, available without a prescription, is a home remedy that can be used to treat warts. The cure rate is 70 to 80 percent. Other prescription medications can be used at home. Bleomycin is a chemotherapeutic agent that inhibits DNA synthesis in cells and viruses. Its cure rate ranges from 33 to 92 percent. Persistent warts may require intralesional injections.
The dermatologist may use cantharidin to treat a wart by painting it on. This causes a blister to form under the wart. Return to the doctor’s office so the doctor can clip away the dead wart. Cryotherapy or freezing is the most common treatment for older children and adults with warts. It may require repeat treatments. Another modality is electrosurgery or burning. It is a good treatment for common warts, filiform warts or plantar warts. Curettage involves scraping off the wart with a sharp knife or a small, spoon-shaped tool. Often, electrosurgery and curettage are used together. The doctor may remove the wart by scraping it off before or after electrosurgery.
For more stubborn warts, there are more aggressive treatments. These include laser therapy, which is mainly for warts that have been unresponsive to other therapies. Before treatment, the wart may be numbed with an anesthetic injection. Chemical peels, using salicylic acid, tretinoin and glycolic acid may be used at home by patients who apply them daily. Immunotherapy, which involves applying a chemical like diphencyprone to warts, produces a mild allergic reaction, which may cause them to go away. A shot of interferon sometimes is used to boost the body’s immune system.
ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS
No single wart treatment has been deemed uniformly effective. Many people swear by old wives’ tales to remedy their wart woes.
Adhesiotherapy involves applying duct tape daily to the wart. It is a painless and inexpensive treatment. Hyperthermia is another choice. Submerge the body part in hot water (113 degrees F) for 30 to 45 minutes two to three times weekly to achieve results. Propolis is a resin that is an immunomodulating treatment for common and plantar warts.
Raw garlic cloves, which have an antiviral property, can be rubbed nightly on the wart, followed by occlusion (a technique used to increase the penetration of a topically applied substance). Success has been reported for some patients in using tea tree oil applied topically on warts. The oil has anti-microbial properties.
When is it time to call the doctor? If a wart continues to worsen despite home therapy, make an appointment. Changing shape or color of a wart can be a sign of trouble. Also seek professional help if a wart starts to bleed, according to www.emedicinehealth.com. Genital warts also need a dermatologist’s oversight because of the potential for serious illness and death.