Which doctor should I see to treat warts?

First you need to understand what warts are. Essentially, it is a skin disease characterized by the appearance of small structures. The size of such structures ranges from 1 mm to 1 cm or more.The cause of warts is viral. They can be spread from person to person through a simple handshake or by using items used by sick people. The incubation period can last several months. Therefore, when warts form on your body, it may be difficult to remember who "gave" you the warts.It must be said that there are different types of warts, so the attitude towards them should be extremely delicate. They can be located on the back of the hands, face, or even scalp. On the feet, warts usually appear on the soles of the feet. If there is no pain in the arms, there is a lot of inconvenience in the legs. Sweating feet and shoe pressure can contribute to their development.Juvenile warts, which occur during adolescence, occupy a special place. Typically these warts are small in size and located on the hands and face. As with any type of wart, you should consult your doctor to rule out the possibility of any other skin disease.Therefore, genital warts are sometimes mistaken for warts and require consultation with a venereologist and urologist. Any new growth on the skin requires the utmost attention. Tumors on the skin are sometimes mistaken for warts, which can be very dangerous, especially if you want to remove it. In this case, you should not resort to folk remedies!This type of surgery should only be performed by a professional doctor, who first needs to make sure he is treating a wart. Not all warts are recommended for removal; this method is used as a last resort: if the wart causes discomfort or bleeding, if the wart causes cosmetic discomfort, if the wart has grown, or is growing.Otherwise, it is best to treat the wart. Treatment should be carried out by a doctor and you should be monitored by him throughout the treatment period. It must be noted that improper treatment may cause warts to degenerate into malignant tumors. Therefore, only contact the experts.

Types of warts

Warts are more commonly diagnosed in children and teenagers, but they can also occur in adults. Medically, warts are divided into the following types:

1. Simple/Vulgar.The most common type of skin tumor, 70% of cases are diagnosed in school-age children. Most commonly, this type of wart appears on the hands, but it can also appear on the edges of the lips and the neck. Simple warts are characterized by the presence of a single largest "mother wart" - if this is removed, smaller tumors disappear.
2. bland/young.They are rare - accounting for only 4% of confirmed cases. They are located on the back of the hands, edges of the lips, glans penis, and oral mucosa.
3. Palm soles.They appear where the greatest pressure is generated by uncomfortable shoes. Diagnosing this type of wart is often difficult because experts must distinguish associated tumors from corns and calluses.
4. linear.It has a specific appearance - a small "tail" made of thin leather, which can have many strips and is always arranged in a "cluster". It's most common in the armpits, neck, and under the breasts.

The method of removing warts from the body and hands depends directly on the type of tumor diagnosed in the patient.It is worth knowing another characteristic of warts - they do not have any precise description of their "appearance". For example, a plantar wart may be a small round bump with a dark center, but a simple wart is a growth on the skin that has a heterogeneous structure. The easiest way to answer the question "What does a wart look like? " is if it is the linear type - "icicles" that appear on the skin and do not cause pain or irritation. It's worth noting that frequent rubbing of a wart can cause it to become inflamed and irritated - it will turn red and cause pain.

Where do warts come from?

It's all caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is most commonly spread through direct contact with an infected person's warts or personal items. Four of the dozens of HPV types can cause warts to appear on the skin. HPV can be said to be "cunning". A person may not suspect that they have HPV for a long time.After infection, the virus resides in the upper layers of the epidermis and may remain undetected for a long time. But once the protective mechanism weakens, the virus becomes active and manifests itself in the form of one or more warts.It can take anywhere from a week to a few months from the moment of infection until the skin structure appears.

Place

The doctor you should contact for a wart depends directly on where the wart is growing.Depending on the type, warts can grow throughout the body, especially:

• on legs, arms, feet;
• In the armpit area, under the breast and on its surface;
• face, neck and head;
• Regarding male and female reproductive organs;
• On the mucous membranes of the vagina, esophagus, and throat;
• in the mouth. inner surfaces of tongue, cheeks, and lips;
• On the body under clothes.

Reason for occurrence

It is very easy to become infected with the human papillomavirus (HPV).Close contact with someone with skin growths is enough.However, the disease does not appear immediately, and warts may not begin to grow until months or years after infection.Factors affecting HPV activity:

• decrease in immunity;
• Exacerbation of chronic disease;
• pressure;
• malnutrition;
• bad habits;
• Passive lifestyle.

What to do if warts have appeared

Let's get back to the findings. Only 28% of respondents with warts consulted a doctor. The prospect of surgical removal seems scarier than the warts themselves. 34% of study participants attempted to remove warts themselves, and 16% decided to take no action because they did not take it seriously.

Why warts need to be removed

For those who are still unsure whether to remove warts, it is important to know the following information.

• First, warts are contagious. For this purpose, personal hygiene products that come into direct contact with the wart or its vector are sufficient.
• Second, warts tend to "take over territory, " that is, spread to healthy areas of the skin. This process is called autoinoculation (self-infection).

Obviously, it is easier to treat warts in the early stages of the disease, which will save time, effort, and money in the future. Additionally, you can buy products for self-removal of warts at pharmacies.

When to see a doctor

• If the shape, color, or totality of the wart changes rapidly;
• If the wart is unevenly colored;
• If the borders of the wart are blurred (in this case, it is most likely not a wart);
• If the wart is painful or injured frequently (this increases the risk of it developing into a more serious condition);
• If the number of warts gradually increases;
• If the wart bleeds or itches;
• If warts form in the genital area.

Which doctors treat warts in children and adults

If you develop growths on any part of your body, you should contact a doctor who specializes in treating skin conditions - a dermatologist.

• He performs the examination and decides whether further diagnostics are needed (blood tests, PCR tests, biopsies).
• In certain suspicious cases, when warts show signs of malignancy, a dermatologist may recommend consultation with an oncologist or dermatologic oncologist.
• In most cases, doctors decide to remove the wart and then send its tissue for histological examination to make sure there are no signs of malignancy.
• Warts on a woman's breasts may lead to breast cancer and require examination by a breast doctor.

wart removal

Wart removal is a thorough method and can be done in a variety of ways. Warts can be removed using a laser. In addition to this, cryotherapy and electrocoagulation methods are also used. You can use homeopathic medicines to effectively remove warts. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages.When choosing a wart removal method, your doctor is usually guided by where the wart is located on the body. Therefore, laser removal may leave scars. Scar formation is sometimes observed after use of the Surgitron device. Therefore, your doctor must choose a wart removal method based on where the wart is located.Cryotherapy and electrocoagulation are gentle methods of removing warts. Electrocoagulation is performed using a special device that uses high-frequency electric current. After using the device, the tissue temperature increases and the wart is destroyed, causing the virus to die.Cryotherapy is also a cautery treatment, but only uses liquid nitrogen. The procedure is very painless and does not leave any scars. Speaking of these two methods, it is important to note that their use eliminates contact with blood. You can only trust a doctor experienced in this field to remove warts.After you have removed a wart, you need to think about how to avoid reinfection.Under no circumstances should warts be ripped off or tied at the base with thread, lest they fall off on their own! This irrational behavior can lead to serious health problems - for example, the resulting wound can become infected, and blood flow can be disrupted due to the tightening of the tumor base.A dermatologist or beautician will tell you how to remove warts on the hands of children and adults, what procedures will help you forget about tumors on the body and face - you can contact any of these specialists. There are three main ways to remove warts:

1. Laser Treatment.Typically, this method is used to remove warts in the tenderest and most painful areas, or if the patient wants to avoid scarring. Laser removal of warts on the face is the best solution because the procedure is painless, does not require a long recovery period, and leaves no scars on the skin after the procedure.
2. Freezing damage.This involves the use of liquid nitrogen, which actually burns away the tumor without leaving a mark on the skin, although in some cases a small scar may be left. After removing warts with liquid nitrogen, patients need to avoid direct sunlight; in the future, a small white spot may remain at the surgical site.
3. medical treatement.It is used in conjunction with the above methods. There are many medications that work locally and can help get rid of warts faster. The most effective medicine for treating warts is celandine extract, which is applied point by point to the area of growth. You should not use the celandine plant yourself to treat warts - its sap can cause severe burns if it gets on healthy skin.

Elimination of this type of skin tumor should be comprehensive. It is not enough to go to the doctor and find out the cause of warts on your fingers or face; you must follow all the prescriptions and recommendations of the expert. Even with appropriate treatment, the disease often recurs—in 40-50% of cases, the warts reappear.For more information about what warts are, which doctor to contact for treatment of plantar warts, and what the term "general treatment of human papillomavirus" means, please see the pages of our website.

Can you remove warts yourself?

Warts can be removed at home, but only after diagnosis by a specialist.There are special burning medicine products that can remove the growth after the first use. They have cauterizing and necrotic effects.These drugs are toxic and can cause burns to the tissue around the wart, so they must be used with caution. It is not recommended to remove warts at home in areas with particularly delicate and sensitive skin (face, neck, breasts and genitals). You also want to make sure the wart is completely gone and no roots or any other parts remain. Warts are so prolific that even a small piece of tissue can become a source of infection in healthy areas of the dermis. When using drugs, you must strictly follow the drug instructions and pay close attention to contraindications. Most of them are prohibited for use in children, pregnant and breastfeeding women.Warts are an outward sign of a bad internal state of the body. It is important not only to eliminate the symptoms of the disease but also to continue fighting the virus. The human immune system is capable of dealing with the causative agents of disease on its own if given all possible help. To do this, it is enough to lead a healthy, active lifestyle and stay fit through exercise and healthy food.

complication

Under certain circumstances (e. g. , following infection with sexually transmitted infections, decreased systemic and/or local immunity), anogenital warts can enlarge and grow, thereby worsening a person's sex life and significantly reducing their quality of life.In addition, anogenital warts may develop inflammation, suppuration, and ulceration due to prolonged mechanical impact. In rare cases, their malignant transformation is possible.

Advice for people with warts

• Warts may be observed without treatment as two-thirds of cases resolve spontaneously within two years. As old lesions recede, new warts may appear. This is not the result of treatment failure but is part of the natural history of HPV infection.
• Treatment usually takes weeks or months, so patience and persistence are crucial to successful treatment.
• Tools used to remove warts (such as nail files and pumice stones) should not be applied to healthy skin or used by other people. For the same reason, if the wart is located on areas of skin that have hair, you should use an epilator or electric razor to remove the hair from those areas, or not remove the hair at all to limit the spread of the wart.
• Repeated visits to the doctor are required to monitor and evaluate treatment results. • If the patient is self-medicating, he or she can schedule a follow-up visit with the doctor.

prevention

Preventive measures include:

• Get quadrivalent vaccine (against HPV types 6 and 11, 16, and 18);
• Exclude casual sexual contact;
• use a barrier method of contraception (condoms);
• Follow personal hygiene rules;
• Prompt and adequate treatment of infectious and inflammatory diseases of the pelvic organs;

FAQ

Which doctor treats warts?

For warts, it's best to consult a dermatologist. Dermatologists specialize in treating skin conditions and are experienced in removing warts.

Can I see a general doctor if I have a wart problem?

Yes, you can go to a general practitioner, like a GP. He will be able to conduct an initial consultation and, if necessary, refer you to a specialist - a dermatologist.

What methods do doctors use to treat warts?

Doctors may use a variety of methods to treat warts, including cryotherapy (freezing the wart with liquid nitrogen), chemical removal, electrocautery (using an electric current to remove the wart), and laser removal. The doctor will choose the most appropriate method based on the characteristics of the wart and the individual characteristics of the patient.

Useful tips

Tip #1

See a dermatologist. A dermatologist specializes in skin conditions and can help you treat warts. He will conduct an examination, make a diagnosis, and provide the most effective treatment.

Tip #2

Visit an oncologist. Warts may be related to the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause skin cancer. Dermatologic oncologists specialize in diagnosing and treating skin cancer, so they can perform additional tests and recommend appropriate treatment if necessary.