Warts? The way out is that way

Warts are small benign lesions of the skin and mucous membranes, caused by the human papilloma virus. The lesion takes the form of a rough lump and may appear months after infection.

Warts are a common viral infection that can strike anyone at any age. Its transmission is made by direct contact through small lesions on the skin.

Those lesions are usually asymptomatic, but some, namely plantar lesions, can be painful.  The number and size of lesions can increase and present complications when bacterial infections develop.

Types of warts:

Warts are classified according to their location and morphology into 5 different types:

• Plantar wart - they appear on the feet and hands, they are similar to a callus, yellowish and have black spots on the inside;
• Filiform wart - thin and elongated, they appear mainly on the face or neck and are more frequent in elderly;
• Common or vulgaris wart - they are about 1 cm in diameter, have a rough, rounded, or irregular surface, and can be skin-coloured;
• Flat wart - they normally appear on the face, are flat and soft;
• Genital wart - they appear on the female or male genital area, are soft and pink in colour.
  
  

Plantar warts

Characteristics:

• Small calluses are formed on the skin, with small black spots in the centre
• 2, 3, or 4 warts may appear on the same plant or on the other foot
• They become prominent and their surface resembles a cauliflower
• Frequent on hands and feet.
• Painful, making the people who suffer from it adopt a vicious foot position, which leads do the appearance of calluses in other support areas
  
  

Causes:

They are common in children and young people who use swimming pools or changing rooms. Moisture softens the skin and facilitates the penetration of the virus. 

Warts that are located on the sole of the feet can cause pain and consequently change gait and posture.

Treatment

The treatment of warts considers the location of the wart, the existence or not of pain and the age of the individual.

First line - Keratolytic and peeling product Ex: salicylic acid and retinoic acid (vitamin A)

• A substance that promotes maceration and peeling of the superficial layers of the skin and destruction of the keratin that constitutes warts.
• Application should be made daily, until complete wart extraction.
• As dead skin forms on the surface, it must be scraped off with the help of a file or pumice stone
• Treatment should not last more than 6 weeks. If you do not improve after 6 weeks or experience adverse reactions, you should talk to your doctor
• In children the wart is eliminated in 2 to 3 weeks

Surgical procedures

Cryotherapy - freezing of the wart using a very cold substance, usually liquid nitrogen; the wart falls off after one week of treatment

Prevention:

How to avoid the risk of contamination:

• Make sure the wart area is always kept dry, as warts grow faster in humid environments
• Wear slippers or sandals in changing rooms, swimming pools or public showers
• Do not touch another person's wart
• Do not scratch a wart
• Do not shave over a wart
• At home, keep clothes and towels away from other people to avoid contact with the wart

After treatment, as long as the treatment carried out follows the established rules and all the prophylactic care advised is complied with, the tendency to relapse is low.

Talk to your pharmacist to find out the most appropriate care for the prevention and treatment of warts.

Sources
iSaúde
Farmácia Distribuição Magazine

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