They don’t look aesthetically pleasing and often cause complexes. A person wants to get rid of them but doesn’t know how.
Do we need to remove the buildup?
It depends on the size, nature and age of the papillomas. But most often, the answer is clearly positive because warts are contagious and can spread to others. Perhaps self-infection is also autoinoculation.
FirstInfection of neoplasms manifests itself not only through direct contact with them, but also when they use general household items, personal hygiene items, or simply touch places where the infected persontouched. For example, a bus barrier.
Secondlocalization of the wart can occur in a place that is most likely to be injured - the neck, legs, armpits, groin. These places are more often than others rubbed, squeezed and touched with clothes. Then it is full of malignancy, bleeding, overgrowth.
Third,the size and number of formations can increase, causing aesthetic problems. This phenomenon can be called the conquest of the area by warts.
Important! Not always, but perhaps the degeneration of a wart into melanoma, an incurable aggressive skin cancer.
Major misconceptions about the danger of surgery
Early treatment and treatment of warts is the best solution. This will save you a lot of time, effort and money. Although 70% of warts can disappear spontaneously after 2 years of existence, they can return with equal success, plus new places.
Many people's fears when they contact a surgeon are related to fear of surgery, its complications, relapses, and the pain that may occur during the procedure. They are completely unfounded as modern methods provide very good pain relief and many do not need to be anesthetized at all.
It is still widely believed that an extra touch of a wart with a surgeon’s knife enhances its growth. This is the deepest misconception - surgery prevents the virus from spreading and prevents the wart from growing. Fortunately, there are enough ways to do this.
We can call strange patients who are not afraid to use traditional home methods and reject qualified help. The experience and qualifications of the doctor are of course crucial, but a good surgeon is not uncommon.
And one more help - don’t rely on beauticians and rush to them with warts. They just don’t have a proper medical degree.
Modern methods
There are newer or older removal methods. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. In addition, the effect depends on the size, position and depth of growth of the wart.
Each method can be divided into 3 groups: hardware, surgical, and chemical. The alternative treatment is more related to the method of physical (mechanical) effect.
When you contact your doctor, your doctor will be able to recommend the best solution, but the last choice is up to the patient.
Prior consultation is also required because not all methods you choose may be appropriate as there are contraindications and limitations.
Laser treatment
The laser method can be called universal. Of all the methods, he leads today. You can use a laser to remove warts in the hardest, most delicate and most painful places. It is also advantageous not to give scars. The beam is the safest and least traumatic.
The efficiency is so high that one procedure is enough. The essence of the thermal effect on the wart burns from the temperature. Healing is fast, without scars and complications.
Additional laser pros:
- the patient does not feel pain;
- no anesthesia required;
- complete removal;
- fast - takes 1-2 minutes. Relapse is only possible in 20% of cases.
Burning leaves a depression that heals in 2 weeks. The skin may temporarily lighten, which also goes away on its own after 3 weeks.
Cauterization with liquid nitrogen
Cryodestruction is the freezing of a wart at low temperatures using liquid nitrogen. Duration - 30 seconds. Freezing leads to death of growth tissue. When exposed to freezing, the papilloma thickens and whitens. After a minute, it turns red and swells.
A gray liquid bubble appears at home. After a week, it breaks through on its own and a crust forms. The bark heals and falls off in 2 weeks.
A pink spot remains, gradually becoming more even in color with the skin. The formation disappears within 2 weeks and a pink spot appears at the site of removal, which gradually disappears.
Benefits:
- no pain, no scarring and no need for anesthesia;
- there is no infection or bleeding.
The only downside is that there is no way to control the depth of the stroke.
The impact on the sole takes about 1 minute. The procedure on the sole can be repeated up to 5 times. Minus - long wound healing.
Electrocoagulation
Wart electrocoagulation uses high frequency currents. It concentrates in a loop that cuts off the wart. The temperature of moxibustion is about 80 degrees.
No bleeding due to concomitant coagulation of blood vessels. Local anesthesia is required. The great advantage of this method is that it prevents the virus from spreading further. In addition, the method is quite budgetary and efficient.
Surrounding tissues should be covered and skin disinfected in advance. There is also a crusty section. It will disappear within a week. After this, an almost imperceptible, transparent scar remains, but more often a light spot. There are no setbacks!
Use of radio wave therapy
The method is no less efficient than electric current. Moxibustion is performed by special means; the doctor will help you choose the right one. It is a radio wave generator, its high frequency electric waves do not touch the wart but are completely cut off.
The essence of the operation is that the cells of the wart contain fluid, which expands with radio waves, the wart swells and ruptures. The work is done with a tip reminiscent of a special ballpoint pen.
There are no scars or infections. The only drawback is the painfulness of the procedure, which is why the accumulation is pre-anesthetized. Healthy cells are not damaged. Moxibustion lasts about 20 minutes.
Tip! The bark stage cannot be moistened and peeled! It will disappear in a week.
Surgical excision
Surgical removal is a traditional, classic method performed with a scalpel. Now it is not used often. The method is traumatic and causes relapses and scars.
There is a risk of damage to adjacent tissues, the possibility of infection. But it is irreplaceable if the wart is large. Under local anesthesia, with a special spoon, the wart is scraped off after incision. The sutures are cosmetic in nature and are removed after a week. The scar remains about 3 mm in size and fades over time.
Chemical moxibustion
The formation is performed with acid or alkali. Wash off after a while. There are usually at least 6 methods to achieve the effect. There is a burning or tingling sensation. The wart dries out and falls off.
Disadvantages:
- there is a risk that the virus will spread and infection cannot be ruled out;
- healthy tissue is often damaged;
- scars are possible, healing takes about 10 days.
This method is used only if other methods are not possible.
Advantages and disadvantages of different methods, which is better
There are advantages and disadvantages to any removal method, there are no ideal options. Today, the most popular methods: laser therapy, cryotherapy, electrocautery, radio waves, surgical scalpel - in descending order. The cost of the first 3 methods is actually in the same price range.
The laser leads first: no places inaccessible to it, safe, fast and painless. Cryodestruction is considered the second most effective, but there is no way to control the depth of exposure, which makes relapses possible.
And one more conclusion - the laser can only remove 1 small formation in 1 session.
cryotherapy can be used in papillomatosis, where up to 40 growths can be removed in one procedure. But here the doctor’s experience is of great importance for quality.
How does the location and type of growth influence the choice of technique?
There are 4 types of warts:
- vulgar- in the form of small lumps, often growing on the fingers and toes, in the back of the hand;
- flat- characteristic of adolescents, in the form of protruding spots; these include the plantar (thorny);
- filamentous (acrocords)- elastic thin outgrowths on the legs, appearing on the face (eyelids, lips) and neck;
- genital warts - often localized on the mucous membranes of the genitals; resemble cauliflower in appearance.
These 4 types are viral and belong to real warts.
But there are also senile keratomas caused by functional disorders of the skin. They do not require treatment, only observation. Cryotherapy can be used on request.
The doctor will recommend a removal method, but in the end it is up to the patient to choose. How the choice of method depends on the type of wart: small formations can be safely removed with aradio wave “knife” or liquid nitrogen.
Theradio knifecan be applied to the face, neck, legs and palms, groin. Not used with papillomas on the eyelids. They can use a laser or liquid nitrogen.
freezingis also used on the hands and feet (soles), papillomas on the neck. The cryo method can be called universal. Safe.
Laser- removes warts on any part of the body, including under the nail.
Surgical methodis used for large growths of the oral mucosa.
Electrocoagulationis recommended for flat and vulgar warts. It can even be applied to the face. In the case of large formations, the effect is negligible. In addition, the electric knife is not used for plantar warts because they usually have deep roots and are very dense.
Important! Plantar growths should only be removed in a hospital.
The chemical method gives good results in plantar lesions, flat and pointed. Physical methods are ineffective compared to that.
What method do doctors recommend to remove formations?
The customer, of course, chooses according to his options. But to make the right decision, you need to be guided by your doctor’s opinion. Those skilled in the art will prefer a complex (combined) treatment of the warts, with the leading site being the removal site.
In addition, treatment includes oral administration of drugs with antiviral activity. Although the HPV virus (human papillomavirus) is not 100% curable and its activation depends in many ways on the state of immunity, it can be slowed, "put to sleep, " and remission can be prolonged.
In addition to antiviral drugs, immunomodulators are also used for this purpose. This is primarily a group of interferons.
Doctors treat folk methods without much enthusiasm, as the treatment is not done by doctors and will not be safe. It is full of damage to the surrounding tissues, infection, inflammation. Children under the age of 5 should not have their warts removed in any way.