Warts - Symptom, Treatment And Causes

Warts are types of virus-induced skin growth. The culprit, in this case, is some variants of the HPV or the human papillomavirus. The skin’s top layer is usually affected and the virus makes its way into the body through a patch of broken skin. As a result of the infection, the skin’s top layer experiences rapid growth resulting in what is called a wart. Typically, warts wither away on their own within a span of a few months or years.All parts of the body are susceptible to warts and they are of different kinds too. Common warts are usually found on hands but may occur in other parts of the body too. The feet’s soles are the location for plantar warts, another common type of wart.

Direct contact with HPV lets the condition propagate with ease. Suppose one person touches his wart then another body part then that body part too may develop warts. One must also be careful not to share personal items like razors, towels etc. with a person with warts. The growth of the skin is slow and it usually months after the infection that the wart takes it final shape.However, that does not mean each contact with HPV will result in warts. It may or may not occur. Some people are more vulnerable than others in this respect.

Doctors especially dermatologists can tell if a skin growth is a wart just by having a look at it. The usual practice is to take a sample and conduct a skin biopsy. This is usually done in cases where there is a lack of clarity on the growth being a wart. Other reasons behind skin biopsy include that the growth is darker that it’s surrounding skin or is an irregular skin patch or is accompanied by bleeding or is excessively large or is growing too fast.

Doctors especially dermatologists can tell if a skin growth is a wart just by having a look at it. The usual practice is to take a sample and conduct a skin biopsy. This is usually done in cases where there is a lack of clarity on the growth being a wart. Other reasons behind skin biopsy include that the growth is darker that it’s surrounding skin or is an irregular skin patch or is accompanied by bleeding or is excessively large or is growing too fast.

Warts usually do not need specialized medical treatment. But sometimes they may cause pain or spread to other areas. In such situations doctors, usually do the following:

• Recommend Home Remedies like duct tapes or salicylic acid which are available even in the absence of prescriptions.
• Put a strong medicine on the infected growth or injecting it with medicines.
• Freeze the offending growth which is called cryotherapy.
• Warts may also be removed through surgery.

Treatment of warts is not always successful. Even after warts are subdued the may recur or even spread to previously unaffected areas. This is due to the fact that the virus is incurable and only the wart is destroyed.