Finger warts are benign neoplasms that have viral properties. The causative agent that causes the appearance of such growths is the human papillomavirus. Warts are considered a safe formation, becauserarely causes cancer. However, this fact does not mean that treatment is not needed at all. This article provides detailed information about the etiology of the disease, external signs and modern treatment methods.
Causes of warts on fingers
Warts are not uncommon, becauseThe human papillomavirus that causes the growth is highly contagious and does not affect adults or children. The causative agent, gets on the skin, enters the tissue through minor damage and remains in the body forever. At the same time, different viral load levels were observed at different times, i. e. the population of microorganisms either increases or decreases. For a long time, the disease can be asymptomatic. The incubation period can vary significantly in each case and range from 1-6 months to several years. All this, without a doubt, affects the nature of external manifestations. So, an increase in the activity of the virus causes the appearance of similar warts on the fingers, legs, knees and other areas of the skin.
The surest way to get infected is direct contact with an infected person. HPV is often sexually transmitted, so unprotected or promiscuous sex is the most likely cause of increased incidence. However, most often the growth of warts on the fingers is caused by the contact of the upper limb with an infected surface, whether it is the hand of the virus carrier or an object that he has just used - pen, cutlery, towel, book, etc. All public premises are considered places of increased danger, but especially those where there is an increased level of humidity.
Even babies from mothers can be infected. This happens during childbirth.
With the localization of warts on the fingers, there is an increased risk of self-infection, i. e. rapid spread of infection to the face and other parts of the body. The reason is the tendency of growth to frequent injuries, which lead to the release of a large number of pathogens to the surface, and the fact that the fingers are in contact with all other skin integuments and can transfer viruses to them.
The reality is that the answer to the question of why warts appear on the fingers is rather ambiguous and involves many provoking factors. First of all, the development of a viral infection is facilitated by a decrease in the immune status of an infected person, when the body becomes unable to withstand the activity of the virus, maintaining its population at the same level and preventing uncontrolled growth. epithelial cells in the form of warts on the fingers or other parts of the body. Here, too, everything is ambiguous, because the decrease in immunity also has several reasons. This is an unbalanced diet, and drug abuse, and bad habits, and emotional and physical burden.
What else causes warts on fingers? Various acute and chronic diseases, such as severe colds, diabetes mellitus, HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, skin pathologies, etc. , lead to pathogen activation. Individual characteristics such as hyperhidrosis or increased sweating also stimulate the development of pathogenic microflora.
Lack of daily care and lack of personal hygiene also allows HPV to infect more areas of the skin. Unwashed hands, untreated injuries, dehydrated and weathered skin, nail bites, and thorns can all be causes of finger warts.
What do finger warts look like?
Most people confuse warts with other skin growths such as calluses, lichen planus, keratosis, molluscum contagiosum, and often choose the wrong treatment option themselves or completely ignore the external manifestations of the disease, exposing themselves to the risk of spreading the infection, and others to the risk of infection.
In order not to make such a mistake, it is better to study in detail what warts on the fingers look like, their type, and go to the hospital in time to make an accurate diagnosis and determine effective treatment. regiment.
Benign epithelial changes caused by HPV have a capillary network that nourishes their cells. Therefore, when the integrity of the growth is damaged, small bleeding occurs very often, which increases the risk of spreading infection and wound infection. This is partly why it is highly discouraged to attempt to cut through this hardened tissue.
Warts first appear in one quantity - just one or two. But due to problems in the functioning of the immune system, more and more formations can appear. Sometimes they also unite, so extensive skin lesions are formed.
It should be considered that a rapidly developing concentration indicates a strong activity of the pathogen and causes an urgent trip to the doctor. It is also worth going to the hospital to find out how to treat warts on the fingers in cases where the neoplasm begins to darken or redden, if there are visible changes in its structure, and swelling, suppuration appears, or there is arbitrariness. removal of pathological fluid from the growth body.
Warts in color can be yellowish, in tone with the skin, gray-brown. In some cases, black dots appear on the surface - these are simply places where thrombosis of small blood vessels has occurred.
The most common types of warts on the fingers are as follows:
- Vulgar warts. The second name is common. They quite often appear not only on the inside of the palm, but also on the entire surface of the fingers, sometimes they affect the periungual space, where the skin is subject to tension and burrs. Flesh-colored formations are more common, but brown-yellow or gray are also found. The shape is nodular or domed. In diameter 2-7 mm. The build structure is quite compact and a little rough. It is drier than healthy skin. Can crack and cause pain.
- Superficial flat warts. Their surface only protrudes slightly above the skin. Its shape is round, although as it spreads and merges, there are also growths with uneven contours. The color can be brown and pale yellow. The diameter of a flat wart on the finger is from 3 to 4 mm. Their presence on the skin is most often not accompanied by pain.
- Deep flat warts. This type of skin formation often causes pain due to its structure. On the outside of the skin, the tumor appears flat with a slight depression in the center, but the roots grow deeper into the dermis layer. This, of course, creates great daily discomfort, which, more often than any other reason, makes a person go to the doctor. The shape of the deep formation is irregular, the color and size are usually the same as superficial warts.
- Subungual warts. The name was not chosen by chance. Such growth occurs right in the area below the free edge of the nail plate. At first, warts on the fingers are flat and have a smooth surface, then they become rough and keratinized. With low viral activity, they practically do not give symptoms, but with significant health weaknesses and the absence of proper hygiene treatment, they grow, penetrate the tissue under the nail, provoking the rejection of the plate from the nail bed. . In this case, it is no longer possible to talk about aesthetic defects only. Pain and pus appear, gradually the formation reaches the matrix and destroys it irrevocably.
Many believe that the treatment of such diseases is not mandatory if you are trying to strengthen the immune system so that the body can cope on its own. However, this view is largely wrong. After all, there are many reasons for the need to treat warts on fingers and other parts of the body. First, such a neoplasm is quite contagious, and a person with one wart can infect several healthy people, where the disease can develop into a more serious form. Secondly, many children, teenagers and adults are just very embarrassed by the presence of such skin formations, which, of course, causes the desire to find an effective way to get rid of warts on the fingers. What can we say about pain, vulnerability to injury and the dangers of the oncological process.
Ways to treat warts on fingers
Modern medicine knows many effective ways to get rid of warts on the fingers. Each of them has both advantages and disadvantages and should be used only as prescribed by the doctor and combined with drug therapy, because the mere removal of the growth by any method does not suppress the activity of the virus and does not guarantee the absence of recurrence. illness in the near future.
Removal of warts on the fingers in the clinic
At an appointment with a dermatologist, a detailed diagnosis is carried out, the results of which, in addition to the main indicators of health, determine the strain of the virus that causes the disease, as well as the risk of developing an oncological process. Often, tests for concomitant diseases, such as HIV, may be required, which can also cause warts on the fingers and worsen the course of the disease.
As a result, multifaceted treatment is prescribed. It includes cutting the growth with one of the modern instrumental methods, including:
- Laser removal. The most popular method. It is offered by almost all clinics. Special equipment allows you to burn epithelial tumors almost painlessly, preventing bleeding. The crust healing time is minimal. Tissues after such exposure are quickly restored, so there are almost no traces in the form of scars on the skin.
- radio wave removal. This method is based on the power of radio waves, which only cut the growth without bleeding. With the help of a radio knife, you can remove warts on the fingers, practically without touching healthy tissue. This procedure is quite expensive, but it is recognized as very effective and safe.
- Electrocoagulation. Acting force is a current of various frequencies. It burns the wart cells on the finger within seconds. At the same time, the vessel is sealed, which prevents bleeding.
- Surgical method.It is not done without local anesthesia, because. removal is done with a scalpel. Appointed less often than other options. The main indication is a large lesion, if it is necessary to take material for histological examination, as well as the presence of growths deep into the skin and under the nail plate. During the procedure, healthy tissue is often injured. After healing, scars often remain. The price of surgical intervention is calculated individually in each individual case.
- Cryotherapy. A widely used method. Wart bodies on the fingers are removed by exposure to liquid nitrogen at ultra-low temperatures. This option is characterized by good performance, painless, does not require local anesthesia. However, during the recovery period - about 7-10 days - all the doctor's recommendations should be followed so that the treated area heals quickly and without problems.
- Chemical methods. Finger wart removal is done using aggressive chemicals, such as trichloroacetic acid. It is better to entrust its implementation to a qualified specialist to avoid burns to healthy tissue. The effect must be very precise and only on the body of the build. After healing, scars may remain. The cost of the procedure depends on the medicine chosen and calculated by the doctor individually.
No method provides a 100% guarantee of effectiveness and absence of recurrence. The result depends not only on the type of wart, its localization, but also on the qualifications of the medical staff and the equipment and preparations used. During the recovery period, the patient himself plays an important role, who must follow all the doctor's instructions: every day treat places to remove warts on the fingers, prevent injuries, hypothermia of the palms, take the prescribed medicine, eliminate bad habits and normalize the situation. diet. Only after that you will not have to decide again how to get rid of warts on your fingers.
Treatment of warts on the fingers with medicines
Efficient medical treatment of warts on the fingers involves taking drugs whose action is aimed at suppressing viral infections, improving immune status and restoring the balance of minerals, vitamins and other beneficial compounds.
Types of medical products intended for the treatment of warts on the fingers:
- Oral preparation. This category includes means of complex effects - antiviral and immunomodulatory. Currently, there is no drug that can completely kill the human papillomavirus, so one of the tasks of modern medicine is to simulate natural immunity to increase the body's resistance and significantly reduce the viral load, stop the growth of warts on the fingers and other places.
- External use. Some drugs are intended for antiseptic treatment, others accelerate tissue regeneration, others have local antiviral and immunostimulating effects, others nourish skin cells, normalize all metabolic processes.
- Cauterizing external agents. They can contain both cauterizing acid and other components that contribute to the destruction of growth. Use at home is associated with the risk of burns, so the procedure should be carried out with caution. Some drugs act on the principle of cryo destruction, others on the principle of chemical destruction.
- Vitamin and mineral complex. They are prescribed to prevent nutrient deficiencies in the body, restore metabolism and performance of individual organs and systems, including the immune system.
Folk remedies for warts on fingers
The effectiveness of traditional medicine does not quell the controversy. Some argue that it is ineffective and people only lose valuable time by refusing to go to the doctor, others consider it the only correct way to cure most diseases safely.
In finding the right answer to the question of how to reduce warts on the fingers, it is better to use the golden mean. Consult a doctor and discuss with him options for complex therapy, including instrumental removal of tumors, taking HPV-specific drugs and appropriate folk remedies.
Popular folk remedies for treating warts on fingers:
- Compressed plums. Dissolve salt (20 g) in water (150 ml), add vinegar (20 ml) here, stir and soak half of the pitted plums in this solution. Infusion time - 2 hours. Remove the plums, mash the pulp. Apply the resulting slurry to the wart and fix it with a bandage or plaster for 2-8 hours.
- Thuja oil for warts. It is used externally 4-5 times a day. Daily use of this drug ensures rapid recovery of epithelial cells.
- Take the tincture.Thuja leaves (20 g) are poured with vodka (100 ml). Confirm 14 days. Lubricate the wart-affected area on the finger several times for 3 minutes. This procedure is repeated twice a day for 14-20 days.
- Conifer colored. Take young conifer twigs and juniper berries in equal quantities. Mix and grind all raw ingredients. Place 50 g of the resulting mixture in a glass dish and pour 200 g of alcohol. Leave for about 3 weeks. Strain and use to lubricate the tumor. It is enough to apply 1 time a day.
- Infusion of lemon peel. Remove the skin from 1-2 lemons and cut them, you can use a knife, you can use a meat grinder. Put the mass in a glass jar and fill it with table vinegar in the amount of 100-150 ml. Close the lid tightly. Leave it for a week, don't forget to shake it every day. Then remove the cake, and treat the wart on the finger with the resulting infusion, trying not to touch healthy skin.
- Horse chestnut stew. To prepare, you need to boil 2. 5 liters of water, add horse chestnut leaves (120 g) to it and boil for 15 minutes on low heat, filter and pour the soup into a basin. When it cools down to 36-40 degrees, lower your palm into it. The duration of such a bath is 20 minutes. It is necessary to carry out 8 procedures within 2. 5 weeks, i. e. repeat every 3 days before going to bed.
- Herbal infusion. Such a tool affects the whole body in a complex. But the most important property is the stimulation of immunity to fight the virus. Systematic reception stops the growth of warts on the fingers. For preparation, mix and then grind 20 g of juniper needles, banana leaves, chicory and dandelion roots, birch leaves, as well as 30 g of horsetail and nettle. Store in a glass container with a lid. To brew, take 20 g of the mixture, put it in an enamel pan, pour boiling water (500 ml) and leave it for 60 minutes. Filter and take inside before meals, 100-150 ml 3-4 times a day.
Regardless of what causes the weakening of the immune system and triggers the growth of epithelial tumors, warts that appear on fingers and toes, on elbows, knees, feet and elsewhere require special attention and proper treatment. Timely admission to the hospital, as well as an adequate choice of methods to remove the growth and treat HPV, will allow you to recover faster and forget about the unpleasant manifestations of the viral disease for a long time.