Western GTA Convergence Centre

Warts - Types & Treatments

Warts may cause its sufferers certain difficulties in doing their daily routines such as during working hours, housecleaning or exercise. In addition, certain victims will tend to feel ashamed to face other people among themselves particularly when multiple warts were developed which have badly affected their appearance. When such skin imperfection occurs, especially on visible areas, many people will have a deceived view on the victim as they are lacking of personal hygiene.

Fortunately, most warts growths are harmless. They are caused by viruses called human papillomavirus or HPV in short. These viruses will usually attack on the cracked areas of the skin, and thus develop warts. The impact of suffering from warts is not just any physical illness condition upon the individual but also a damage done to their self confidence. At this stage, it will be desirable for sufferers to treat or remove them.

In order to treat them, you will first need to learn about the general wart types and what can likely be the reason that causes the viruses to attack. Generally, there are four types of warts growth, which are common warts, flat warts, plantar warts and genital warts.

Like what it is named after, common warts will often appear easily on the common parts of our body such as fingers and nails. Minor skin cracks on our hands' surface are prone to HPV attacks. Infected area will raise the skin surface as well as causing the texture to become rough. You may also notice that there are some black or dark reddish dots on the warts, which sort of look like small seeds but they are actually just blood vessels beneath our skin. Some people also call them as seed warts.

Flat warts are more likely to occur amongst children and teenagers. These little lumps can be seen growing on forehead, neck, arms and legs where they will appear in a group of tens to hundreds of them at the same time. Flat warts, sometimes also known as juvenile warts, become visible only after a long period of time. Though these bumps are flesh colored, flat and are smoother than any other warts, they can still be an embarrassment.

The third type is plantar warts which appear particularly on toes and sole of the foot. Due to all the walking pressures, these warts may look quite unusual from the common ones and also because of the physical contact with the infected area, victims will suffer various unpleasant sensations. Therefore it has become a must for sufferers to treat or remove foot warts.

Genital wart is considered the most irritating and painful compare to other warts. Since it grows near or on our genital tissues, you can visualize how unpleasant these infections can be. Genital warts can appear in flat or mushroom like lumps on or around the genital parts. They are potentially more risky because they are possible to develop into cancerous growths. Moreover, these viruses are highly transmittable during sexual activities.

Lastly, we are here to look at what kind of treatments or surgeries available for those who seriously need them. Warts can be excised off by normal surgical methods using scalpels or scissors, or you can use some other medications which contain acidic agents such as salicylic to remove the wart. Other irregular treatment for warts includes cauterizing, laser and cryotherapy, a technique to freeze and eliminate abnormal skin cells. However, before opting for any medical operation it is important to learn and understand its results as well as side effects from your dermatologist. Also, different types of warts require different treatment methods.