Warts

January 8, 2021Articles40

Warts are small growths with a rough texture that can appear anywhere on the body. It can look like a solid blister or small cauliflower . The appearance of a wart depends on its location on the body and thickness of the skin.

Symptoms –

Common warts usually occur on your fingers or hands and may be –

• Small ,fleshy ,grainy bumps

• Flesh colored ,white ,pink or tan

• Rough to the touch

• Sprinkled with black pin points which are small ,clotted blood vessels

Causes –

These are caused by Humanpapilloma virus (HRV). HRV cause the excessive and rapid growth of keratin ,which is a hard protein on the top layer of the skin.

The warts causing virus can be passed on by close skin to skin contact and through contact with towels or shoes.

It can spread to other parts of the body through –

• scratching or biting a wart

• sucking fingers

• biting fingernails

• shaving the face or legs

Types –

• Common warts or verruca vulgaris –

These have a firm ,raised,rough surface and may appear cauliflower like. They can occur anywhere ,but they are most common on the knuckles, fingers, elbows, knees and any area with broken skin. These are also known as seed warts. Clotted blood vessels are often visible in common warts as small darkened spots.

• Plantar warts –

Painful warts appear on the soles of the feet ,heels and toes. They usually grow into the skin because the person’s weight pushes onto the sole of the foot. They normally have a small central black dot surrounded by hand ,white tissue. These are difficult to treat.

• Plane warts –

These are also known as flat warts. They grow most often on sunexposed areas. These are round ,flat and smooth and can be yellowish ,brownish or skin colored. They tend to grow in large numbers possibly between 20-100. They are most likely to disappear without treatment.

• Filiform warts –

They are long and thin in shape. They can grow rapidly on the eyelids ,neck and armpits.

• Mosaic warts –

These are multiple plantar warts in a larger cluster.These are often the same color as the person’s skin. Warts donot contain pus unless they become infected.

Prevention –

To reduce the risk of catching or spreading infection –

• Don’t scratch warts

• Don’t share shoes and socks with others

• Don’t use other people towels or other personal items

• Wear sandals when entering and exiting communal showers and pools

• Don’t brush, comb,shave or clip hair in area of warts

• Don’t bite fingernails if warts are near them

• Wash hands thoroughly after touching a wart

Risk Factors –

• Children and young adults , because their bodies may not have built up immunity to the virus.

• People with weakend immune systems such as those with HIV/AIDS or people who have had organ transplant.

Diagnosis –

• Examining the wart

• Scraping off the top layer of the wart to check for signs of dark , pinpoint dots

• Removing a small section of the wart and sending it to a laboratory for analysis to rule out other types of skin growths.

Treatment –

It’s treatment is suggested based on the location of your warts. Treatment may take weeks or months .The goal of treatment is to destroy the wart and stimulate the immune system response to fight with the virus.

Some methods of treatment are as follows –

• Stronger peeling medicine (Salicylic acid)

• Cryotherapy

• Other acids like trichloroacetic acid

• Minor surgery

• Laser treatment

Ayurvedic Perspective –

In Ayurveda warts canbe correlated with charmakila. According to Ayurveda warts are only likely to affect a person with low pitta. There is a need to alkalize the system, but this cannot generally be achieved through an alkaline diet alone.

Line of treatment –

• Kshara karma –

• Agnikarma –

Effective Herbs –

Used for local application –

• Garlic –

• Baking powder mixed with castor oil –

• Carrot with olive oil paste –

• Lemonjuice and onion –

• Aloevera –

Beneficial Medications –

• Kaishore gugglu

• Manjhishtarhishta

• Gandhak Rasayan

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