Warts on the hands: causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

Warts on the hands are predominantly benign tumors. The appearance of such increases is associated with increased activity of the human papillomavirus. The disease is highly contagious and requires special complex therapy.

Causes of warts in the hands

Warts are an unpleasant external manifestation of an infectious disease of the skin. The culprit is the human papillomavirus.

How does HPV infection, which causes an increase in warts on the hand:

• How to contact. . . Most often, infection with this pathogenic microorganism occurs through direct contact between the skin of a healthy person and the skin of an infected person. A simple handshake may be enough. For this reason, the most common occurrence of warts on the hand is because the hand is the most contacting part of the body. In addition to this option, the possibility of transmitting the pathogen may be noted if you use things and objects that have been touched by the carrier of the disease. Therefore, it can be transmitted from relatives at home. Sometimes the virus survives for a while on a variety of wet surfaces, such as bathrooms, locker rooms, public transportation, and so on.
• Auto-infection. . . If a similar neoplasm has appeared in one part of the body, there is a risk of self-infection. More specifically, the spread of the virus to healthy tissues. This occurs when the growths are traumatized with nails or various objects. If wound and hand hygiene is not performed in time, the growth of the lesion can be easily triggered.
• From mother to child. . . According to this possibility, the child is infected from the mother during childbirth.

It should be noted that sexual contact with a carrier of the virus rarely causes the appearance of warts on the hand. This mode of transmission often causes other types of benign tumors.

HPV is highly contagious. It is difficult to avoid infection. The disease affects both men and women, adults and children. Warts on the hands are most common in children and adolescents.

From the moment the virus enters the body, it can take 1 to 6 months for the first external manifestations to appear. Although in some cases only carriage is observed in which the warts never begin to grow. This is possible if the person's immunity is strong enough to prevent the virus from multiplying and activating.

Thus, HPV can wait a long time for the right moment - a significant weakening of the immune system.

Various mental traumas, improper work and rest regimes, drug abuse, unbalanced nutrition, adherence to bad habits, and declining adverse environmental conditions can affect immune status.

There are several predisposing factors for the appearance of these formations, consider the most obvious reasons why warts appear on the hands:

• Acute and chronic diseases. . . Any disease and lack of timely and competent treatment can significantly weaken the immune system. The risk of HPV infection with HIV, eczema, psoriasis, etc. is increased with the development of warts on the hands. in case of. The risk of the virus penetrating the epidermis increases if even the smallest cracks appear on the skin.
• Custom features. . . Hyperhidrosis, i. e. Increased sweating of the palm is a provocative factor, as it promotes the development of special pathological microflora and high humidity, which are favorable conditions for the growth of HPV.
• Failure to observe personal hygiene rules. . . It is very easy to explain what causes warts on your hands in the absence of skin care. For example, dry skin can cause small cracks and irritation through which the virus can safely penetrate. It is noteworthy that infection can be prevented even after shaking hands with an infected person if it is banal to wash hands in time.

With strong protective functions, the body is able to cope with the infection on its own. At best, recovery occurs within 2-3 months. According to statistics, this is about 20% of all cases. Sometimes the healing process takes place on its own within 2 years.

What do warts look like on your hands?

Many, after finding skin tumors in themselves, are wondering how to cure warts on their hands. However, before starting treatment, you need to make sure that there are warts exactly, and to do this you need to be able to distinguish these benign growths from others - corns, keratosis, lichen planus and molluscum contagiosum.

The main difference is that the warts on the hands and other parts of the body have small blood vessels. This can be understood if the growth is accidentally damaged or if you try to remove it yourself - bleeding of varying intensity occurs.

The color spectrum of benign and safe warts is varied. The growths can be flesh-colored, light yellow, light brown, greyish brown. Sometimes black spots are observed on their surface - sites of thrombotic vessels. However, bright brown, black staining of tumors caused by human papillomavirus is not typical. Any discoloration should alert the person and they should go to the hospital urgently to determine how to treat the warts on their hands. Growth that ignites, withers, and accelerates growth should also cause fear.

The size of the warts varies between 1 and 10 mm. They are unique or formed into several groups. In the case of a very weak immune response, the tumor tissues grow rapidly. Each growth can grow together.

It causes any type of wart hyperkeratosis - excessive thickening of the top layer of the epidermis. Therefore, such increases are easily felt, clearly standing out from the background of cells with a healthier, coarser and firmer structure.

The most common types of warts appear on the hand:

• Common warts. . . It is also called vulgar. These types of tumors are a popular place for the hands. It can easily spread to the facial skin. The color is fleshy, yellowish brown or greyish. Blackheads can often be seen on such warts. The growths are keratinized protrusions above the skin. Such warts on the hands resemble a lump or a domed papule in shape. Their structure is dense, their surface is uneven, with small fluff, and the fabric is more dry. The size is usually 2-7 mm in diameter. They usually do not cause pain.
• Superficial flat warts. . . Another name is youthful. The backs of the hands are often touched. Color - pale yellow to brown. They resemble round or irregularly shaped flat knots in appearance. Its size is 3-4 mm. It practically does not stretch the skin.
• Flat warts are deep. . . The second type of flat warts. Representatives of this species grow inward. These are very specific formations. It is also irregular in shape and ranges in color from pale yellow to brown. It does not protrude particularly much from the skin, but there is a slight indentation towards the center inside the outer surface of the body. The size of a single neoplasm is 3-4 mm. Most often, deep warts on the hands require treatment. they usually cause quite strong painful feelings.

Warts are a source of infection. At the same time, they cause great physical discomfort to their master and form complexes in it, ashamed of their appearance because the hands are almost always in mind. For this reason, even without the presence of pain and dangerous changes in the structure of such growths, it is advisable to go to the hospital and learn how to remove warts on the hands.

Ways to treat hand warts

Determining the causes of warts on the hands and treating them should be done by a qualified doctor who has not only the knowledge and experience but also all the tools to make a diagnosis. So, with the help of laboratory tests, they determine the type of human papillomavirus, the viral load, and assess the risk of developing harmful consequences. Based on the results, a complex therapy is prescribed that includes not only taking medications but also instrumental removal of dangerous neoplasms. Self-medication can very often lead to a lack of therapeutic effect or the development of complications.

Treatment of hand warts with medication

Dermatologists treat warts on the hands. Its main function is to suppress the activity of the virus and prevent the spread of the infection. For this purpose, antiviral drugs are used for both external use and oral administration.

The most popular treatments for manual warts are:

• Ointments for disinfection and virus control. . . Topical treatment can reduce the spread of the infection through the skin, thereby reducing the risk of others becoming infected. Many drugs effectively suppress the activity of the virus, slowing the uncontrolled growth of tumors. In addition, they contribute to the rapid healing of skin lesions, relieving inflammation.
• External means of destruction of growths. . . The active ingredients act aggressively on growth cells, promoting their destruction and provoking complete removal of warts on the hands and other parts of the body. Their use is desirable within the walls of a healthcare facility to avoid undesirable consequences in the form of damage to healthy tissues. Spraying with dimethyl ether and propane may be mentioned separately. The drug works on the principle of cryodestruction and effectively removes epithelial tumors caused by HPV.

It should be noted that no specific drug against human papillomavirus has been found at present. However, there are medications that can reduce the activity of the virus and stop the growth of warts on the hands, feet, and other parts of the body. So it is worth highlighting drugs for oral administration in a separate column. They actively stimulate the immune system, help the body produce special immune cells, and can also have a visible antiviral effect.

Popular antiviral and immunostimulatory drugs used to treat HPV in the presence of warts on the hands:

• Inosine - containing preparation. The strong antiviral effect is supplemented by a stimulating effect on the immune system. A comprehensive solution to the HPV problem in different strains enhances the immune response and inhibits viral activity.
• Synthetic analog of purine nucleoside. It is a direct-acting drug that targets viruses, including HPV. Treatment results in a visible decrease in viral activity.
• Inducer of the synthesis of endogenous interferons. The effect is specific - it activates the body's defenses, triggering many immune processes. Accelerates interferon production.
• Preparation with meglumine acridone acetate. It increases the body's resistance to the effects of HPV. It reduces the viral load and stops the growth of warts on the hands.
• Popular immunostimulatory drug. An increase in the immune response leads to the fact that the virus loses its ability to integrate into healthy cells while its population is significantly reduced.

If your health is severely impaired, your doctor will recommend taking vitamin and mineral complexes to restore the balance of nutrients and the performance of certain structural units in your body.

After comprehensive treatment of hand warts, patient feedback shows that complex therapy has a great effect and the percentage of relapses is much lower than simply removing epithelial tumors with instrumental methods without the use of antiviral and immunostimulatory drugs.

Removal of hand warts by instrumental methods

Removal of the affected epithelium is a mandatory procedure if the warts cause discomfort, grow rapidly, and change their structure or are often damaged. In addition, any mechanical effect on the growths can cause bleeding, the addition of a secondary infection, or the development of an inflammatory process. For this reason, it is strongly not recommended to remove warts from your hand yourself.

There are several modern methods for instrumental removal of skin tumors. They are characterized by a high degree of efficiency. Most of them are considered minimally invasive. The pain relief of the procedures is provided by local anesthesia.

The most popular methods of instrumental wart control are:

• Electrocoagulation. . . This method is great for removing vulgar warts protruding above the skin level, although it also helps get rid of deep epithelial tumors. A special device with one loop at the end synthesizes the high-frequency current and simply interrupts the accumulation. No bleeding occurs during manipulation. The resulting crust leaves within 5-7 days. The scar after electrocoagulation remains only after deep exposure.
• Surgical excision. . . In most cases, growth is required to be sampled for analysis and in the case of large lesions. Warts on the hands are removed with a surgical scalpel. Healthy tissues are often excised during the procedure. Cosmetic sutures are applied for 7-10 days after the procedure. After the tissues have completely healed, scars may remain. The cost of surgery is calculated individually for each patient.
• Laser removal. . . According to several criteria, this is the most successful method - minimal pain, high safety, accurate impact on education. With the help of a laser, the cells of the wart on the hand burn out. The remaining wells are tightened after 2-3 weeks.
• Cryodestruction. . . Freezing of the tissues in a matter of seconds causes the treated tissues to die. Liquid nitrogen causes the wart on the hand to become slightly pale and thick. The tissue around it may swell slightly and turn red. The wart body then turns into a bubble that can fill with fluid. It shrinks within a week and a bark stays in place. The recovery time of the skin from this moment is about 2 weeks.

Bark, bubbles and wounds resulting from the procedures should never be torn off. This can lead to infection and a longer recovery time. In addition, such activities often leave unattractive scars.

The cost of each procedure depends on the location of the warts on the hand, the number of growths, and the total area of the lesion. In addition, different clinics may offer the same service at different prices, depending on the type of equipment used and the qualifications of the medical staff.

Treatment of hand warts with folk remedies

Many people refuse to visit a doctor for various reasons and seek answers to the question of how to get rid of warts at home.

In order to eliminate warts and fight the human papillomavirus, traditional healers use many impromptu tools, foods, and plants. However, you should understand that the effectiveness of traditional medicine in treating HPV is quite poor, so you should not rely on it to refuse to take medication and remove skin growths professionally.

In some cases, your doctor may suggest supplementing traditional treatments for warts on your hands with folk remedies. The tasks are the same - maintaining immunity and increasing the body’s antiviral activity, normalizing the nutrient balance, and topical antiseptic treatment.

Effective folk remedies:

• Herbal infusion. . . For cooking, take 25 g of birch leaves, juniper needles, dandelion root, plantain leaves, chicory root and 30 g of nettle leaves, agine and horseradish. Pour all the ingredients with 1 liter of boiling water, boil on low heat for 10 minutes and stick for 10-12 hours. It should be taken four times a day with half a glass.
• Infusion with herbs. . . For cooking, take grasshopper (10 g), birch buds (15 g), lemongrass herb (20 g), thyme (25 g) and juniper berries (30 g). Mix all ingredients. For cooking, take 40 g of herb mixture, pour 400-500 ml of boiling water, let stand for 1-1, 5 hours, filter and place. The resulting dose is calculated for 1 day. Treatment of manual warts takes 2-5 weeks.
• Hand baths. . . The starting material is tea tree oil (3 drops) and lemon juice (half of the fruit). Dilute both ingredients with 2 cups of warm water. Place in the palm mixture and hold for 20 minutes. After the procedure, the softened wart particles on the hand should be removed. The device has antiviral effect, softens the skin, accelerates tissue regeneration, fights pathogens.
• Lemon-pine mixture against warts. . . Lemon and pine oil should be mixed in equal proportions. The resulting mixture is applied 3-5 times a day to the affected areas to soften growths, have an antiseptic effect and accelerate the regeneration of healthy tissues.
• Applications against warts. . . Patchouli oil is placed on a bactericidal patch and fixed on the deposit. Such applications may take several hours. To speed up the therapeutic effect, the procedure should be performed 2-3 times a day until the wart on the hand completely disappears.
• Empty infusion. . . Pour 60 g of crushed dry grass wormwood into 250 ml of boiling water. Insist in a thermos for 2, 5 hours, filter. In the infusion, a gauze bandage is impregnated and a compress is made twice a day.

Wart removal is sometimes practiced with celandine, onions, potato juice, lemon, Kalanchoe, acetic acid.

Real patient opinions on the treatment of hand warts

The choice of treatment methods is the prerogative of physicians, but it will not be unnecessary to become familiar with the possible options for HPV therapy and the methods of removing the tumors before going to the hospital. Feedback left on online forums about the treatment of warts on hand helps to evaluate the effectiveness of a particular system in advance. We recommend that you read some stories about getting rid of the external manifestations of HPV:

1. "My child has warts on his arm. They were immediately simply smeared with antiseptics, but when they started to grow near their nails, there was pain. We decided to remove it in the safest and most effective way, as they said - with radio waves. The boy really didn’t complain of pain during the procedure, there was no blood. The skin recovered very quickly. Then they also took an interferon-based drug. There are no warts now. "
2. "Somehow I suddenly got these increases. They were very ill. I tried garlic and celandine at home, but I didn’t go with it. They had to be removed with a laser, the warts on my hands were deep so the scars were deep. It took about two weeks to heal, the scars gradually heal, but I still drink antiviral pills and anti-immune medication. "
3. "But folk remedies didn’t help me, they just caused me pain. I had to go to the surgeon, a lot of the mud grew. It’s still good that even though the doctor didn’t tear my fingers hard, he sewed them together carefully. Recovery took about three weeks. I am now taking pills and making decoctions to regenerate my skin. "

Treating warts on your hands is a responsible business. Prescribing medicines and determining the best way to dispose of them should only be done by a qualified healthcare professional to prevent the spread of the disease and to reduce the risk of infection to people around you.