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WartsIntroduction Warts are small, skin-coloured, rough lumps on the skin. They often appear on the hands and feet and look different depending on where they are on the body and how thick the skin is. A wart on the sole of the foot is called a verruca. Genital warts are warts found on the genitals and around the rectum. Warts are caused by infection with a virus called human papilloma virus (HPV). The HPV virus causes a hard protein called keratin in the top layer of the skin (the epidermis) to grow too much, producing the rough, hard texture of a wart. Warts are usually harmless, but they can look unattractive. They often clear up by themselves, although treatment can help to get rid of them more quickly. Warts are not normally painful, although verrucas can sometimes hurt. Warts are very contagious. The skin cells in warts release thousands of viruses, so close skin-to-skin contact can pass on the infection. However, it can take weeks or even months for a wart, verruca, or genital warts to appear after you have caught the infection. People with weak immune systems (the part of the body that fights infection) are more likely to get warts. This is because the body is less able to fight off the HPV virus. Most people develop warts at some point in their life, usually before the age of 20. About 1 in 10 people in the UK have warts at any one time. Genital warts are the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the UK. Symptoms Warts can be different sizes, ranging from 1mm to over 1cm. You may have only one or two warts, or lots can develop on the same area of skin. The size and shape of warts varies: Common wart (verruca vulgaris) is a firm, raised wart with a rough surface that can look a bit like a cauliflower. They can occur anywhere, but are most common on the knuckles, knees and fingers. Plane wart (verruca plana) is a round, flat-topped, yellowish type of wart. They mainly occur on the back of the hands, especially around the nails and fingers. Filiform wart (verruca filiformis) is a long, slender wart that is common on the thin skin of the eyelids, armpits or neck. Genital warts (condylomata acuminata) can be small, white lumps or larger, cauliflower-shaped growths on the penis, scrotum or vulva (the female external sex organs), or around the rectum. Warts can also develop inside the vagina or anus. Genital warts on the vulva are usually soft because the skin here is moist and hairless. Genital warts that develop on skin that is dry and hairy (such as the shaft of the penis) tend to be firm. The number of warts that develop varies. Some people have a few that are hardly noticeable, while others have a lot. Genital warts do not usually cause any symptoms, although they may be itchy if they are around the anus. However, the warts may be a sign of a sexually transmitted infection (STI), or, in rare cases, cancer. Verrucas (planter warts) are warts on the soles of the feet. Verrucas do not stick up from the surface of the skin. Instead, the weight of the body pushing down on them makes them grow back into the skin, which can be painful. Verrucas often have a black dot in the centre, surrounded by a hard, white area. The dot is the blood supply to the wart and the white area is the skin of the wart that is closely packed together. Verrucas that grow in clusters are sometimes called mosaic warts. You should see your GP if you have a wart or verruca that bleeds, changes in appearance, or spreads. Causes Warts are caused by different strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV). The virus is present in the skin cells of a wart, and can be passed on through close skin-to-skin contact. You are more likely to catch the infection if your skin is damaged, or if it is wet or in contact with rough surfaces. For example, public swimming pools are a common place to catch verrucas. People with scratches or cuts on the soles of their feet are especially vulnerable. You can also spread warts to other parts of your own body. For example, if you scratch or bite a wart, it can cause the wart to break up and bleed, making it easier for the virus to spread. People with a weak immune system (as a result of immune system diseases such as AIDS, or as a result of certain treatments such as chemotherapy) are more likely to catch warts. They may develop lots of warts that are particularly difficult to get rid of. Genital warts are caused by a strain of the HPV virus that is passed on during sex, or very close sexual contact. However, most people infected with HPV do not develop visible warts. You can carry the virus without realising it, and pass it on to other people who may then go on to develop visible genital warts. Diagnosis Warts and verrucas are easy to recognise. Warts are usually raised growths with a hard uneven surface. A verruca may have been pushed in by the weight of your body and so appear as an area of very white skin on the sole of your foot, perhaps with a black dot in the centre. Although genital warts can be embarrassing, it is important to have them checked out at your GP surgery or local sexual health (GUM) clinic. This is because genital warts can be caused by a sexually transmitted infection, and in rare cases can be a sign of cervical cancer in women. The doctor or nurse that you see will probably take a swab (sample of cells) from the area, to identify the infection that is causing the warts. Treatment Most warts clear up without treatment, although this can take up to two years. There are treatment options available that may be able to clear warts faster, although some types of treatment can be painful, and there is no guarantee that the warts will not come back again. Treatment options depend on where the warts are and how many there are. Options include: Over-the-counter treatments - a variety of creams, gels, paints and medicated plasters are available from pharmacies. Most of these contain salicylic acid as their active ingredient. Salicylic acid and other wart treatments also destroy healthy skin, so it is important to protect the skin around the wart - use petroleum jelly or a corn plaster to cover it. Apply the medication following the instructions on the packet, but stop the treatment if your skin becomes sore. Rub the dead tissue off the top of the wart once a week with a pumice stone or emery board. It usually takes up to three months of continuous treatment for the wart to go completely. Chemical treatments - treatments containing chemicals such as formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde and podophyllin can be used to remove warts. These chemicals are poisonous to skin cells. They are dabbed onto warts to kill the skin cells there. These treatments are available on prescription. Cryotherapy - very cold liquid nitrogen is sprayed onto the wart to freeze and destroy the cells. A sore blister develops, followed by a scab, which falls off 7-10 days later. Treatment takes about 5-15 minutes and can be painful, so you might need a local anaesthetic beforehand. Cryotherapy treatment is usually carried out at hospital skin clinics or at your GP surgery. Large warts sometimes need to be frozen several times, a week or so apart, before they clear. Surgery to remove warts is carried out under general or local anaesthetic. Warts can be cut out of the skin (useful for a few, large warts), or the skin of the wart can be scraped off with a spoon-like instrument called a curette. The aim of surgical treatment is to remove all traces of the warts. Other surgical options are laser treatment, in which the wart is destroyed using a very precise laser beam, and electrocautery, in which the wart is burnt off using an electric current. If you have genital warts, you should not try to treat them yourself with over-the-counter medicines. You must see your GP or visit your local GUM clinic for treatment. Genital warts can usually be removed using techniques similar to those described above. The method used will depend on how big the warts are and whether they are inside your body or on the skin surface. Whatever the treatment used, it usually takes several weeks to clear genital warts and can sometimes take up to six months. For general warts (NOT GENTIAL WARTS) then try using Tea Tree which is the most effective essential oil as it can be used neat onto the wart. Put a drop of Tea Tree onto the end of a toothpick and drop it onto the centre of the wart then put a dry plaster over the wart. Repeat every day. Once the wart has gone massage a little Lavender oil into some wheatgerm oil and apply to the area. |
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