Condition

Generally, warts are infections that are caused by different strands of viruses in the family of human papillomavirus (HPV). Medical research can tell us that there are about 60 types of virus in the line of HPV. Warts can affect every part of your body, it may be in your genitals, skin, inside your mouth or even on the rectal area. The location of the warts will depend entirely on the HPV type that has infected an individual. The severity of the warts depends on the ability of the immune system to resist HPV viruses.

Transmissions of warts are through direct physical contact with an infected person. Other ways of conveying warts are through contact with personal belongings such as towels, socks, and other objects that were used by infected individuals.

Most people are exposed or infected by warts. However, children are the common victims, including young adults. Upon direct contact and infection, the resolution of warts usually varies in time with some variables to consider. In most cases, warts may disappear within weeks or months but it may also take years to heal. Diseases which affect the immune system like that of lymphoma and AIDS can weaken the body’s defenses and can therefore lead to contraction of warts which last longer.

Genital warts can be the most sensitive among other infections. This can be acquired during sexual intercourse. It is advised to avoid from having unprotected sex with an infected individual or even you have warts yourself. Cervical warts or warts growing inside reproductive organs can occur in women. More than half of all individuals who had direct sexual contact with an infected partner will necessarily acquire sexually transmitted disease (STD).

Although there isn’t much knowledge on the root cause and progress of the papilloma virus, physicians have learned that moist and warm areas of the genital are preferred by wart growths. Warts outbursts are aggravated in pregnancy and in defective immune system cases.

It is important to note that individuals with previous histories of genital warts are more prone to definite types of cancer. HPV’s warts have been attributed to 90 percent of cervical cancers and other cancers in the vulva, vagina, anus, and penis.

Symptoms

Shapes and sizes of warts vary in different cases. They may either appear as a flat and smooth lesion or as a bump with an uneven surface. Capillaries or tiny blood vessels grow in the center of the wart to provide the wart with blood. These blood vessels may appear as dark dots in the core of common and plantar warts.

• It is in common warts that lesions have well-defined edges and uneven surfaces. Usually they come in irregular or round shapes with sizes ranging from 2 millimeters to 10 millimeters. Common warts are hard to feel and can be light yellow, gray, gray-black, or brown. Frequent areas infected by common warts are on the backs of hands and near the fingernails. They can also develop on the knees and elbows. The good thing is that common warts usually do not have the symptoms of pain.

• Plantar warts usually emerge on the sole of the foot. Because of the pressure of stepping on them, they appear to be flat and dotted with tiny, blood clotted vessels. Symptoms of plantar warts include a painful sensation, especially when they are located more on the weight-bearing part of the foot. As distinguished from plantar warts, corns don't have the dark spots resembling that of pinpoints.

Types of less common warts:

• Mosaic warts – These are warts that develop on the feet. They grow in groups of a number of small, closely placed plantar warts.

• Genital warts – The name suggests the location of the warts. However, for women, it may also develop on the cervix or inside the vagina.

• Cervical warts – The risk of having cervical warts is that in rare cases it leads to cervical cancer.

• Filiform warts – This is another type of flat wart, which grows around the beard area, mouth, and nose. On the surface of filiform warts are flesh-colored, fingerlike projections.

• Flat warts - These are usually found on the back of the hands and the face. They commonly appear as tiny individual bumps with a size of 1/4 inch.

• Pedunculated warts - They appear as cauliflower like-shaped bumps on the neck, head, beard and scalp.

• Periungual warts – Commonly found around and under fingernails and toenails. This infection can greatly affect growing nails.

Diagnosis

Warty Lesions

In general, warts are those of viral ones. Warts are considered the most common of all tumors. Most of the population acquire warts at certain stages of their lives and eventually disappear even without prescribed treatments. Warts may grow almost anywhere in the body, from the face, hand and fingers, to the soles of the feet and even into the sensitive parts of the genitalia. Clinical appearances of warts vary from one case to another and will depend entirely on the strand of virus involved. This is where the basis of the diagnosis starts. A clinical biopsy of the location of the warts and its immediate symptoms will greatly help in determining the proper treatment.

Diagnostic problems

When the warts are entirely visible due to their large numbers, there are usually no complications in diagnosis. Problems come in when warts affect adults when signs of squamous cell carcinoma, seborrhoeic warts, viral warts and solar keratoses are difficult to distinguish. If the lesion is indurated and large, then it would probably be squamous cell carcinoma. In solitary lesions in adults, special care should be taken into account. Although these lesions may appear like ordinary warts, they may cover the squamous cell carcinoma behind.

Genital Warts

For patients who have acquired genital warts should see a doctor to be diagnosed. Other related types of infections should be given medical attention immediately so that prompt treatment may be proceeded with.

Diagnosis of genital warts is usually done through direct visual examination. Vinegar or acetic acid is mopped on the genitalia particularly the penis or cervix because if the HPV lesions appear to be whitish, then the patient is positive of wart infections.

Another procedure named colposcopy uses a lighted magnifying instrument. This painless examination probes into women’s reproductive organs. Diagnosis through this procedure may be helpful in determining the viral strands of the infection.

A biopsy of the cervical tissue may be necessary. A small sample of tissue is taken out from the cervix and is examined under a biological microscope. In order to confirm a diagnosis, testing for HPV genetic material and sampling of tissues can be necessary.

Treatment

The location of the warts in the body is the most basic thing to know before treating it. This is because treatments may vary for warts on the external parts of the skin from genital warts. Over-the-counter (OTC) medications or home remedies are discouraged when treating genital warts. Instead of healing the skin with warts, you can even damage your genital area with the chemicals you might apply.

The following are some procedures to eliminate warts from the skin:

• Salicylic Acid – Applying salicylic acid (Compoud W) can treat warts found on the hands, feet or knees. For better results, apply the acid on a daily basis for a number of weeks. Be sure to apply it after you take a bath or shower and you have dried your skin dry lightly with a towel. The acid penetrates deeper into the skin and is more effective when it is applied to moist skin. On the next day, use a pumice stone or an emery board to scrape away the dead exterior of the warts.

• Cantharidin - Your physician may prescribe cantharidin to treat your warts. In this particular treatment, the doctor brushes the chemical directly into the infection. For most people, they don't experience any pain upon the application of the chemical. The pain begins to manifest and may even develop blistering of the wart within 3 to 8 hours. Bandage is then used to cover the treated wart, after application of cantharidin. After the lapse of 24 hours, the bandage can be removed. When other compounds are mixed with cantharidin, a longer time is maintained before the bandage is removed. A subsequent appointment with the doctor will enable him or her to remove the dead skin of the wart.

• Liquid nitrogen – Liquid nitrogen is used to freeze the wart. This treatment is popularly known as cryotherapy. The patient may feel a little discomfort when liquid nitrogen is applied to the wart. This procedure may be repeated for a total of 2 to 4 times in 1 to 3 weeks. If such treatment fails to eliminate the warts then your doctor may recommend you to proceed with another type of treatment.