Many people have warts and would know what causes them and how to remove them.

That is why we thought it would be a good idea to write this article so that people are more informed about such a condition.
What is a wart?
The wart is a small excrescence of the skin or a small lesion that can be induced by microtrauma and can appear in almost all regions of the body.

It can be found on the hand, elbow, knee, face, foot as well as on the genitals.
What are the types of warts?
Here are 6 types, listed according to their clinical features:

• Common warts: they are quite irregular, usually appearing on the hands and fingers (especially in children).
• Flat warts: Small, smooth warts form in clusters on the face, legs, or backs of the hands.
• plantar warts: They are the ones that appear on the sole of the foot.
• Filiform warts: project around the eyes, face and neck.
• Peri-nail and subungual warts: they are located on the periphery or under the nails (frequent in people who bite their nails).
• Genital warts (condylomata acuminata): point to the genitals

Remember that some warts can turn cancerous and some skin cancers can look like warts, so always ask your doctor to examine them.

Also, the sooner a wart is treated, the easier it will be to destroy, so don’t delay treatment time.

What are the causes of warts?

Seven different strains of HPV are considered to be the main cause of warts. These viruses exist naturally on the skin, so when a person’s immune system is weakened (eg, by a condition or medication), they are at higher risk of contracting the virus.

A simple cut is enough for the virus to infiltrate the body and cause the appearance of common, plantar or flat warts.

Avoid walking barefoot in public places, as it is a habit that exposes you to the risk of contracting warts.

Genital warts are a variety of warts that pose a more serious problem, especially as they are the most contagious. They are transmitted by direct sexual contact and can go from months to 1 month before they appear.
Warts Symptoms/signs and complications
Warts are usually easy to see or feel by touch. They signal themselves to people and become infected as abnormal growths, bumps, or any other strange changes on the skin.

Plantar warts and genital warts trigger more specific symptoms and are warmer types of concern:

plantar warts: sometimes they look like calluses. Flat in appearance, they grow deep under the epidermis and can cause pain when walking. They are yellow or brown in color and are sometimes dotted with small dark gray nodules.

Genital warts: they are often small and flat. They can be pink, white or gray. They sometimes form outgrowths that are reminiscent of the texture of cauliflower when grouped together.

These warts can grow on both the internal and external genital organs, including the anus, vagina, urethra, and cervix. Genital warts also occur in the throat if oral sexual contact with an infected person occurs.

Fortunately, most HPV infections do not become cancerous. However, some strains of HPV have been associated with cervical cancer, vulvar cancer, anal cancer, and, more rarely, penile cancer.

When complications do arise, it is often genital warts that cause them. Warts can also cause many problems during pregnancy.

They can become bulkier and interfere with urine output and even cause obstruction during labor.

Sometimes, but rarely, it happens that a baby develops warts in the throat, that is, a laryngeal papillomatosis, if his mother has genital warts.

For this reason, it is important for women to have a vaginal smear routinely, especially if they have had an HPV infection or genital warts.
Diagnosis of warts
If you notice any abnormal growths, or irregular sizes, or skin changes, whether accompanied by itching, pain, or bleeding.

You must make an appointment with your doctor. Usually, a quick physical exam by a doctor is enough to diagnose warts.

The physical exam allows your doctor to distinguish a wart from other skin disorders such as moles, calluses, calluses, ticks, or cancer.

To correctly diagnose genital warts, your doctor may take a tissue sample (biopsy). Available laboratory testing methods are helpful in diagnosing certain strains of HPV and determining whether the infection is likely to become cancerous.

People often have the mole on their scalp and think they are warts, so it is very important to find out if they are moles or skin warts before starting any treatment.

Wart Treatment – Removal

There are many effective treatments for warts, from creams to laser treatments. Your doctor will determine which treatment is best suited to the type of wart you have.

In the case of common warts, these warts usually respond to topical preparations that you can buy without a prescription, such as salicylic acid and lactic acid, which work by breaking down the infected skin. Liquid nitrogen cryotherapy is also a possibility.

For plantar warts: These warts are sometimes difficult to remove and often require a certain concentrated liquid solution or your doctor may use laser treatment. It depends.
Home remedies to get rid of warts
You can also use some of the home remedies that are very effective and give satisfactory results; Here is a chart summarizing some of the most widely used and tested home remedies:

• Potato Cut a small piece of raw potato. Apply it against the wart for a few minutes every morning and night to moisten the wart. Repeat with a new piece until the wart is gone. This remedy is effective thanks to the potato starch that contains an active ingredient against warts.
• Hot water Soak the wart in warm water (44°C water, 30 minutes per day for 3 consecutive days, then an additional 2 days 2 weeks later).
• Eggplant Cut a small piece of an eggplant that is the same size as the wart and put it directly on the meat, and fix it at night before going to bed with a piece of tape. The next morning, the wart turns a little black. Keep doing the same maneuver for a few days until the wart dies completely and falls off on its own. (this solution is 100% chemical free)
• Garlic Apply a pound of crushed garlic or onion on the wart. Use a warm cloth to keep the poultice in place. Repeat the procedure every day until the wart is completely gone.
• Marinated lemon has peel in vinegar for 3 days. Apply on the wart at night protect with a dressing. The next day the wart softens: the skin is reconstituted in a few days. If the wart is more than 7 mm in diameter, proceed with this application for 2 days.
• Duct tape (a weird trick but it works) Keep the wart constantly covered with a small piece of duct tape and replace it if necessary. The wart is left uncovered overnight at the end of each week. Irritation from the tape can cause the immune system to attack the virus. This treatment is not recommended for warts located on the face, near a nail, in the genital or anal region.

wart prevention

The destruction of a wart does not necessarily eliminate the virus incriminated. Therefore, to prevent the spread of the virus, it is important to avoid contact with sources of infection.

Avoid touching another person’s warts and DO NOT walk barefoot on wet surfaces outside your home. More importantly, you can prevent genital warts by keeping those parts clean and fresh and using soap and a clean cloth to wash them.

If one day you were diagnosed with genital warts, you should go to your doctor immediately so that it can be examined and treated properly and do not miss your post-therapeutic follow-up.