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Background Information Warts are small harmless lesions of the skin caused by a
DNA-containing human papillomavirus (HPV).
The appearance of warts can differ based on the type of wartand where it is located on the body.
Warts are common in children. Most cases occur betweenages 12-16 years.
Up to 30% of warts disappear by themselves within 6 months.Most will disappear without any treatment within 3 years.
The virus enters the skin after direct contact with recentlyshed viruses kept alive in warm, moist environments such asa locker room, or by direct contact with an infected person.
The entry site is often an area of recent injury. The incubationtime—from when the virus is contracted until a wart appears—can be 1-8 months.
Contrary to popular mythology, touching a frog will not giveyou warts.
Types of warts
Common warts (Verrucae vulgaris): Typically
develop on the hand, especially around the nail.
They are gray to flesh colored, raised from the skin
surface, and covered with rough, hornlike
projections.
Types of warts (cont.) Plantar warts (Verrucae plantaris): Occur on the plantar
surface, or bottom, of the foot.
They usually occur in high pressure areas such as the heeland the metatarsal heads (just behind the toes).
They usually grow into the skin, not outward like commonwarts.
This growing into the skin makes them more difficult to treat.
Flat warts (Verrucae plana): Flat warts are mostcommonly seen on the face, the back of the hands,and lower legs.
They usually appear as small individual bumpsabout 1/4 inch across.
Flat warts may spread rapidly on the face and lowerlegs from the activities involved in shaving.
Types of warts (cont.)
Treatment Home care is effective in making the wart or warts
go away. No matter what technique you use,
warts will disappear 60-70% of the time.
Techniques may be done with and without
medication.
The ultimate goal of the medical therapies (not the
surgical treatments) is to get your body to
recognize the wart as something foreign and to
destroy it, much like the body destroys a cold
virus.
Adhesive tape therapy
Place several layers of waterproof adhesive tape
over the wart region (even duct tape).
Do not remove the tape for 6-12 days. Then take
off the tape and open the area to the air for 12
hours.
Re-apply tape for another 6-12 days.
The tape works best in the region around the
fingernail.
Tape works because the air-tight, moist
environment under the tape does not allow the
virus to grow and reproduce
Salicylic acid therapy Salicylic acid is available by many different trade names at the drug store.
Dual Film
Wart-Off
Dr. Scholl’s Wart Medication
Medi-Plast
It comes either as a liquid to paint on the wart or as a plaster to be cut out
and placed on the wart tissue.
slowly destroys virus-infected epidermis and may cause an immune
response from the mild irritation caused by the salicylic acid
The area with the wart should be soaked in warm water for 5-10 minutes.
The wart should then be pared down with a razor. A simple razor works fine
for this, then throw it away.
Do not shave far enough to make the wart bleed.
Apply the salicylic acid preparation to the wart tissue.
Do not apply it to other skin because of salicylic acid's potential to injure
normal tissue.
Follow directions on the package for how long to apply the acid.
Cryosurgery Liquid nitrogen or dimethyl ether - propane mixture
is used to deep freeze the wart tissue.
With liquid nitrogen applied to the wart, the water inthe cells expands, thus exploding the infectedtissue.
The exploded cells can no longer hide the humanpapillomavirus from the body's immune system.
The immune system then works to destroy thevirus particles.
Periungual area may scar if cryotherapy with liquid
nitrogen is used improperly.
Scarring could lead to permanent nail disfiguration.
Laser Therapy
Lasers are simply very intense light
sources.
This light has an enormous amount of
energy that heats the tissue enough that it
vaporizes.
Shave Removal Shave removal and electrodessication of the base may be
necessary when other treatment methods fail.
This would involve numbing the region around the wartand shaving the wart flat with the surface and lightelectrodessication of the base.
Others Treatments Imiquimod, a topical cream that helps the body's immune
system fight the wart virus by encouraging interferonproduction. Approved by the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) for genital warts. The drug is veryexpensive.
Dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB), like salicylic acid, this isapplied directly to the wart. Studies showed this method waseffective with a cure rate of 80%. But DNCB must be usedmuch more cautiously than salicylic acid; the chemical isknown to cause genetic mutations, so it must beadministered by a physician. This drug induces an allergicimmune response resulting in inflammation that wards off thewart-causing virus.
Flurouracil, which inhibits DNA synthesis, is being used asan experimental treatment. It is applied directly to the wart(especially plantar warts) and covered (for example: withtape).
Prognosis Most warts will disappear without treatment anywhere from
6 months to 3 years.
Warts may recur after treatment and require additional
treatments.
Prevention Avoid touching warts on others or touching them on
yourself (refrain from rubbing a warty finger across your
face).
Children needs to avoid biting or chewing warts.
Wear shower shoes in the gym locker room to lower your
risk of picking up the virus that causes plantar warts from
the moist environment.