Warts on the fingers are benign tumors of viral nature. The pathogen causing the appearance of this growth is the human papillomavirus. Warts are considered a safe formation because. Rarely carcinogenic. However, this fact does not mean that treatment is not needed at all. This article provides detailed information on the etiology of the disease, external signs, and modern treatments.
Causes of warts on fingers
Warts are not uncommon because. The HPV that causes them to grow is highly contagious and neither adults nor children are immune. Pathogens that come into contact with the skin enter the tissue through the slightest injury and remain in the body forever. At the same time, different levels of viral load, that is, an increase or decrease in the number of microorganisms, were observed at different times. For a long time, the disease can be asymptomatic. The incubation period for each case varies widely, ranging from 1-6 months to several years. All of these undoubtedly affect the nature of the outward manifestation. Thus, increased viral activity can cause the same warts to appear on fingers, feet, knees, and other skin areas.
The most reliable way of getting infected is through direct contact with someone who is already infected. HPV is usually transmitted sexually, so unprotected sex or promiscuity are the most likely reasons for the increased incidence. Most of the time, however, wart growths on the fingers are caused precisely by contact of the upper extremity with an infected surface, whether it is the hands of the carrier or an object he has just used - pens, cutlery, towels, a bookbooks etc. All public places are considered places of increased risk, especially those with increased humidity.
Even babies of mothers can be infected. This happens during labor.
With the localization of warts on the fingers, the risk of self-infection increases, ie. The infection spreads rapidly to the face and other parts of the body. The reason for this is that the growths are susceptible to frequent injuries, resulting in the release of large quantities of pathogens to the surface, and the fact that fingers are in contact with all other skin coverings, 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 provocative factors. First, when the body becomes unable to resist the activity of the virus, the decreased immune status of the infected person promotes the development of the viral infection, keeping its population at the same level and preventing the uncontrolled growth of epithelial cells that appear in the form of warts on the fingers orother parts of the body. Here too, everything is ambiguous, because there are also many reasons for the decline in immunity. It's an unbalanced diet, substance abuse, bad habits, and emotional and physical overload.
What else can cause warts on fingers? Various acute and chronic diseases, such as severe colds, diabetes, HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, skin diseases, etc. , will lead to the activation of pathogens, and individual characteristics such as hyperhidrosis or increased sweating will also stimulate the growth of pathogenic flora.
Lack of daily care and personal hygiene also allows HPV to infect more and more areas of the skin. Unwashed hands, untreated wounds, dehydrated and weathered skin, nail biting and burrs can all be the cause of warts on the fingers.
What do finger warts look like?
Most people confuse warts with other skin growths such as calluses, lichen planus, keratosis, molluscum contagiosum and often self-select the wrong treatment or ignore the outward manifestations of the disease altogether, putting themselves at risk of spreading the infectionrisk, and risk of infection to others.
In order not to make such a mistake, it is best to carefully study what the warts on the fingers look like and what types they are, and go to the hospital in time to make an accurate diagnosis and determine the effective course of treatment.
Benign epithelial changes caused by HPV have a network of capillaries that nourish their cells. Therefore, when the integrity of the growth is compromised, light bleeding often occurs, which increases the risk of spreading infection and wound infection. This is partly why trying to cut away this hardened tissue is highly discouraged.
Warts initially appear in single numbers -- just one or two. But due to problems with the functioning of the immune system, there will be more and more formations. Sometimes they even fuse together, creating extensive skin lesions.
It is worth considering that rapid growth of foci indicates strong activity of the pathogen and leads to urgent medical attention. If the tumor starts to turn black or red, if it changes significantly in structure, becomes swollen, suppurates, or develops any lesions, it is also worth going to the hospital to find out how to treat warts on the fingers to remove pathological fluid from the growth.
Warts can be yellowish in color, with the skin being grayish brown. In some cases, dark spots are visible on the surface - these are just places where blood clots have formed in small blood vessels.
The most common types of warts on the fingers are as follows:
- Vulgar warts. The second name is common. They often appear not only on the inside of the palm, but on the entire surface of the fingers, and sometimes they affect the space around the nails, where the skin is prone to tension and burrs. Flesh-colored formations are more common, but tan or light gray formations are also found. The shape is nodular or domed. 2-7 mm in diameter. The packing structure is quite dense and slightly rough. It is drier than healthy skin. May rupture and cause pain.
- superficial flat wart。 Their surface protrudes only slightly from the skin. The shapes are circular, although there are byproducts of uneven contours as they diffuse and merge. The color can be brown and yellowish. A flat wart on a finger is 3 to 4 mm in diameter. Their presence on the skin is usually painless.
- deep plana. Due to its structure, this type of skin formation is often painful. Outside the skin, the growths appear flat with a slight depression in the middle, but their roots grow deeper in the dermis. This of course causes considerable day-to-day discomfort, which is more likely than any other reason to see a doctor. Deep warts are irregular in shape and usually the same color and size as superficial warts.
- subungual wart. The name was not chosen by chance. This growth occurs in the area just below the free edge of the deck. Warts on the fingers are flat and smooth at first, then become rough and keratinized. Due to the low activity of the virus, they are almost asymptomatic, but with significantly weakened health and lack of proper hygienic treatment, they grow, penetrating the tissue under the nail, causing rejection of the nail bed plate. In this case, it is no longer possible to talk only about aesthetic defects. Soreness and suppuration appear, gradually forming the reaching matrix and destroying it irreversibly.
Many people believe that treatment for this disease is not mandatory if you are trying to boost your immune system so that your body can deal with it on its own. However, this view is largely wrong. After all, there are many reasons to treat warts on your fingers and other parts of your body. First, the tumor is highly contagious, and one person with one wart can infect several healthy people, in which the disease develops in a more severe form. Secondly, many children, teenagers and adults are very embarrassed by the existence of this skin structure, which of course leads to the hope of finding an effective way to remove warts on the fingers. What can we say about pain, susceptibility to injury, and danger of neoplastic processes.
How to treat finger warts
Modern medicine knows many effective methods for removing warts on the fingers. They each have pros and cons and should only be used as prescribed by a doctor and in combination with drug therapy, as removing growths by any means alone does not suppress viral activity, nor does it guarantee that the disease will not recur in the near future.
Removal of warts on fingers in clinic
After an appointment with a dermatologist, a detailed diagnosis will be carried out, the results of which, in addition to the main health indicators, determine the strain of the virus causing the disease and the risk of developing neoplastic processes. Often, testing for concomitant diseases such as HIV may be required, which may also cause warts on the fingers and aggravate the course of the disease.
As a result, multilateral treatment was prescribed. It involves excision of growths by a modern instrumental approach, including:
- laser removal. The most popular method. Available in almost all clinics. Special equipment allows you to burn off epithelial tumors almost painlessly, preventing bleeding. Scabs take a short time to heal. This exposed tissue recovers quickly, so there are very few traces in the form of scars on the skin.
- radio wave removal. The method is based on the strength of radio waves and allows the simple removal of growths without bleeding. With a cordless knife, you can remove warts on your fingers almost without touching healthy tissue. The procedure is very expensive, but is considered very effective and safe.
- Electrocoagulation. The acting force is an electric current of various frequencies. It burns wart cells on your fingers in seconds. At the same time, blood vessels are sealed to prevent bleeding.
- Surgical approach.It cannot be performed without local anesthesia because. Removal is done with a scalpel. Appointments are less frequent than other options. The main indications are a large lesion, taken if necessary for histological examination, and the presence of deep ingrowth under the skin and nail plate. During surgery, healthy tissue is often injured. After healing, a scar usually remains. The price of surgical intervention is calculated individually in each case.
- Cryotherapy. Widely used method. Warts on fingers were removed by exposure to ultra-cold liquid nitrogen. The protocol is characterized by good performance, is painless and does not require local anesthesia. However, during the recovery period (approximately 7-10 days), all recommendations of the doctor should be followed so that the treated area heals quickly and without problems.
- chemical method. Use aggressive chemicals such as trichloroacetic acid to remove warts from your fingers. It is best to entrust the implementation to a qualified specialist to prevent burns of healthy tissue. Shocks have to be very precise and only hit the main body of the pileup. After healing, scarring may be left. The cost of the procedure depends on the chosen drug and is calculated separately by the doctor.
No method can be 100% guaranteed to be effective and free from recurrence. Results depend not only on the type and location of the wart, 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 and must follow all the instructions of the doctor: daily treatment of the part of the finger where the wart was removed, protection from injury, hypothermia of the palm, taking prescribed medicines, eliminating bad habits and returning to a normal diet. Only then will you never have to decide again how to get rid of warts on your fingers.
Medication for warts on fingers
Effective medical treatment for finger warts includes medications aimed at suppressing viral infection, boosting immune status, and restoring the balance of minerals, vitamins, and other beneficial compounds.
Types of medical products used to treat warts on fingers:
- Oral preparations. This category includes methods with complex effects - antiviral and immunomodulatory. At present, there is no drug that can completely kill HPV, so one of the tasks of modern medicine is to simulate natural immunity to increase the body's resistance, significantly reduce the viral load, and prevent the growth of warts on the skin. fingers etc.
- external useSome drugs are used for bactericidal treatment, others accelerate tissue regeneration, others have a local antiviral and immunostimulatory effect, others nourish skin cells and normalize all metabolic processes.
- burn external factors。 They may contain caustic acid and other ingredients that help destroy growths. There is a risk of burns when used at home, so extreme care should be taken when handling it. Some drugs work on the principle of freeze 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 the performance of individual organs and systems, including the immune system.
Folk remedies for warts on the fingers
The effectiveness of traditional medicine has not quelled controversy. Some believe it is ineffective and that people are wasting precious time refusing to go to the doctor, others believe it is the only correct way to safely cure most diseases.
When looking for the right answer to the question of how to reduce warts on the fingers, it is best to use the golden mean. Consult your doctor and discuss complex treatment options with him, including instrumental removal of growths, administration of HPV-specific medications, and appropriate folk remedies.
Popular folk remedies for finger warts:
- Plum dressing. Dissolve salt (20 g) in water (150 ml), add vinegar (20 ml) to this, stir and dip half of the pitted plums into this solution. Infusion time - 2 hours. Take out the plums and mash the pulp. The resulting slurry is applied to the wart and held in place with a bandage or plaster for 2-8 hours.
- Thuja Oil for Warts. Topical use 4-5 times a day. Daily use of this medication ensures rapid epithelial cell recovery.
- Push tincture.Thuja leaves (20g) poured into vodka (100ml). Persist for 14 days. Lubricate the wart-affected area of your finger several times for 3 minutes. The procedure is repeated twice daily for 14-20 days.
- Acerola Tincture. Take equal parts of coniferous twigs and juniper berries. Mix and grind all ingredients. Put 50 g of the resulting mixture in a glass dish and pour 200 g of alcohol. Leave for about 3 weeks. Filter and use to lubricate growth. 1 application per day is sufficient.
- Lemon Peel Infusion. Peel and chop 1-2 lemons, either with a knife or a meat grinder. Put the mass in a glass jar and add vinegar to a volume of 100-150ml. Close the lid tightly. Stick to the holiday for a week, don't forget to shake it every day. The cake is then removed, and the resulting infusion is used to treat the wart on the finger, trying not to touch healthy skin.
- Horse Chestnut Soup. To prepare you need to boil 2. 5 liters of water, add horse chestnut leaves (120 g) and boil on low heat for 15 minutes, strain and pour the broth into a basin. When it cools down to 36-40 degrees, lower your palms. This bath time is 20 minutes. 2. 8 procedures need to be completed within 5 weeks, that is, repeat every 3 days before going to bed.
- herbal infusion. This tool affects the entire body. But its most important property is to stimulate immunity to fight viruses. Systemic reception stopped the growth of warts on the fingers. To prepare, mix and grind 20g of juniper needles, plantain leaves, chicory root and dandelion, birch leaves and 30g of horsetail and nettle. Store in a glass container with a lid. For the decoction, take 20g of the mixture, put it in an enameled pot, pour boiling water (500ml) and let it stand for 60 minutes. Take it orally before meals, 100-150ml each time, 3-4 times a day.
Whatever the cause of the weakened immune system and the growth of epithelial tumors, warts that develop on the fingers and toes, elbows, knees, feet, and elsewhere require special attention and proper treatment. Timely admission to the hospital, as well as choosing the appropriate method to remove growths and treat HPV, will allow you to recover faster and forget about the unpleasant manifestations of the viral disease for a long time.