Tag: Common Warts

Types of Warts

Warts are benign tumors of the skin, caused by viruses in the human papaloma virus family. They may take weeks or months to grow before they can become visible, and are contagious. In many cases, warts can be treated through home remedies and over the counter medications. However, in some cases warts must be treated by a professional.

There are four main types of warts: common warts, flat warts (also known as juvenile warts), plantar warts (warts on the feet), and genital warts. The first three types of warts are treated similarly. Genital warts typically require professional medical treatment, and can cause serious health problems if not treated quickly.

Most types of warts are not typically threatening to the overall health of the patient. When warts are bothersome or embarrassing they can be treated at home through over the counter medications. However, recurrences may happen later. If the warts continue to be bothersome, professional medical treatments may be sought.

Common Warts

Common warts appear as thickened bumps, sometimes called papules. They can appear somewhat like a mole, but are rougher on the surface. Small black dots also may appear due to clotted blood vessels.

Common warts often appear on the hands, knees, and elbows. Like all warts they are contagious, and can be spread to others with low immunity to the human papaloma virus family. Warts can also be spread to other areas of the body through touching or shaving.

Flat Warts (Juvenile Warts)

Flat warts are similar to common warts in that they appear on the hands, knees, arms, and face. They are also contagious, and can be spread to other areas of the body or other people. Flat warts are also called juvenile warts because they are most commonly found in children and young adults.

Flat warts appear as small bumps, about the size of a pin head, with a smooth flat top. They can be the color of the skin or may appear yellow or brown. They are not very large, but can form in clusters of as many as one hundred warts in one small area of the body.

Plantar Warts

Plantar warts occur on the bottoms of the feet. They are especially common in people with diabetes. Plantar warts can be very painful if left untreated, especially if they appear in a weight bearing area of the foot.

Plantar warts can sometimes be mistaken as corns or rough spots on the feet. They are typically rough and spongy in texture. Plantar warts are usually yellow, gray, or brown, causing the confusion with corns or other rough spots on the feet.

Genital Warts

Genital warts are the most common sexually transmitted disease. They appear as the color of the skin in most cases. They can be found anywhere in the genital area. In women they can actually spread to the walls of the vagina and the cervix itself.

Unlike other types of warts, genital warts can cause serious health conditions if left untreated. Treatment for genital warts must come from a professional. This type of warts cannot be treated at home.

The human papaloma virus has been found to actually cause cancer of the cervix. This is due to the rapid cell growth induced by the virus. There are over sixty strands of the virus, but only about four of them have been found to cause cervical cancer. However, the threat is very real, and should be addressed with professional medical attention as soon as they are noticed.

Issues About Warts

Warts can be an aggravation; warts can be deadly. There are a number of issues surrounding this topic. All result in the common sense that preventing warts is the best method of dealing with them, and that if you do experience an outbreak it should be treated as promptly and thoroughly as possible. If warts reoccur, as they often do, that too should be addressed and dealt with.

Although it is far from being a minor consideration, on the lesser end of the scale is the fact that warts are an annoyance. For anyone who experiences an outbreak of warts, they can range from embarrassment to social stigma. For young people especially, having visible warts on the face, hands, feet, or other parts of the body can result in ridicule from one’s peers. Warts are unsightly. That point in itself is a good reason to try to avoid acquiring them, or to have them promptly treated if they do occur. Adults should not act as if a child’s or teenager’s warts are “no big deal,” for the distress they cause is very real.

Another factor about the serious nature of warts is that they are contagious. If a person has warts, it is unfair and irresponsible to put other people in the position of becoming infected. This irresponsibility shows when someone who has warts freely shares infected towels, washcloths, other clothing items, and especially shoes.

It is very unfair to not be concerned if the virus which causes warts is transmitted to other people. This point also holds true for those who knowingly have this contagious problem yet willingly pass it on to other people by such means as using public swimming areas, showers, locker rooms, etc., without taking proper precautions as wearing sandals or some other type of protective item which can guard against it being transmitted. People who do not have warts are then in the position of having to safeguard themselves against the risk of infection.

By far the worst and most serious issue about warts is irresponsibility with physical and sexual contact which can transmit genital warts. As this form of warts is considered to be a sexually-transmitted disease, directly linked to causing cancer, one’s personal conduct plays the largest role in the extent of one’s risk factors. Simply not engaging in a promiscuous lifestyle with multiple partners significantly reduces one’s risk of acquiring this form of warts.

As is evidenced by debates in recent news, this subject has become more a political issue than a medical issue. It would appear to be more common sense to safeguard children’s health by discouraging children against sexual activity instead of providing them with a vaccine which will make unrestricted sexual activity safer. Many who disagree with this viewpoint, however, consider it to be a matter of “forcing values” onto children. Not taking common sense into consideration has already led a number of youngsters to die of complications from this vaccine, primarily blood clots.

Is It A Wart Or Is It Something Else?

The outermost layer of the skin is called the epidermis. As the skin covers all parts of the body, warts can be found virtually anywhere on the body. Unfortunately, there are also a number of other types of growths which can appear on the skin in a similar manner. In order to affect the best means of treatment, it is important to determine whether a particular growth is a wart or whether it is something else. Being able to treat a growth for what it is obviously is relevant in selecting the best treatment; but another important factor is that some types of growths can be much more dangerous than most common warts. In taking both of these points into consideration, the earliest possible diagnosis is essential.

A wart is a benign tumor. As the word “tumor” can lead people to scurry off to their doctors, presenting it in this manner can be helpful. The reason for this is that many common warts, benign in themselves, can easily be confused with the malignant growths that are skin cancers. If you have a wart, or a cluster of them, do not be too hasty to dismiss them as harmless. There is a possibility that it could be a skin cancer, and many types of skin cancer are deadly. The significant rate of deaths from skin cancer is usually attributed to the fact that the cancer is not diagnosed and treated in time, and spreads quite rapidly.

For everyone in general, but most especially people who have had a lot of exposure to the sun, any new growth on the skin should be treated as suspicious and checked by a physician as soon as possible. You may indeed have nothing more than an annoying wart, but prompt medical attention to determine this is very important. Most skin cancers are usually one-hundred-percent curable if they are diagnosed and treated in time.

Another growth on the skin which is frequently mistaken for a wart is the common callous. A callous is a hardening of the skin, usually rough to the touch. Callouses occur in areas where there is the most pressure or friction to the skin, such as the heels of the feet, or the areas of the fingers if the person does a lot of writing or other similar detailed work.

Clavi commonly known as corns are smaller, more localized forms of callouses. They are most common on the feet, especially when one wears improperly-fitting shoes. They can bear a striking resemblance to warts, but they are not contagious to other people and will not spread to other parts of the body.

All types of warts are a problem to those who suffer from them, and can be as much of a problem to anyone who acquires warts from another person or infected surfaces. But in the interest of your health, before making a decision about the best treatment for your warts, it is a very good idea to first know for certain that it is indeed a wart and not any of the other types of growths that can appear on your skin. Although the black spot of the blood supply to a wart is a sign that that’s what it is, for the sake of your own peace of mind it is best that you not try to diagnose it yourself. A physician is the most competent judge as whether a growth is a wart, or whether it is something else.

How to Treat Plantar Warts at Home

Plantar warts are warts of the feet. They can make walking very painful. As this cuts down on the amount of exercise a person gets, it can contribute to an overall decline in health. It is necessary to treat plantar warts, and sometimes you can do it at home.

First of all, many people with plantar warts also have diabetes. If this is the case, you should always seek professional consultation. People with diabetes can’t afford to take chances with their feet because of their particular health issues.

If you don’t have diabetes, though, you may be able to do something about your plantar warts at home. Just as with common warts, you can use salicylic acid liquids such as Dr. Scholl’s or medicated pads such as Mediplast,

With a plantar wart, it is especially important to protect the area surrounding the plantar wart. You may put a lot of weight on the wart. Any acid you put on healthy skin will soak in and eat away a circle of skin around the wart. To avoid this, you can put petroleum jelly around the circumference of the wart.

Keeping a plantar wart dry is crucial helping it to go away. Try putting on a drying medicated powder up to ten times a day. Change your socks at least three times a day. Some people have even used chlorine to thoroughly dry their feet. If the plantar wart is faithfully kept clean and dry, it doesn’t stand a chance.

On the other hand, some people recommend methods that keep moisture on the wart. As little as this makes sense given that warts thrive on moisture, some find these methods effective.

A remedy that is often referred to is the banana peel remedy. You tape the inner side of a banana peel down onto a plantar wart. This is supposed to draw out the wart. Some say it works well.

One method is to slice up lemons and use them in a remedy. Put them in apple cider and let them ferment for a couple of weeks. At the end of this time, rub the lemon slices on your plantar warts.

You can get Vitamin C tablets at a supermarket, health food store, or pharmacy. Crush tablets of it and apply it to the plantar wart. Cover it with a bandage. Again, bandages are usually not recommended by the experts because they hold in moisture. Moisture does nothing to help remove plantar warts, or any warts.

Another such treatment is applying grapefruit extract to the plantar wart a few times a day. Once more, the suggested treatment is to cover it with a bandage. If you do, make sure that you take the bandage off whenever you can. Let the area air out and dry up a bit.

Aside from genital warts, plantar warts probably require the most attention. Because they cause pain in the feet, they cut down on a person’s mobility. If you have diabetes, you need a physician’s help. If you can treat plantar warts, that’s great. If you can’t, go on to the doctor.